A/N: This took long but I think it is a promising chapter. It is exactly 10,000 words long. This is officially the last chapter of this book and the epilogue will be coming out soon.

Thanks for staying with me for so long and thanks for loving this book as much as I do.

Love you guys. 😘😘

(I just divided the chater into two halves as I realised that it was two long to be read in one sitting)

VANESSA

I didn't know fear could do that...paralyze you but here I was sitting in a car I crashed, my heart beating like a wild animal trying to escape its cage but my body, my body was completely numb.

I wasn't hurt, atleast not physically...mentally, I was in more agony than I could imagine.

I had been in a similar accident just two days ago. Everything from that night was still so vivid.

Gunshots still rang in my ears and I could still feel the cold muzzle pressed against the back of my head.

I shuddered as the thought of what could have happened once again made it's way back to my head.

How could Blake escape?

Dorris...no, she would never help him. She would lose everything she had just earned.

Blake's dad? He was a retired man living the rest of his days travelling the world with his wife of thirty five years. They were definitely not a threat. I had ensured that already.

Then how could Blake be here? It was impossible.

Out of the three responses to fear: fight, flight and freeze, I never thought I'd choose the third one.

I guess I know now, why in all the horror movies I had seen, the people didn't get up and run the moment they saw the ghost.

I could hear Adrian's panicked voice, trying to get me out of my trance but I wasn't in trance. I could here him clearly but no matter how badly I wanted to respond, I was frozen in my place, my eyes shut close.

"Vanessa? Wake up!", he kept repeating but it was like he was walking away as he said that. His voice was fading slowly even though I was trying hard to concentrate on it. It became fainter each time he said my name until it completely ceased.

2nd January

I opened my eyes and immediately shielded them with my hand as bright light flooded my vision. I blinked a few times and then looked around the spacious empty room.

I was in a hospital, the familiar smell of disinfectant informed me.

I slowly got myself to get off the bed. I ran my fingers along my face to look for injuries or bandages. Fortunately, I found nothing.

I was contemplating what happened and where my fellow passenger was when the front door opened.

Adrian walked in with a coffee cup in his hand, alongside Bryan.

"Hey!", I waved with a weak smile.

Adrian's eyes widened and he would have dropped the cup if Bryan hadn't grabbed it from him.

Adrian quickly walked up to my bedside and before I could say or do anything, I was pulled into a breathtaking hug...literally.

"Promise me, you will never ever do that again.",he whispered.

Do what?

Oh no! His Lamborghini!

The way I had crashed into the lamppost, the front of the car must be badly bashed up. It was going to cost him a fortune to repair his Lamborghini. It would have been easier to buy a new one but he wouldn't. This car was his first purchase and it meant so much to him!

"You are right. I will never drive your cars even again."

He pulled away and stared at me as if I had grown two heads.

"You think I am talking about the car, really?"

"You aren't?",I furrowed my brows in confusion.

"No. I was talking about you. You scared me when you didn't wake up."

"I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"Now I am.", he caressed my cheek with his hand.

I felt heat rush up to my face and I wrapped me arms around him, resting my head against his chest. I closed me eyes and inhaled his deodorant that I loved so much.

Even if he didn't love me back, I loved him. I was sure of it.

"What happened back there?", he asked and my eyes instantly flew open as I remembered the cause behind me driving like a mad woman.

"Blake!",I gulped,"I saw his car. His white Porshe. He was following us. I was trying to get him of our tail and I did but then the people on the sidewalk, I was so distracted that I didn't see them and I don't know how...the lamp post. It's impossible. How can Blake be out of jail. He was in there on a non-bailable offense and the first hearing isn't until 3rd January."

"Are you sure you saw Blake?", Bryan asked and I just realised that he was still in the room.

I nodded in positive.

Bryan took out his phone and called someone.

"Hello! Greenwich Police Department...I was calling to ask if Blake Walters has been bailed?...What?...Oh okay...Thanks."

Bryan looked back at me as he cut the call and slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"So?",Adrian asked impatiently.

"They have him. He is still in his cell."

"What? But I swear I saw his car. His white Porsche!",I panicked.

"Did you see him or just a white Porshe?", Bryan asked again.

Oh God!

There were millions of people in New York and a lot of people could own a White Porshe.

"I...I am so sorry.",I said, pressing my lips together to stop myself from bursting into tears.

"It's okay, Vanessa. You have been through a lot these past days.",Adrian said, looking intently at me.

I caught hold of his hand and noticed something I hadn't before. He was wearing a black wrist wrap. I looked up at him questioningly.

"It's nothing",he shrugged, pulling his hand out of my grasp.

"Is it broken?",I inquired, the guilt weighing down heavily on me.

"No. I just sprained it when I was trying to steer the car away from the sidewalk and we crashed into the lamp post."

I looked away,"I am sorry. I really am."

He cupped my face in his hands and made me look back up at him,"You don't need to apologise over and over again. We both are okay and that is what matters."

I nodded, slightly relieved.

"How long do I have to stay here?",I asked, looking back at the hospital bed.

"Since, you just passed out, we can leave now actually. I'll go get the discharge papers.",Adrian replied and the left the room.

"Adrian and you?", Bryan raised his eyebrows, once Adrian was gone.

"Adrian and I, what?"

"You both are a thing now?"

"What? No! I...I don't think so.",I said, staring at me feet," He kind of apologized for not having feelings for me yesterday."

"Oh! So that is why you ran out of the party."

I nodded and sat down on the bed.

"He does have feelings for you though. It is pretty evident."

"Everyone just keeps saying that...everyone except the one who should.",I crossed my arms.

"Well, I have known him for years now and never have I ever seen him care about someone as much as he does for you. When we were coming to get you at Blake's place and we heard gunshots, the driver stopped the car. Then Adrian threatened him." Bryan said a d then went on to imitate Adrian,"Drive now! I will shoot you with the same damn gun if something happens to my girl."

I laughed,"He said my girl?"

"Yeah, he did and even today, when you passed out, he called 911 and then me because he was so scared that something had happened to you. His dad is still recovering from his car accident, the last thing he'd want would be to have something happen to you."

I bit down on my lower lip.

This was all my fault. All this for absolutely nothing!

"Blake is not coming back, not for the next few years. Don't hassle yourself. You put yourself through enough by tangling with him all alone."

"I wasn't alone. I had you and Steven with me."

"And what good were we. Well, at least I wasn't. You asked me to do one job and I failed in that.",he sighed, slumping back in a sofa at the other end of the room.

"It all worked out well in the end so its fine, really."

"No,Vanessa. I saw the CCTV footage of Blake's house. I saw how he hurt you and...I am terribly sorry."

"You saw me kick him too, didn't you?",I giggled, trying not to recall what had happened.

"You are one badass, I have to say.",he laughed, lightening up a little.

"Did Adrian see it too?", I asked nervously, wondering how mister I-am-always-angry had been so patient with me today.

"No. I don't have a death wish.",He raised his hands in surrender,"Nor do I want Adrian to go about murdering Blake because knowing him, he would do that."

So it wasn't pity, he was generally being patient...maybe he felt guilty about what he said? If Bryan was right about Adrian's feelings for me then why did Adrian say sorry yesterday?

Before I could ask Bryan anything further, Adrian returned.

"Let's go home.",he said, looking at me.

"I'll get home too. Its two in the morning.",Bryan stifled a yawn.

Adrian and I left the hospital shortly after and we went to Adrian's car, a Mercedes. Before we sat down in the car, Adrian did the unthinkable.

He opened the car door for me!

I looked at him in surprise,"Did you just..."

Adrian's face flushed and he interrupted me,"Only because you fainted. Otherwise, I would never open anyone's car door for them."

I giggled and slipped into the back seat and Adrian sat beside me. It was a quiet journey back home...well Adrian's home. Adrian had fallen asleep in the car and I knew better than to wake him up and argue. Things were finally peaceful.

I went to the guest room which over the course of the past month had slowly become mine. I took a quick shower and changed into some loose pyjamas. I decided to watch something on the TV to put me to sleep but before I could, I heard a knock at the door.

I unlocked it to see Adrian holding up a coffee mug.

"Coffee? At three a.m.?",I asked.

"No, it's hot chocolate. Since neither of us had dinner, I even got ice cream.",He said, pointing to an ice cream tub placed beside another coffee mug, held up in a tray by a housemaid.

"When has someone refused ice cream.",I smiled, opening the door wide and walking in to sit down on my bed.

Adrian sat down on the opposite end, just close enough to pick up ice cream from the tray, once the maid set it on top of my bed.

Adrian picked up the remote and switched the TV off. I groaned in protest but he looked at me with a serious look on his face," We need to talk."

That sounded ominous.

"You always have to have hidden motives, don't you.",I asked crossly, swallowing a spoonful of ice cream.

"You force me to do things like this. You are clearly not fine and I am sick of you lying to my face even though I know you aren't okay.", Adrian said, trying hard to not raise his voice.

It looked like patient Adrian had finally run out of patience.

"What do you want me to say, Adrian? Do you want me to say, I am not fine? Okay then, I AM NOT FINE! I almost died for God sake, of course I am not fine.", I yelled in irritation.

"Then talk to me about it. Get it out. Cry if you want. Yell at me, do whatever it takes for you to go back to being fine."

"Cry to you? With what right?", I balled my fists.

So much for peace.

"As friends...at least.", he looked at me with vacant eyes.

I don't know why but that hurt me, more than it should have.

"Is that what I am to you?", I narrowed my eyes at him.

Adrian looked at me, his eyes turning a darker shade of blue," I know what answer you are looking for but I don't want to hurt you by giving you an answer I can't abide by later."

"Your not answering is hurting me now.", I said, trying not to sound desperate.

But desperate is what I was.

I needed an answer.

Everyone was saying he had feelings for me but until he said so himself, how was I supposed to know how to feel?

I loved him, I knew that much but was it wrong? Was it right? Was I really asking for too much?

"Vanessa, look at me.", Adrian demanded,"Your whole life you have been surrounded by people who made promises, promises that never lasted. I want to be sure of what I feel because I know I am hurting you now by not replying but I also know that I'll hurt you more if I say something you want me to and then later go back on it."

"You are right.", I said quietly," I'm sorry. I know you have never been in a long term relationship in your whole life and it is selfish of me to expect you to change that immediately. It's just that after everything that happened between us, when you apologized, it felt like it didn't mean anything to you. You said you didn't even know if this was a fling? I don't want to be a fling."

"I am sorry for even saying that. I was confused and nervous and you know me, I rarely feel that way. That's no excuse but I hope you know you are not just another one of the girls that I have dated for a week. You are one of the most important people in my life. I don't think I can imagine life without you anymore. But before taking any drastic steps, I want to be sure because just in case things don't work out between us, I don't want to lose you. I just can't.", Adrian said, with more sincerity than I had ever seen in him before.

"You won't lose me. Even if you decide to be friends with me...I promise, I'll be here because to be honest, it my just have been a month but even I can't imagine life without you. So, take your time and whatever you decide, I'll be fine with it.", I said, giving his arm a reassuring squeeze.

The look in his eyes softened and he took my hand in his,"Thank you, Vanessa."

"Nessa is fine.",I smiled warmly at him and he smiled back.

"Let's go on to the next topic of concern.",Adrian said, finishing his hot chocolate.

"I don't want to talk about Blake. What happened, happened. Things are fine now so...",I began protesting but was interrupted,"You are lying again. If things were fine, you wouldn't be imagining that Blake was tailing our car...also I have an inkling that you didn't just go to the airport because of...err...what happened between us."

I took a deep breath, remembering the horrid thought looming over me when Blake had the gun pointed at me.

"I was just thinking something that shouldn't have crossed my mind ever. It was very ignorant of me.",I said stiffly, gulping a huge spoonful of ice cream.

"I'm not going to judge you. I have done plenty ignorant things myself."

"Okay then...here goes nothing. At that moment I felt that even if I was dead, no one was going to grieve.", I said, my eyes beginning to water again.

Adrian's eyes widened but he stayed silent.

I continued," I know it's not true. I have friends but I lack what most people want, a family. Family loves you the most, right? On the contrary mine would actually be happier if I were gone. I felt so terrible when Jennifer sat down beside Nate and began arguing from his side. I mean, I want someone to do that for me too...she used to at a point of time but now, after everything...I don't think it is ever going to happen again and somewhere deep down I know it's my fault. As for dad...I don't even know what to say. After trying so hard to make him proud, he didn't even acknowledge my presence, let alone congratulate me."

Adrian brought his hand up to my face and wiped off warm tears that had made their way down my cheek. Unlike the last two days, I didn't have to wait for the tears to dry up on their own and it felt so much better.

"Nessa, you are amazing. My family loves you and any normal family would. Yours isn't normal at all. Have you heard of the saying you can't win them all, well you can't. Especially when they don't want to be won over and by the way, if you ever feel you need to be with family, you can always come here. My parents and sisters adore you and I do to."

I smiled, blinking away the tears forming in my eyes," Tell Paula that she has to save me a chair at every Thanksgiving and I want my presents under your Christmas tree, every year and you also have amazing food so I'll be dropping by every now and then when I am starving."

"She would be glad to hear that.", he laughed.

Talking to him about anything and everything was so easy. He understood me, he knew exactly what I wanted to hear and I couldn't love him enough for that, not even if he decided that our relationship was just friendship.

"Oh God!", I exclaimed, as my eyes fell on the clock. It was half past four in the morning. I looked back at Adrian,"I better sleep. Tomorrow is an important day and I need to look perfect."

"You already look perfect, even in those cupcake pyjamas.",he grinned.

I giggled," You and your sister can't get enough of hating my night wears, can you?"

"I can't help it, they keep getting worse. Next you will be wearing a pizza pyjama."

"Hey! I own a pair and they are very comfortable.", I playfully smacked him on the arm and he just laughed.

I slipped under my sheets, resting my head on the pillow. After the day I had, I was really tired but a part of me wanted to sit back up and talk with him a while longer. The time I spent with him was certainly my most favourite part of the day, except when we were fighting. Well, slowly I was growing to enjoy that too.

I smiled," Good night.", my eyes lingering on his still form sitting beside me.

Adrian nodded,"Sleep well."

He got up, picked up the tray and switched off the lights.

I wished he'd stayed a little longer but calling him back would be way too needy of me, right? Especially when he still didn't know what I was to him.

I shook my head and closed my eyes. I sighed as I heard the door open and close.

However, when I felt I was ready to drift off to sleep, I felt the weight shift beside me.

My eyes flew wide open as I turned around to see a pair of blue eyes glowing in whatever little light was given off by the night lamp by my bedside.

Adrian's spirit animal must be a cat!

"Are you staying here?",I asked, miserably failing to mask my happiness.

"I'll go if you want me to.",He asked calmly though I could see a smile dancing at the corner of his lips.

He knew my answer well.

I turned away from him as I felt heat rush up my face, my pulse quickening.

"No, it's alright.",I said, trying my best to downplay my excitement.

I closed my eyes, a smile plastered on my face when his hand slid up my waist. He pulled me towards him, my back against his chest and then entwined his uninjured hand with mine.

I whispered," You are the best thing to have ever happened to me."

"Only second to your position at Hudson Enterprises."

"No actually. The CEO position is behind by a percent.", I replied honestly.

"I'm honoured. But hey! Don't let the board hear you say that.",I heard him smirk from behind me.

"I'm not stupid."

"Says the woman who literally entered a psychopath's house unarmed and all alone.", he stiffened.

"Or the woman who just changed the entire power dynamics of two major companies in just two days."

Adrian relaxed again,"Hmm...you do have a point there."

"Now sleep and let me sleep.", I smiled.

Sure, we were going to end up as just friends.