Because the back of Elara’s dress was completely exposed, the warmth of his hand pressed directly against her bare skin. The sudden contact sent shock racing through her body.

The force of the movement pushed her straight against his chest, her face crashing into the expensive fabric of his suit. The scent of his cologne surrounded her instantly.

Without thinking, her fingers gripped the front of his jacket tightly to brace herself. For one small second, she could hear the heavy pounding of his heartbeat beneath her cheek.

Then slowly, she lifted her head. Her racing eyes met his cold grey ones staring directly down at her.

"Careful," Adrian muttered quietly, his low voice almost disappearing beneath the flashing cameras and rising noise around them.

But still, the entire hall seemed to freeze as everyone stared at them. It was not completely silent because cameras were still flashing here and there, but there was an obvious pause in the atmosphere.

Elara herself did not seem to notice how everyone had seen everything.

The way Adrian pulled her against him without hesitation.

The way his hand was spread against her bare back.

The way she was gripping his shirt.

And most importantly... the way he was still holding her without letting go.

Some reporters had even lowered their microphones in shock while the cameramen were practically stepping over each other trying to get a clearer shot.

"Did Adrian Vale just catch her?"

"Since when does he touch people?"

Meanwhile not far away, Relanie stared at the scene in front of her. Her eyes turned dangerously cold as her fingers tightened slowly at her sides.

Carris, who had also witnessed everything immediately started walking toward them. But before reaching them, his eyes suddenly shifted toward the woman who had bumped into Elara. His eyes narrowed dangerously.

The woman was trying to disappear quickly into the crowd.

Carris’ expression instantly darkened as understanding flashed across his face.

"You dare," he muttered under his breath while staring at the visibly shivering lady who quickly stopped in her tracks, knowing she’d been caught.

Then he turned back and quickened his steps. He stopped beside the duo and firmly wrapped an arm around Elara’s shoulders. With a gentle but unyielding pull, he subtly moved her away from Adrian’s chest, breaking the suffocating closeness and pulling her to his side instead.

"Thank you for the assist Mr. Vale," Carris said calmly, though his voice had turned flat and icy as he looked Adrian directly in the eye. "I’ll take care of it from here."

Adrian’s eyes went completely cold. His jaw tightened faintly, anger flashing through his chest at the sudden loss of the warmth and the sheer audacity of Carris acting as though he had authority over her.

A sharp mocking snort escaped his lips.

Without breaking eye contact with Carris, Adrian slightly lifted his fingers toward the security team that had already rushed over.

"Remove her," he said coldly. "And make sure she never finds employment in the capital cities again."

His gaze then moved away from Carris’s and toward Relanie who was still standing among the crowd. Their eyes met and Adrian gave a cold snort. Then he looked away emotionlessly.

Elara stood stiffly beside Carris as security dragged the trembling woman away.

It still felt as though she was trapped in Adrian’s arms. She did not even know why she had not pushed him away immediately. And honestly... she did not know if she would have moved at all if Carris had not separated them.

She was confused.

Why did Adrian react like that? This was far too much, especially since they were in public. Did he not care about his image anymore? 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Her fingers tightened around the fabric of her dress, trembling uncontrollably as more questions invaded her mind.

Why did he look panicked? Why was his heartbeat so fast against her cheek?

Her brows furrowed a little as Carris guided her farther away from the crowd.

Of course, she knew she probably looked ridiculous right now. She knew she should not feel affected by any of this.

It was not as if Adrian worry or cared about her. He was probably just angry that someone caused a scene during his high profile premiere.

"Are you alright?" Carris’ voice sounded above her head.

Elara immediately snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him. A small smile appeared on her face again, returning to her usual calm expression even though her voice still sounded somewhat strange.

"It’s alright," she muttered softly.

Just then, Ziva who had went to speak with some journalists outside suddenly came rushing back inside. She stopped right in front of Elara, breathing heavily before grabbing her gently by the shoulders.

"Elara what’s wrong? I left for just five minutes and I heard there’s trouble going on inside and it seems to be connected to you." she asked worriedly.

Elara’s lips pursed tightly as she looked at her, she opened her mouth to say something but no words came out. Then she forced another smile and gently patted Ziva’s arm.

"It’s fine. Stop acting like I just got rescued from a lion’s claw." She mummured.

Ziva narrowed her eyes suspiciously but she didn’t press further. She simply turned away, taking note of how every attention seemed to be directed at them.

Elara’s gaze unconsciously shifted sideways again toward where Adrian had been standing earlier. But he was no longer there.

She stared quietly at the empty space, countless thoughts running through her mind.

Then suddenly... A small hand tugged lightly at the lower part of her dress. Elara slowly turned around, her eyes narrowing in surprise when she saw who it was.

Standing there was a red haired little girl with a huge grin on her face. She released Elara’s dress before stepping back happily, tilting her head upward as her bright eyes twinkled with excitement.

"Elara, you’re super surprised to see me right?" she giggled before leaning closer. "Scary suit uncle sent his talkative assistant to bring me here with a big shiny car."