Adam stared at the screen, jaw tight.
Sofia's message was short. Simple. But it landed like a blow to the chest.
Sofia: I don't want security today. Please tell them not to follow me. I just... need to be alone.
He curled his fists, knuckles whitening against the weight of it. She wasn't just asking for space—she was asking for silence. For the freedom to disappear, even if just for a few hours.
And it tore him apart.
She didn't say where she was going. She didn't offer a reason. But Adam knew. She was still avoiding him. Still haunted by something she hadn't voiced. Something that bloomed between them like a ghost neither of them could exorcise.
He missed her.
God, he missed her.
This morning, he'd come to her first. He had waited outside his mansion, hoping for a smile, a glance—anything. She had looked so beautiful it hurt to breathe, and for a moment, he believed they were healing. That she was choosing him again.