Adrian Carson had been watching her long before she ever realized she was being watched.

At thirteen, he was the boy everyone knew.

Popular enough to be admired, intelligent enough to avoid consequences, and arrogant enough to believe he could get away with almost anything.

And then there was her.

He noticed everything about her.

The little things.

The way she played with her sleeves when she was nervous. The way she looked down when someone complimented her. The way her expression changed whenever she was trying not to cry.

He remembered all of it.

But Adrian had never known how to handle feelings he couldn’t control.

So he turned them into cruelty.

He teased her.

Stole her things.

Interrupted her conversations.

Embarrassed her in front of other students.

And whenever another boy showed interest in her, Adrian made sure it didn’t last.

He knew which boys liked her.

He knew who talked to her after class.

He knew who waited for her outside the school gates.

He knew her schedule better than some of her friends did.

She thought he hated her.

That was exactly what he wanted her to think.

Because admitting the truth would have meant admitting something far more disturbing.

He didn’t hate her.

He couldn’t stand the thought of anyone else having her attention.

Years passed.

School ended.

Their lives went in completely different directions.

At least, that’s what she believed.

Adrian never really stopped paying attention.

He grew older.

Smarter.

More patient.

He learned how to hide his emotions behind a calm expression and a perfectly controlled voice.

By twenty-eight, Adrian Carson was the CEO of a successful company.

Cold.

Demanding.

Respected.

Difficult to impress.

Nobody at the company knew much about his personal life.

Nobody knew that there was one person he had never managed to forget.

Then she walked into his office.

For the first time in years, Adrian saw her standing in front of him again.

Older now.

Different.

But unmistakably her.

She recognized him too.

He could see the old memories return to her eyes.

And Adrian felt something inside him settle.

He had spent years imagining what it would be like to see her again.

He had imagined her frightened.

Angry.

Maybe even happy to see him.

He hadn’t expected the most dangerous possibility of all.

Indifference.

So he made sure she wouldn’t have the chance to feel it.

At work, he became harder on her than anyone else.

He criticized her work.

Gave her impossible deadlines.

Changed her assignments.

Called her into his office for reasons that never seemed important.

He would find excuses to keep her attention on him.

He never needed to raise his voice.

He never needed to threaten her.

He had something much more effective now.

Authority.

And Adrian knew how to use it.

His obsession had also changed.

When he was thirteen, he followed her because he couldn’t bear not knowing where she was.

Now, he simply made sure he always knew.

He noticed when she arrived.

When she left.

Who she talked to.

Who made her smile.

When someone became too close.

He remembered every small detail she mentioned, even when she had forgotten saying it.

He noticed every change.

A different perfume.

A new hairstyle.

A tired expression.

A bruise hidden beneath a sleeve.

Nothing escaped him.

And whenever someone entered her life, Adrian noticed.

He never confronted them.

He didn’t have to.

People had a strange habit of disappearing from her orbit after they became too interested in her.

A transfer.

A new position.

A sudden resignation.

Coincidence, she would tell herself.

Adrian never corrected her.

Because the most important thing he had learned over the years was patience.

He no longer needed to chase her.

He didn’t need to force her to look at him.

He only needed to make himself impossible to ignore.

Because Adrian Carson had spent half his life wanting her attention.

And now that she was finally within his reach again...

he wasn’t going to let her forget him.

Not ever.