Adrian Laurent

There is this guy. His name is Adrian Laurent. He is wealthy, successful, and known for being cold. He works with countless companies, owns several buildings, and rarely shows emotion Then there is this girl. Her name is Clara Bennett. She is a college student who lives with her father in a tiny apartment above his little bookshop. They don't have much, but Clara loves their quiet life. Her father carries an enormous debt inherited from his own father. Adrian's family owns that debt. Every few weeks, Adrian visits the bookshop privately to collect the payment. "I don't have enough yet," Clara's father says. Adrian nods. "Then I'll come back." Clara knows nothing about their arrangement. She only knows Adrian as the intimidating man who occasionally visits her father's shop. Yet, somehow, she fell for him. She noticed how he fixed the shop's broken sign, always bought a book, and softened whenever she talked to him. Eventually, Clara gathered enough courage to confess. "I like you." Adrian went completely still. For a moment, he looked like he wanted to say something else. Instead, his voice became cold. "You shouldn't." Clara's smile faded. "You don't feel the same?" He looked away. "No." She swallowed. "Then I'll move on." "Good." She walked away. Adrian waited until she disappeared before closing his eyes. He hated himself for saying it. But if Clara knew the truth about her father's debt, she'd think he had only been kind because he wanted something from her. And Adrian couldn't bear that. So he continued collecting the debt, pretending he didn't care. And continued falling harder for the one girl he had just told to forget him.