After The Don Left Me To Die I Chose Freedom Chapter 09
Choosing to be with Adrian happened naturally.
At the time, I’d only just moved out on my own.
During the day, I did clinical follow-ups at the hospital. At night, I came back to my small rented apartment, often so exhausted I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.
Adrian was even busier than I was.
He ran his own research projects and volunteered at free clinics, often in meetings until late.
But no matter how late it got, he always sent me a message.
“Home yet?”
“Did you eat on time today?”
“I made some pastries. I’ll bring them over tomorrow. Stop living on coffee.”
At first, I told him he was being too much of a mother hen.
Then one night, I worked until eleven and ended up crouching outside a convenience store, waiting for a ride.
My phone rang.
It was Adrian.
The first thing he said: “Where are you?”
I blinked, then gave him the address.
Ten minutes later, he appeared at the corner with an umbrella.
I looked at him and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Adrian, why are you here?”
He looked down at me, his tone completely serious.
“If I didn’t come, were you planning to freeze out here all night?”
My face went a little hot.
I was about to argue back when he pressed a cup of hot milk tea into my hands.
“Drink this first.”
My nose stung suddenly.
Once, during my darkest moments, someone had promised to come for me too.
But the ones who broke that promise, again and again—those were the same people.
Only Adrian ever did exactly what he said he would.
That night, I fell asleep in the car.
When I woke, we were parked downstairs at my building.
Adrian hadn’t woken me. He’d just cracked the window open and waited quietly for me to come around on my own.
I sat up groggily and found myself looking straight into his eyes.
“Awake?”
I rubbed my eyes.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
He looked at me, his voice soft.
“It’s rare to see you sleep that peacefully. I couldn’t bring myself to.”
In that moment, something brushed lightly against my heart.
And from then on, I started noticing, little by little.
Adrian was different.
He never used “it’s for your own good” to chain me down. He never told me to just tough it out when I was hurting. And he never decided I was being too sensitive just because I didn’t respond immediately.
When I worked late, he’d have his car waiting outside the hospital. When I couldn’t sleep, he’d send voice messages and talk me through it.
On the rare nights I jolted awake from a nightmare and reached for my phone, there was always a message from him waiting.
“Asleep yet?”
I asked him once: “Why are you always still up this late?”
His reply came fast.
“In case you suddenly need me.”
I stared at that line for a long time. My chest felt warm.
Then one weekend, we went to the beach together.
I walked along the sand, and Adrian followed behind me.
Halfway down the shore, I turned to look at him.
“Adrian, you’ve liked me for a while now, haven’t you?”
He seemed caught off guard by the directness.
A two-second pause, and then a quiet “yeah.”
I broke into a grin.
“Since when?”
“A long time.”
“How long?”
Adrian gazed out at the ocean.
“Since before you’d learned how to be disappointed in people.”
I looked at him for a long moment.
“And now?”
Adrian lowered his eyes to mine. “Now I’d like to officially court you.”
That made me laugh.
“You’ve already followed me all the way here, and you’re talking about ‘officially’?”
“It’s different.”
“How is it different?”
Adrian looked at me and said, word by word: “Before, I was afraid you’d get hurt, so all I dared to do was stay close.”
“Now I want you to know—you can safely fall for me.”
Something slammed hard against the inside of my chest.
That evening, as we headed back, Adrian glanced down at me.
“Emma, stop trying to carry everything alone.”
“You can lean on me. Everything I have to give—it’s yours.”
For a moment, I nearly cried again.
I looked at him and smiled softly.
“Okay. Then you’re never allowed to leave me behind.”
Adrian held out his hand.
“Never.”
“This time, I’m the one who’ll chase after you.”
For many years after, I remembered the sea breeze that day.
And the warmth of Adrian’s palm when he took my hand.