Chapter 95: Back At It With The Loud Mouth

Present Time

Adrian glanced at Jenna’s message.

Jenna: That red-haired slut knows about you.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

Not because of the insult.

Because of the word knows.

His hand remained steady on the steering wheel as he looked at the road ahead.

"That’s new."

Rose turned toward him.

"What?"

Adrian tilted the phone slightly so she could see.

She read the message.

Her expression changed.

Only a little.

Enough.

Adrian looked back at the road.

He couldn’t exactly start interrogating Jenna while driving, but he could get the important part.

Adrian: What happened?

The reply came almost immediately.

Jenna: Maya talked to me.

Adrian’s thumb paused over the screen.

He already knew that much.

Adrian: About me?

Jenna: Yeah.

He exhaled quietly.

So Maya hadn’t just seen him and moved on.

She’d gone looking for information.

That was more annoying than interesting.

Adrian: What did you tell her?

A few seconds passed.

Adrian kept driving.

Rose had stopped looking at the phone. She was watching him instead.

His screen lit again.

Jenna: That you moved on.

Another message appeared.

Jenna: That you have a girlfriend.

Adrian glanced at Rose.

She looked away.

He returned his attention to the road.

Adrian: And the redhead?

This time, Jenna took longer.

Jenna: I told her about her.

Adrian’s brow lifted.

"That’s vague."

Rose looked at him.

"She said redhead?"

"Basically."

He typed again.

Adrian: What exactly did you say?

Jenna’s answer came back in two parts.

Jenna: That I saw you together.

Jenna: That’s it.

Adrian stared at the screen for a moment.

That matched what Maya had already heard.

Nothing about Rose.

Nothing that directly connected the two.

He continued.

Adrian: Did she ask who she was?

Jenna: Yeah.

Adrian waited.

The typing indicator appeared.

Then vanished.

Then appeared again.

Jenna: I said I didn’t know her name.

Adrian leaned back slightly.

That was believable.

Jenna genuinely hadn’t known Rose before all of this.

Another message came through.

Jenna: She seemed bothered.

Adrian stared at that one.

There it was.

Maya hadn’t just asked.

She’d reacted.

Adrian: Did she say anything else?

Jenna: Not really.

Then:

Jenna: She kept asking questions.

Adrian frowned slightly.

"What kind?"

Rose asked.

He showed her the screen.

Jenna: How long we’d been together. Where I’d seen you. Stuff like that.

Adrian’s eyes stayed on the message.

That was enough.

Maya was looking for information.

He didn’t need Jenna to spell out why.

Adrian: Okay.

He put the phone down.

Rose watched him.

"So she knows?"

Adrian considered the wording.

"She knows I have a girlfriend."

Rose’s fingers tightened slightly around her phone.

"And the red hair."

"Yeah."

She looked out the window.

Adrian kept driving.

He wasn’t going to pretend that was nothing.

But he also wasn’t going to turn it into something bigger before he knew what Maya actually knew.

The rest of the drive passed quietly.

When Adrian finally turned into the apartment complex, Rose looked toward her building.

She kept looking after he parked.

Adrian noticed.

He didn’t say anything.

Rose unbuckled her seat belt but didn’t open the door.

For a few seconds, she just sat there.

Then she looked toward Adrian’s building.

"I don’t really want to go home yet."

Adrian nodded.

"Okay."

That was enough.

They got out.

Rose walked beside him toward the entrance, quieter than usual.

The elevator ride was uneventful.

Rose stood beside him, arms folded loosely, staring at the numbers above the doors.

Adrian glanced at her once.

She looked fine.

Mostly.

When the elevator opened, they stepped out.

He unlocked his apartment.

Rose entered first.

Adrian followed and locked the door behind them.

He dropped his keys onto the counter.

His eyes briefly moved around the apartment.

Nothing embarrassing.

Nothing particularly presentable either.

Could’ve cleaned the bedroom.

Rose was already heading that way.

Adrian followed.

She stopped beside the bed.

Her phone was still in her hand.

She looked at it without unlocking it.

Adrian leaned against the doorway.

"You’re thinking."

Rose looked at him.

"That’s allowed."

"Never said it wasn’t."

A small smile appeared.

It faded quickly.

She sat on the edge of the bed.

Adrian remained standing for a moment before sitting beside her.

Neither spoke.

Rose looked down at her hands.

"I don’t regret anything."

Adrian glanced at her.

"I know."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

She studied him for a second.

"Good."

Her thumb moved along the edge of her phone.

"It’s just Maya."

Adrian waited.

Rose looked toward the bedroom door.

"I don’t know what she’s going to do now."

"Probably nothing tonight."

She gave him a look.

"That’s your expert opinion?"

"No. Just a guess."

"Helpful."

"I’m trying."

That got a quiet laugh out of her.

It faded quickly.

Rose lowered her eyes.

"I can deal with her being angry."

Adrian said nothing.

"But if she doesn’t want to talk to me anymore..." She stopped.

Adrian looked at her.

Rose swallowed.

"That’s different."

He knew what she meant.

She wasn’t worried about Adrian leaving.

She was worried about losing Maya.

Rose stood after a moment.

"I need a shower."

"Okay."

She walked toward the bathroom.

At the door, she paused.

Then looked back at him.

"Don’t go anywhere."

Adrian raised an eyebrow.

"Where would I go?"

"I don’t know."

"Good answer."

Rose shook her head, but there was another small smile this time.

Then she disappeared into the bathroom.

A moment later, the shower started.

Adrian sat on the edge of the bed.

Maya knew about the girlfriend.

She knew about the red hair.

That was all he had.

For now.

The shower continued running.

Adrian looked toward the bathroom door.

Rose had been worried about Maya before they even reached the apartment.

And now that she had some time alone, she was probably going through the same conversation in her head.

He didn’t need to guess at everything.

If Rose wanted to tell him, she would.

A few minutes later, the shower stopped.

Rose stepped out with a towel wrapped around her and another around her hair.

She stopped when she saw him still sitting there.

"You stayed."

"You told me not to go anywhere."

"I didn’t think you’d actually listen."

Adrian raised an eyebrow.

"Then don’t give me instructions you don’t mean."

Rose smiled faintly.

She walked over and sat beside him.

For a moment, she simply looked at the floor.

Then she sighed.

"I really am fine."

Adrian glanced at her.

"I know."

"You don’t look convinced."

"I’m not."

Rose gave him a small glare.

"You’re supposed to trust me."

"I do."

"Then?"

"You’re allowed to not be fine."

That shut her up for a second.

Rose looked down at her hands.

"I don’t regret being with you."

"I know."

"I mean it."

"I know."

She turned toward him.

"You keep saying that."

"Because you keep saying the same thing."

Rose stared at him.

Then she laughed quietly.

"You’re annoying."

"So I’ve been told."

The smile faded.

Rose pulled her knees slightly closer.

"It’s just... Maya."

Adrian waited.

"I don’t know what she’s going to do."

"You don’t know that."

"No."

"Then why say it?"

"Because you’re already thinking about tomorrow."

She went quiet.

Adrian had hit the right spot.

Rose looked toward the bathroom.

"I just don’t want everything to become weird."

"It might."

She frowned.

"That’s not reassuring."

"You asked."

Rose sighed.

"I know."

Adrian leaned back against the wall.

"But weird doesn’t mean over."

Rose looked at him.

He continued.

"She can be angry. She can avoid you. She can say things she doesn’t mean."

Rose’s expression tightened.

"She could hate me."

Adrian didn’t answer immediately.

He wasn’t going to tell her he knew how Maya would react.

That would be a lie.

Rose looked away.

"I don’t want to lose her."

There it was.

Adrian looked at her.

He hadn’t needed her to say it before, but hearing it made the distinction clearer.

This wasn’t about choosing between him and Maya.

Rose didn’t want the two parts of her life to become enemies.

"You don’t have to choose tonight."

Rose’s shoulders loosened slightly.

"Okay."

She leaned against him.

Adrian let her.

For several minutes, neither said anything.

Rose’s breathing gradually settled.

Her phone stayed untouched beside her.

Adrian looked down at her.

There was still one thing bothering him.

She’d told him what she was afraid of.

But not what she thought Maya might actually do.

Every time the conversation got close to that part, Rose moved away from it.

Maybe she didn’t know.

Maybe she didn’t want to say it.

Either way, Adrian wasn’t going to force it out of her.

Not yet.

His phone was on the bed beside him.

He reached for it.

Rose didn’t notice.

The System opened.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[ Mind Maze Runner ]

Target: Rose

Mental connection available.

Activation will allow the player to perceive the target’s thoughts and emotional fluctuations.

⚠️ Privacy restriction will be overridden upon activation.

Proceed?

🔵 YES

🔴 NO

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Adrian stared at the screen.

He knew exactly what he was about to do.

Reading Rose’s thoughts without her knowing wasn’t something he wanted to make a habit of.

But he also knew she was holding something back.

And normal questions weren’t getting him there.

His thumb hovered over the screen for a moment.

Then moved.

He selected YES.