Chapter 157: This Psycho Is Kind Of…

ADRIEN’S POV

After the rides, I drag him over to the carnival game booths lined up along the central walkway. Bright plush animals hang from the wooden rafters, tempting passersby.

"Win me that giant white bear," I command, pointing to a booth featuring a balloon-popping dart game.

Orion steps up to the counter without a word, handing the stall owner a crisp hundred-dollar bill. The game is obviously rigged. The darts are dull and the balloons are barely inflated, making them almost impossible to pop.

Orion throws three darts. He pops the first two with terrifying accuracy, but the third dart bounces harmlessly off a rubbery blue balloon.

I fold my arms across my chest, raising an eyebrow at him. "I thought you were supposed to be good at aiming."

Orion doesn’t look at me. He slowly turns his head toward the stall owner, leaning his dark gaze over the counter.

He doesn’t say a single word. He simply lets a dark, wide, menacing smile stretch across his face, his dark eyes locking onto the poor man’s trembling frame.

The stall owner turns pale, his hands shaking as he looks between Orion’s sharp suit and his terrifying expression.

Without waiting for another game, the man frantically reaches up, unhooks the massive white teddy bear from the ceiling, and shoves it into my arms.

"T-Take it! Enjoy your evening, sir!" the man squeaks, backing away toward the rear of the booth.

I take the giant bear, hugging it against my sundress, and shoot Orion a dry look as we walk away. "Couldn’t you have actually won it for me instead of threatening the poor guy?"

Orion slides his arm back around my waist, pulling me close against his side. "I did win it with my strength, duckling. My smile is a part of my power."

A genuine, bright laugh escapes my lips before I can stop it. "You are completely insane."

Orion looks down at my laughing face, his expression softening into something strangely warm. "And yet, you are still walking beside me."

After another hour of games and wandering through the bustling crowds, the sun finishes dipping below the horizon, painting the sky in deep shades of purple and orange.

We leave the main fairground area, crossing a small wooden bridge into a quiet, grassy park located right beside the amusement center.

It is much quieter here. Tall trees line the paved pathways, and the noise of the carnival rides softens into a distant, gentle hum.

We stop at a small dessert stand near a children’s playground, buying two double-scoop ice cream cones. I pick strawberry, while Orion chooses plain vanilla.

We walk slowly along the paved trail, quietly licking our ice cream as the cool evening breeze rustles through the leaves above us.

As we stroll past the playground, my eyes land on a set of yellow jungle bars standing in the center of the sandbox.

My steps slow down. I stare at the metal bars, a sudden, heavy wave of recognition hitting my mind.

It is the exact same kind of playground equipment I hid under seven years ago, on the very first night I ran away from my family.

I remember shivering in the cold dirt beneath those rusted metal bars, hungry, terrified, and desperate, right before I met the first man I had to use my body to pay for food and a roof over my head.

I stand there for a moment, waiting for the familiar, suffocating wave of self-loathing and despair to crash over my chest. I wait for the sickening shame that usually chokes me whenever I think about those early days on the streets.

But it doesn’t come.

I stare at the jungle bars, and all I feel is a quiet, profound calm.

I am the same Adrien. But I am not seventeen anymore. I am not cold. I am not starving in the dirt. I am not terrified out of my mind that someone is going to drag me back to a house where I am hated.

Instead, I am Adrien. I am walking through a quiet park beside one of the most dangerous, powerful men in this city. I am wearing a sundress.

I am wearing heels. I have sharp, blood-red acrylic nails fixed to my fingers, dark lipstick on my lips, and a sleek dark bob framing my face. I am carrying a designer handbag, white sunglasses rest on top of my head, and my eyeliner is so sharp it could cut glass.

I am the exact same person, yet I am completely different.

I turn away from the playground and walk over to a wooden bench facing the distant sunset. I sit down smoothly, adjusting my dress, and Orion sits right beside me, his shoulder pressing comfortably against mine.

We sit there in silence for a long time, quietly eating our ice cream as the sky slowly turns to dark velvet. We don’t talk, but we don’t need to.

There is a peaceful, undisturbed quiet between us that I haven’t felt in years.

"Adrien," Orion speaks softly, breaking the silence without turning his head.

"Hmm?" I murmur, taking another small lick of my ice cream.

"Are you happy?" he asks.

I pause, turning my head to look at him through the dim twilight. I narrow my eyes slightly, keeping my tone guarded. "Is that a trick question?"

Orion tilts his head, his dark eyes meeting mine. "Why would it be a trick?"

"Because," I say softly, looking down at my red nails. "If I say I’m happy... are you going to take it away from me?"

Orion doesn’t hesitate for a single second. "I am the last person on this earth who would ever take away the source of your happiness, Adrien. No matter what it is."

I look at him dryly, a faint smirk playing on my lips. "What if my source of happiness is far away from you?"

"Then that’s fine," Orion answers instantly, his tone steady and devoid of any hesitation. "I would simply follow you there, right to your source of happiness, and stay by your side."

The clear sincerity in his dark gaze, paired with the quiet sureness of his voice, takes me completely by surprise.

I stare at him for a full thirty seconds in total shock.

There is no manipulation in his face. There is no double-speak or threat hidden behind his words. He means every single word.

If I walked to the edge of the earth to find peace, he would walk right behind me, not to trap me, but just to exist in the same space.

Before I can process the heavy weight settling in my chest, a loud chime shatters the quiet air.

Orion reaches into his inner suit pocket and pulls out his phone. He glances at the screen, his dark brows pulling down slightly as he reads the caller ID.

I lean over slightly, catching a glimpse of the name lit up on the display— Lady Dimitra Vassilis.

His aunt.

Without a word, Orion presses the side button, switches the phone completely off, and tosses it back into his pocket like a piece of useless trash.

I blink at him. "Aren’t you going to pick that up? It might be important."

"It is probably regarding the news broadcast," Orion says smoothly, stretching his arm across the back of the bench behind me. "It doesn’t matter."

Hearing him say it out loud hits me like a sudden splash of cool water.

I had somehow completely forgotten. In the chaos of cross-dressing, driving his car, hitting the amusement park rides, threatening stall owners, and eating ice cream in the park... I had completely forgotten about the massive scandal threatening to ruin my life.

I had forgotten the leaked photos. I had forgotten the press. I had forgotten the fear.

Truly, that was my entire plan for the day— to escape it for a few hours. But actually realizing that it worked leaves me feeling strangely overwhelmed, yet deeply, remarkably calm.

I stay quiet for a long moment, staring out at the dark trees as the evening wind rustles through the grass.

"I’m not exactly sure what I would call happiness," I speak softly, keeping my eyes fixed on the distant lights of the park. "But at this exact moment... right now... I feel like this is what people mean when they say they are happy."

I turn my head to look at him.

Orion is smiling at me.

For the very first time since I met him, his smile doesn’t look dark, menacing, or unhinged. It looks entirely, beautifully human. It is a genuine, soft expression that warms his features and softens the sharp angles of his face.

Something inside my chest jumps violently, a sudden, blinding warmth spreading through my body.

A gentle gust of evening wind sweeps through the park, catching Orion’s dark hair and blowing it softly around his face.

As the faint neon light from the distant amusement park catches his features, a single, undeniable thought echoes through my mind.

He is actually so beautiful.

Without thinking, without analyzing what I am doing or worrying about what comes next, I lean forward.

I raise my head slightly, closing my eyes, and press my red-painted lips directly against his.