Chapter 49

• Adrian's POV:
• I sat in my New York office, the late afternoon light fading into a dull haze outside the windows. My desk was a fortress of papers and screens, but my focus was off, irritation gnawing at me like a dull blade. Timi hadn’t shown up to work for three days—no call, no message, nothing. I grabbed my phone, scrolling to her number, and hit call for the fifth time today. It rang, then went straight to voicemail again, her voice chipper and professional on the recording, mocking me with its absence.
• “Fuck,” I muttered, tossing the phone onto the desk, the clatter loud in the quiet room. “Where the hell are you, Timi?” I leaned back, my jaw tight, my fingers drumming a restless rhythm on the armrest. Three days was too long—too unlike her. She’d always been reliable, a shadow at my side, until that damn pregnancy mess.