REBIRTH : Chasing The Limelight-Chapter 86: You’re drunk.

Harris almost missed the brake, but he caught it just in time. His whole body jerked forward before he forced himself to steady the car. Then he fixed his eyes straight ahead so hard that they looked like they might pop out of their sockets.

"I did not see anything at all," he kept muttering under his breath. "From this moment on... I’m completely blind, both spiritually and physically."

Behind him, Adrian had gone completely still.

He was staring at the woman sitting on his lap. Watching how she shifted like his thighs were the safest place in the world.

For once, his usual composure failed him because his arms just hung at his sides uselessly, not knowing where to go. It was as if even the smallest movement might make everything worse.

"Elara," he said slowly, the name sounding unfamiliar on his tongue, "you don’t know what you’re doing."

She did not answer him.

Instead, she shifted closer, pressing into him as if she was simply trying to balance herself. Her eyes were half closed but her expression was still serious.

"Why are you so stiff like a piece of wood," she mummured softly. "Relax a little."

From the front seat, Harris cleared his throat loudly.

"Should I pull over Boss? Maybe stop at a café? Or a hospital? Or a church? Anywhere that supports... this kind of situation?" he asked quickly.

Adrian ignored him. His eyes stayed on her.

What exactly was she doing... did she even know it was him?

He knew she would never act like this if she was sober.

His body went still again when her hands suddenly moved.

Her fingers reached up to his neck. She brushed lightly against his Adam’s apple, tracing it slowly like she had just discovered something interesting.

"So this is real... it moves." she murmured and gave a small scoff. "It’s nice though... why do you always hide it with your collars?"

Harris slapped a hand over his own mouth immediately.

He did not dare look into the rearview mirror again. His shoulders had already tensed like he was trying to disappear into the seat.

In his mind, he was already praying for his job. Because somewhere in this little world, Miss Relanie was probably sitting peacefully, while her ’destined lifelong partner’ was currently being studied like a science project in the back seat.

Elara, completely unaware of the storm she was causing, leaned forward to Adrian again. Her hands moved to the front of her dress, tugging at it impatiently.

"This dress... I don’t like it," she said with a small frown. "You forced it on me... it’s suffocating. Take it off."

Harris could not handle this situation anymore, so he opened his mouth instantly. "NO ONE is taking anything off in this car!" he blurted out in panic.

Adrian did not react to him.

His eyes had gone colder as he stared at her.

But she had already reached for the buttons, pulling at them in frustration.

"Why are there so many... This is annoying." she muttered.

Adrian’s gaze dropped lower before he could stop himself. His eyes caught the position of her fingers, and immediately he reached out and caught her wrist.

"Behave," he said firmly.

She looked at him for a few seconds. Then instead of listening, she moved even closer, grinding against him as her arms slid around his neck.

Adrian’s breath hitched.

In the front seat, Harris had completely lost control. "Boss, maybe I should turn on music? Or should I open the window? Fresh air is good, very good. Very necessary for this kind of SITUATION... or I can just keep driving until she sleeps, yes, that sounds safe... unless she gets more active, then that is not safe at all..."

Adrian barely heard him. He could already feel it.

His control was slipping, slowly, piece by piece.

This was not the Elara who looked at him with cold eyes and sharp words, the one who refuses him without any hesitation.

This one did not hold back. And that made it worse.

Then suddenly, she spoke again in a lower voice, but he heard it clearly.

"Why do you hate me so much..."

Everything paused and Adrian’s expression shifted a bit. Something deeper passed through his eyes that moment. But before he could respond, her hand moved behind his neck and she pulled him closer suddenly, and then she let out a soft laugh.

"But... you don’t look like someone who hates me."

His breath caught again.

That was the last line.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds and took a slow, deep breath. When he opened them again, his gaze had darkened.

"Harris," he said quietly.

"Yes sir!, alive and present," Harris replied immediately.

"Change direction."

Harris blinked in confusion.

"...To where?" he muttered.

"My place." Adrian said without any hesitation.

Harris froze for half a second, his expression stiffening like a man who had just walked into trouble without a map. "Uh!" he exclaimed from shock. Then he quickly straightened up. "Understood. I will deliver both of you safely... and I will respectfully disappear immediately after."

Adrian did not respond again.

And Harris, knowing better than to ask anything else, tightened his grip on the steering wheel and drove on. Silently praying that this night would not be the one that ended his career.

_

The door closed softly behind them.

Adrian had barely moved before Elara’s hand caught his shirt again. She pulled him back and in the next second, her back met the door.

Neither of them moved for a long moment. But she was still so close to him.

Her breath was uneven and warm against his collar. Her fingers gripped his shirt like she might lose her balance if she let go. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Adrian moved his hand up instinctively. He pressed them against the door beside her head, trapping her there without fully touching her.

His gaze dropped to her face.

Her eyes were half closed and unfocused, but still strangely calm for everything she was doing.

"Elara..." he said quietly, as if trying to reach her through the haze. "You’re drunk."

She didn’t deny it. She only tilted her head, looking up at him like she was trying to understand something complicated.

"You keep saying that," she murmured, her words a little slurred. "So what?"