Taking the cue, Ji Yan stepped out of the car.
The moment the door clicked shut behind Ji Yan, the car fell into silence again.
Ella moved to get away from his arms, only to stumble back down again. Her face was slightly flushed and her eyes were hazy.
Moonlight caught her unfocused eyes, flickering like they were searching for something that wasn’t there. She seemed to be lost in her own mind.
Something seemed to have dug its claws inside Adrian’s heart. His lashes lowered, hiding the storm that stirred in his eyes.
In the next moment, he supported her, "Drunk?"
Ella blinked, her gaze shifting onto Adrian as she quietly shook her head, "...Just a little wine... I am not drunk..."
Adrian tucked her hair behind her ear, "Lies."
Ella’s lashes lowered, a tear sparkling on her lashes.
Adrian’s fingers curled into a tight fist behind her back but his face remained impassive as ever, not relaying a single violent thought that consumed his head.
Suddenly, Ella pressed her forehead weakly against Adrian’s chest, her fingers fisting his blood-stained shirt.
After a moment, she nudged her face upwards. Her cheek brushed his collarbone, the scent of pine and cedar grounding her more than anything else had throughout the entire day.
Adrian’s arms stayed firm around her, protective but still. His eyes never left her face.
Minutes passed like that. Then, in a voice so low it barely stirred the air, Ella spoke.
"That man," she began, her throat raw, "I knew him."
Adrian’s jaw clenched.
Ella didn’t look at him. Her eyes remained unfocused, staring somewhere near the seam of the leather seat.
"I met him when I was at the peak of my career... when everything was still good. I had just signed with this high-end fashion magazine for an international spread." Ella’s eyes were hazy and her words were slightly incoherent.
As she talked about the past, her lips twitched humorlessly. "He was the lead photographer, the one who had the final say in which model would get the contract. He was praised for being artistic and... daring."
Adrian remained silent, his gaze sharp. A myriad thoughts ran through his mind yet not a single one interrupted her words.
"I was also excited to have that part. I thought I was impressive during the photoshoot. After a few days, he confessed to me, saying that he likes me. I rejected him back then..." Ella mumbled in a daze.
’’Then, one night, my schedule was moved abruptly. It was a private location, just the creative team, and I never thought of it twice."
"That night, I woke up halfway through... on a hotel bed, drugged... disoriented... and he was—"
She swallowed hard, her eyes shifting, "I managed to escape before anything happened. But..."
It was the end of her career.
It was the end of everything her younger self had dreamed and worked so hard for.
The scandal spread like forest fire, ruining everything.
She had signed with Hill Entertainment back then. Max kept assuring her all would be fine. But they only took action when their name was dragged through the mud.
They took down the videos and photos and only dropped a vague statement that they don’t meddle and don’t have absolute control over every celebrity’s private life.
It took them out of the scandal, dragging Ella further into the mud. Because Hill Entertainment’s declaration was akin to saying: Ella made her own decisions and they had no part in it.
They declared her as the culprit without even looking into the things.
Ella’s voice thickened. "There was no damage control for that scandal. I was blacklisted inside the industry..."
She laughed once, bitter. "I thought it would get better but I never knew things would get worse from there. Brand deals vanished. Projects got shelved. Max said it was safer if I laid low... asking me not to stir up more trouble."
Adrian’s hand shifted, resting gently over hers.
Ella did not know what she was saying and why she was saying it to him. Her mind was fuzzy, and her thoughts were everywhere.
A voice inside her nagged her to shut up, to not say another word. Yet, she seemed to be unable to stop herself from speaking.
"My parents never wanted me in the entertainment industry. I disappointed them." she whispered. "I lost friendship... I lost my work."
Eventually, Ella turned to food. It was the beginning of the eating disorder that she developed later.
She finally looked up and met his gaze, eyes glistening, "I had guarded against everyone, but my parents."
Ella had not hesitated for the briefest moment when her mother sent her to the room and she doubted her parents knew anything about what awaited her there.
She just... blamed herself for it all.
"Had I been cautious..." Ella’s voice cracked. Her hands clutched his shirt as the sob finally tore from her chest, "Then maybe none of this would have happened..."
"I was so scared, Adrian," she cried. "I fought, but my body wouldn’t move. It was like I was back there again, locked in that hotel room, tasting that same fear in my mouth."
Her sobs came louder, raw and uncontained in the darkness. "I thought I wouldn’t escape it this time... I... If only... If only I was not overwhelmed after seeing my parents... If I had stopped being so emotional and in my head, if..."
"It wasn’t your fault," Adrian’s arms tightened around her as her body heaved, "None of it was your fault."
And it was as if those words broke a semblance of restraint Ella had been holding onto. The sound of her cries filled the dark car. It was all-consuming, each cry like a blade, dragging through him inch by inch.
She clung to him like he was the last thing tethering her to reality, her entire frame shaking as the weight of years, silence, and tonight’s nightmare crashed down all at once.
Amidst her cries, she mumbled something incoherently.
Adrian stroked her back, leaning in to her. That was when he heard her mumble...
"I thought... I thought... this time... In this life I will no longer be muddled by emotions... that I will no longer let anyone hurt me..." Ella’s voice fractured.