Billionaire Lawyer's Secretary - Chapter 160: Chapter 160

Elara's back went cold when she heard that familiar voice. 'Crap, I totally forgot to WhatsApp Adrian and tell him not to come over,' she thought.
Earlier, when Alex barged in, she'd been so flustered she hadn't even closed the door all the way. So, she had no idea how long Adrian had been standing outside. 'God, did he hear everything?' she worried.
Janice was a total loose cannon. If she ever found out about her and Adrian, she'd probably even try to smack him.
'No way, I can't drag Adrian into this mess. I need to get him out of here, fast,' Elara thought.
Adrian watched Elara, looking totally frazzled, rush over and start pushing him toward the door. She whispered urgently, "How did you get here? You need to leave, now."
Adrian just smiled at her. "I just got here, and you're already trying to kick me out?"
Elara was freaking out, worried Janice would come charging in any second. "Just go! When my mom loses it, she hits anyone in her way."
But instead of leaving, Adrian took Elara's hand and started pulling her back into the room.
Elara froze, her whole body tensed up. She leaned back, refusing to move.
Adrian was way stronger than her. Elara's slippers skidded across the floor as he dragged her straight over to Janice.
Janice narrowed her eyes. "Adrian? What are you doing here?"
"Ms. Langton, it's been years. You still look as young as ever," Adrian said with a smooth smile.
Elara and Alex were both left gaping, totally floored. 'What is even happening?' Elara thought.
Elara's mind was frantically searching her memory, and then it clicked. Adrian graduated from Veritasiton University with a double major in finance and law.
Back then, Janice was the most renowned finance professor at Veritasiton University. It made perfect sense that a top student like Adrian would most likely have ended up in the best professor's class.
Especially someone like Adrian, even if he hadn't been in the same department, even the faculty would have known about him.
But as it turned out, Adrian really had been in Janice's class, and the two of them had always gotten along well as teacher and student.
Janice saw him holding her daughter's hand and, not in the mood for pleasantries, demanded, "Adrian, why are you holding my daughter's hand?"
Adrian tightened his grip on Elara's hand, which she was trying hard to pull away, and even deliberately raised their joined hands right in front of Janice. "Isn't it obvious, Ms. Langton? The clothes are what I changed out of last night."
Alex clenched his fists at that, but said nothing.
Janice looked uncertain. "What do you mean by that?"
"Ms. Langton, Elara and I are in a relationship," Adrian said, his voice steady and confident.
Elara thought, 'Honestly, we're not even officially together yet, but arguing about it now won't help. Guess we're just calling it that now.'
Janice tried to keep her emotions in check, her voice still fairly calm. "Adrian, I remember you were already engaged to Josie back in college. And now you're telling me you're dating my daughter?"
Josie and Noah both majored in finance at university. Most rich kids picked that major, so Janice knew all these kids.
Feeling the sweat in Elara's palm, Adrian gently squeezed her hand and replied with total composure, "Yeah, I was engaged, but I really am seeing your daughter now."
'Is he for real?' Janice thought, itching to slap him, if only he weren't Adrian. She fought to keep her anger in check, but it was making her feel like she could barely breathe.
'Great, now my foolish daughter isn't Alex's side chick, she's gone and become Adrian's other woman. And not just any other woman, but a top-student homewrecker, bold enough to get tangled up with both families,' Janice thought.
Since she couldn't yell at Adrian, she turned her fury on Elara instead. "Elara, have you lost your mind?" she shouted.
Janice, looking completely drained, reached out to yank Elara's hair, but Adrian immediately pulled Elara tightly into his arms. He caught Janice's raised wrist. "Ms. Langton, if you have something to say, say it. Why are you getting physical?"
"My daughter's shameless enough to be someone's homewrecker, and I'm wrong for hitting her?" Janice snapped.
"I'll be breaking off my engagement with Josie this month. Josie and I were never together, so your daughter isn't a homewrecker. She never has been, and she never will be," Adrian said firmly.
"Call off the engagement? You've been engaged since college. It's been years! And now you think you can just end it like that? You really believe it's that easy?" Janice shot back.
"Won't know till I try, will I?" Adrian replied.
Janice was shaking with anger. "As long as that engagement is still on, you shouldn't have gotten involved with my daughter.
"You know better than anyone what the Heaton family is capable of. What if they take it out on Elara? Can you really keep her safe?"
Adrian replied, "If I'm willing to call off the engagement, that means I'm sure I can protect her. And before the engagement is officially over, I won't cross any lines with Elara. Everything will go according to what she wants."
"According to what she wants? Then why is she packing up her things? Is she moving in with you now?" Janice shot back.
"She's just moving into the place right below mine," Adrian said.
"Adrian, my daughter might be naive, but I'm not. Don't think I can't tell. Moving downstairs is basically the same as moving in with you," Janice snapped.
"Ms. Langton, I mean it. I love Elara," Adrian said, his voice steady and sincere.
Janice felt like she'd heard this exact same line from Alex years ago. "Don't give me that nonsense. Just tell me. Are you seriously saying you had zero bad intentions when you asked her to move downstairs?"
Of course, he did. But Adrian couldn't say that out loud.
"You're still engaged, and you want my daughter living right under your nose? Do you really think that's okay?" Janice pressed.
"You know exactly how messy things are between the Hartley and Heaton families. You never should've dragged her into this. If you really love my daughter, you'd stay far away from her," she snapped.
Adrian replied, "Ms. Langton, I promise. By the end of this month, Elara will be able to be with me rightfully. Anyone or anything that tries to hurt her, I'll handle it all. Why not give me this month? Trust me, just this once."
"It's not about trust. If you mess up even once, Elara could lose her life. Do you get that?" Janice snapped.
"I get it. But I also promise you, Ms. Langton. I'll stake my life on keeping Elara safe," Adrian said, his voice steady and resolute.
Hearing that, Elara, who had been struggling to pull her hand away, suddenly stopped. She stared at Adrian in shock, her heart pounding like crazy.
His brows were tightly knit, and he was so sincere that even Janice didn't know what to say for a moment.
Janice let out a long sigh. "What a mess this is." As she said, her eyes lost all their light, and she just seemed to collapse in on herself.
Elara called after her, "Mom, Adrian really treats me well..."
Janice glared at her, eyes red with anger. "Elara, is your only purpose in life to drive me insane? Will you only be satisfied when you've ruined this whole family? Why did you have to go mess with Adrian?
"Now he's dead set on you, breaking off his engagement for your sake. Does that make you feel special? You think you're so irresistible, right? One day, you won't even know what hits you when things go wrong."
Elara felt her heart clench painfully at her words. She choked out, "What did I do wrong this time? Why do you always see me this way? You never respect me, do you?"
"You don't even know what you did wrong, and you still expect respect from me?" Janice snapped, her voice trembling with anger.
Elara let out a cold, bitter laugh. "It's honestly laughable that someone like you is even allowed to teach at a school."
Janice clutched her chest, her face ashen. "You... You've never given me a single day of peace. Gosh, I never should've given birth to you. Never!"
Tears finally broke free as Elara gave a hollow, hopeless smile. "Yeah, you're right. You really shouldn't have. Why don't you just push me to my death? Once I'm gone, you'll finally be at peace, right?"
Elara tore her hand from Adrian's grasp and ran out of the room, tears streaming down her face.