Chapter 188: Chapter 188: More secrets

Adam didn’t even think.

The words left him sharp and immediate, like instinct had grabbed the mic before his mind could edit the line.

“Over my dead body.”

For a moment, even Max looked surprised.

Max’s throat worked once. “Adam—”

Adam sat forward, whiskey glass forgotten, posture suddenly taut with anger that was too focused to be sloppy. “No,” he cut in. “Don’t ’Adam’ me. Don’t try to calm me down like I’m being dramatic.”

Max’s gaze sharpened. “You don’t get a vote in that marriage.”

Adam’s smile flashed, all teeth. “Try me.”

Max stared at him for a beat, then exhaled slowly, like he was recalculating the room again.

“I’m not asking for permission,” Max said, voice controlled. “I’m telling you what George is demanding.” He let out a long breath, and for a second the polished edge of him dulled into something more human. “He will erase you, or anyone who stands between him and his plan.”

Adam’s face sharpened. Outrage flared so fast it almost looked like heat.

Max saw it and lifted a hand, palm out, the same quiet stop he’d used in the grocery store. A pause inserted before Adam could turn anger into movement.

“No,” Max said firmly. “You can’t just push through, or whatever scandalous idea is currently forming in that head of yours.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed, offended on principle. “I don’t have—”

“You do,” Max cut in, deadpan. “You always do.”

Adam’s mouth twisted like he wanted to argue and couldn’t deny it cleanly.

Max’s jaw tightened, then eased. He shifted slightly in the chair, grounding himself before he continued, his voice lower and more deliberate.

“It would be better,” Max said, “if I talk with Gabriel first.”

Adam stiffened. “Gabriel.”

Max nodded once. “He already has a mark,” Max said. “Which means George can’t just take him and reshape him without consequences. And it means Gabriel might be interested in… pretending.” His eyes sharpened. “Until I get rid of George.”

Adam’s hands curled on the couch cushion. “Pretending what?”

Max’s gaze held his. “A political engagement,” he said bluntly. “A public narrative. Enough to satisfy George temporarily, so he stops looking for cracks.”

Adam’s laugh came out sharp. “And you think I’ll just sit here and let you play fiancé with someone else while your uncle circles me like prey?”

Max didn’t flinch. “I think you’ll stay alive,” he said. “That’s what I’m aiming for.”

Adam’s jaw clenched. “You’re asking me to trust you.”

Max’s mouth tightened. “I’m asking you to not get yourself killed on principle.”

Adam leaned forward, eyes bright with anger. “Principle is all I have.”

Max’s gaze flicked to Adam’s nape, where the bond marked its quiet presence, then back to Adam’s eyes.

“You have me,” Max said, his voice low.

The line landed heavier than he seemed to intend. For a fraction of a second, the room felt too quiet again, like even the air noticed.

Max swallowed it down and continued, more practical, as if he could file the emotion in a drawer and lock it.

“You have to promise,” Max said, voice firm, “that you won’t do anything stupid.”

Adam’s smile returned, sharp as glass. “Define stupid.”

Max’s eyes narrowed. “You know exactly what I mean.”

Adam’s gaze didn’t waver. “You mean no public scenes. No marching into Claymore Manor with a bottle and a song. No threatening a duke with an army.”

Max’s mouth twitched, humorless. “Yes.”

Adam leaned back, still tense. “So you want me quiet.”

“I want you alive,” Max corrected. “There’s a difference.”

Adam’s eyes narrowed. “You keep saying that like it’s enough.”

Max’s voice dropped. “It has to be.”

Adam held his stare for a long beat, anger and fear wrestling under his skin.

Then Adam exhaled through his nose, slow and deliberate. “Fine.”

Max’s posture eased by a fraction, relief flickering before he buried it again.

Adam lifted his chin. “I won’t do anything stupid,” he said, tone dry. “I’ll do something smart.”

Max’s eyes narrowed again. “That’s not comforting.”

“It’s what you get,” Adam replied sweetly. Then, sharper: “But you don’t get to make decisions alone.”

Max’s jaw tightened. “This isn’t—”

“It is,” Adam cut in. “You don’t get to go talk to Gabriel and decide the story without me. If you’re going to build a lie big enough to hold off your uncle, I’m not just a problem you hide in the basement. I’m part of the plan.”

“No,” Max said without hesitation. “I’m not going to involve you.”

Adam blinked.

Instead of the expected explosion, something amusing, sharp, and bright flashed across his face. The kind that came when reality got so absurd it became funny by sheer audacity.

“You think I would just watch—” he started, but Max cut him off.

“I’m a Shadow, Adam,” Max said, flat and final. “I can deal with this alone. You would only be in danger.”

The room went quiet.

Adam stared at him.

Then he laughed. A single, incredulous sound that cracked in the air like a snare hit.

“A Shadow,” Adam repeated, tasting the words like he was deciding whether they were real.

Max didn’t move. “Yes.”

Adam’s eyes swept Max from head to toe. The composed posture. The calm violence in his stillness. The way he always scanned rooms even when pretending he wasn’t. The way his voice shifted when he said ’danger.’ The way he never crossed a boundary but somehow made the boundary feel like it belonged to him anyway.

It all clicked into place with an almost insulting neatness.

“Oh,” Adam said, and this time the amusement turned sharper. “Of course you are.”

Max’s jaw tightened. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Adam asked, brows lifting. “Be impressed or amused? Be offended? Because I’m doing all three.”

Max’s eyes narrowed. “Adam—”

“No, wait,” Adam cut in, holding up a hand like he was pausing a rehearsal. His smile widened, bright and mean. “Let me enjoy the fact that I spent the last year and a half thinking you were just… a rich, irritating middleman with a superiority complex.”

Max didn’t even blink.

Adam leaned back against the counter, whiskey forgotten for a second, and looked Max in the eye with theatrical disbelief.

“You’re telling me,” Adam said slowly, “that the man who lectured me about schedules and ’safe routes’ and ’don’t do anything stupid’ was literally one of the Emperor’s Shadows?”

Max’s mouth twitched, humorless. “Yes.”

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