(Adrian POV)
Adrian didn't find out about the news the way normal people did.
Not from a call.
Not from Rowan.
Not even from Ruby.
He found out from silence breaking too loudly.
His phone had been on the table beside him while he read through a script revision. Half-focused. Half-not.
Then it started buzzing.
Once.
Twice.
Then nonstop.
Adrian ignored it at first.
Actors always got random messages. Rumors. Fake casting leaks. Fan edits. Things that didn't matter.
But when his assistant walked in without knocking—tablet already in hand—Adrian finally looked up.
"That better be important," he said flatly.
The assistant hesitated.
"…It is."
That alone made Adrian stop.
He set the script down.
Took the tablet.
And read the headline.
RUBRIAN IS BACK
He didn't react immediately.
Not outwardly.
Not even a blink.
Just stillness.
The kind that made the room feel smaller.
Then he scrolled.
Another headline.
Then another.
Then the video clip.
Rowan Chase smiling.
A press conference.
And Ruby's name being spoken like it was already decided.
Adrian exhaled slowly through his nose.
"…Of course."
The assistant shifted awkwardly. "Sir—"
Adrian raised a hand slightly.
Not angry.
Not loud.
Just controlled.
"Leave it."
The assistant left immediately.
The door clicked shut.
And the room went quiet again.
Too quiet.
Adrian leaned back in his chair, staring at the screen.
Ruby Alexandra Knox.
Of all people.
Again.
He should've been annoyed.
He was.
Technically.
But it wasn't the usual kind of irritation.
It was worse.
Because somewhere in the back of his mind, something uninvited had already formed a thought.
This is going to be a problem.
Not the movie.
Not Rowan.
Her.
---
Adrian picked up his phone.
Unlocked it.
Stared at the contact list.
Paused.
Then, almost absentmindedly, he opened the group chat they were both added to months ago—one they never used, never acknowledged.
Still there.
Still untouched.
He stared at her name.
Ruby Alexandra Knox.
Then closed the phone again.
"No," he muttered to himself. "Not my problem."
But the lie didn't sit right.
---
By the time he arrived at the studio later that day, it was worse.
Phones everywhere.
Whispers.
Staff pretending not to stare.
The kind of chaos that meant something had already gone public and no one was brave enough to say it out loud.
Adrian didn't ask.
He didn't need to.
Someone finally handed him a tablet again.
This time, it wasn't just headlines.
It was trending.
Everywhere.
RUBRIAN IS BACK
Adrian stared at it for a long moment.
Then quietly said, "Rowan is going to die."
A producer laughed nervously beside him.
Adrian didn't.
---
He walked into the rehearsal room expecting noise.
Instead, he got confirmation.
A director was already speaking.
"Since the announcement is out, we're moving forward with pre-production immediately."
Adrian stopped walking.
Slowly turned his head.
"…Announcement?"
The director blinked.
"You didn't see?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Because he already knew what was coming.
The assistant slid a phone toward him again.
Video playing.
Ruby's face was not in it.
But Rowan was.
Smiling like a man who had set a building on fire and called it art.
And then the words:
"Rubrian is back."
Adrian stared at the screen.
Still nothing.
No reaction.
Not yet.
Then, very quietly—
"…He didn't even warn her."
That was the first crack.
Small.
But real.
---
And for the first time since he'd heard her name attached to this project again—
Adrian Blake didn't feel annoyed.
He felt something far more inconvenient.
Curiosity.
Because if Ruby Alexandra Knox was reacting the way the internet said she was—
Then filming this movie wasn't going to be difficult.
It was going to be interesting.
And Adrian didn't like interesting things.
Not when they stayed in his head longer than they should.
He set the tablet down.
Walked away.
And told himself—firmly—
this didn't mean anything.
Except it already did.