Chapter 11

“So, how do you feel, Dr. Williams?” Adeline asked as she poured the coffee.

“Well, I feel great, as you can see. How about you?”

“Oh, I’m fine.” Adeline smiled as she handed the cup of coffee to Williams. “How’s work?”

“Everything is fine.” Williams adjusted herself slightly in her seat.

Adeline caught it. She knew that tiny adjustment meant discomfort. Dr. Williams always moved like that when she was hiding something, and Adeline was not the kind to let it slide.

“Oh, that’s good to hear. Are you almost done with the We Kids Project?”

Williams took a quick mouthful of hot coffee, nearly burning her throat. “Smooth,” she muttered.

Adeline tilted her head, watching her with that piercing, knowing gaze. It was nearly impossible to lie to her when she decided to press.

“Tell me,” Adeline said softly, “is something bothering you?”

But Williams was the very definition of stubbornness. “No, no. I just had a lot to do, yet I came because my mother still thinks I can’t handle my own business. It’s been years since we’ve been doing this. What’s the point of it? I’m way over twenty now.”

“Don’t you think having someone to listen to you is comforting?”

“I already have a friend for that, and he’s free of charge,” she replied, referring to Emilio. But as soon as she said it, she remembered they weren’t exactly on good terms. Lately, whenever she saw him, all she could think about was the looming scandal his reckless behavior might trigger. She forced her expression to remain neutral; the last thing she wanted was to let Adeline sense there was more to it.

“Hmm,” Adeline said thoughtfully. “Then maybe you should find out what your mother really expects from you. If she insists, she must have her reasons.”

“I know what’s bothering her.” Williams frowned.

“And what’s that?”

“My mom’s dream is to see me finally paired with a human, so she can be reassured I’m not married to my job.” Williams’s tone was sharp with irritation.

Adeline said nothing, only observed her quietly.

“But if I wanted someone,” Williams continued, a proud smile curling on her lips, “it would be a matter of seconds.” Her voice lowered almost to a whisper as she leaned back slightly.

“You think so?” Adeline asked.

“Yes, of course.” Williams locked eyes with her. “If I’m one of the best doctors in the country, it’s because I never miss the details. And as for people around me, I can see exactly how they look at me, how they crave me. And it’s not their fault. Who wouldn’t want to have a taste of Doctor Niran Williams?”

Her tongue grazed her lips. “Unfortunately, they’ll keep desiring me until the desire burns them alive.”

Her voice grew quieter with every word, pulling Adeline deeper into her trance. It was the first time Williams had spoken this way, her tone dripping with sensual dominance, her expression tinted with something that bordered on delusion.

Adeline couldn’t deny it: Williams was a stunning woman. Her gestures were magnetic, her voice both sharp and seductive. Her eyes—those deep, predatory eyes—had the kind of power that could make someone submit before she even spoke. Her wealth only intensified that aura of control.

“Do you like it when people desire you, Dr. Williams?” Adeline finally asked.

Williams smiled faintly. “What if I told you I do? Would you encourage my mother to schedule even more sessions?”

She took another sip of coffee, then crossed her legs slowly. When she looked up again, her gaze was charged with desire, directed straight at Adeline. It was the kind of look that undressed without touching.

Adeline could feel it, Williams’s eyes moving across her skin, deliberate and invasive. But she refused to show discomfort. She was a professional. She had faced darker storms than this one. Still, she knew that behind Williams’s poise lay something dangerous, something that only came out when she reached her breaking point.

“Tell me,” Adeline said, steadying her breath, “do you like it when people desire you?”

Williams tilted her head, smiling. “I love it. I want them to desire me so much that it hurts. I want to see their eyes, lustful, desperate, helpless.” Her voice lowered again, her tone like velvet. “When I speak and they watch my lips, my fingers, my neck. When they remember my voice, my smile. When they can’t get rid of my perfume.”

She paused, then added bitterly, “When they keep hoping in delusion… until they get the reality check.”

Adeline swallowed hard. “And what is the reality check?”

Williams’s expression changed completely. “Hope,” she said.

“Hope?” Adeline echoed, surprised.

“Dear Adeline,” Williams paused before adding, “hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen.” She placed the cup on the table. “The reality check is realizing that you’ve been hoping for something that will never happen.”

A long silence followed. Adeline tried not to show that she noticed Williams’s eyes slowly drifting down to her legs, then back up with unsettling calm.

“Can I have more coffee?” Williams asked suddenly, her tone almost neutral again.

“Can you?” Adeline replied automatically, unsure what she meant.

“The coffee’s finished,” Williams said, almost like she wasn’t aware of what she’d just done.

“Oh, yes, of course. I’ll be right back.”

Adeline stood quickly and rushed to the kitchen. Alone at last, she let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Williams’s words still echoed through her head, each one like a whisper against her skin.

And for the first time, Adeline wasn’t sure if she was sitting across from her patient… or her predator.

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