The next morning, the conservatory didn't feel the same.
At least, not to Elena.
Nothing looked different at first glance. Students still walked through the front gates carrying instrument cases. The courtyard fountain still murmured quietly. A violinist near the entrance practiced scales the way he did every morning.
But Elena slowed as she approached the building.
Something felt… off.
She couldn't explain it.
Just a subtle shift in the air.
As she stepped inside the main hall, she noticed the first thing.
Two men standing near the reception desk.
They weren't students.
They weren't faculty either.
Both wore simple dark jackets, but their posture was too straight, their attention too sharp. One of them briefly glanced toward Elena before looking away again.
Her brows knit slightly.
New staff?
Maybe.
Still, she continued toward the staircase.
Halfway up the steps, she noticed another detail.
A black car parked directly across from the conservatory gates.
The engine was running.
The driver sat perfectly still.
Watching.
Elena frowned faintly.
"Okay," she murmured to herself. "That's strange."
Upstairs, the hallway outside the practice rooms buzzed with the usual noise of students warming up instruments.
Her friend Maya spotted her immediately.
"Elena!" she called, jogging over.
"Morning."
Maya tilted her head.
"You look like you're solving a murder mystery."
Elena gave a small laugh.
"I feel like I walked into one."
"What?"
Elena lowered her voice slightly.
"Did the conservatory hire new security?"
Maya blinked.
"Security?"
"Yes."
"I've seen at least three men who look like they belong in a spy movie."
Maya peered down the hallway.
"I don't see anything."
"Exactly."
"That's not comforting."
Elena shook her head.
"Maybe I'm imagining it."
But when she entered her practice room, she noticed something else.
The window.
Normally it overlooked the street clearly.
Today a black sedan was parked directly below it.
Same car.
Same driver.
Still sitting there.
Elena crossed her arms.
"Alright," she muttered.
"This is getting ridiculous."
Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
She pulled it out.
Adrian.
She stared at the screen for a moment before answering.
"Good morning."
His voice came through calm as always.
"Did you arrive at the conservatory?"
Elena narrowed her eyes.
"Yes."
"Good."
She walked slowly toward the window.
"Adrian."
"Yes?"
"Do you want to explain why my school suddenly feels like a government building?"
A pause.
A very small pause.
"Elena—"
"There are men downstairs pretending not to watch the entrance."
Silence.
"And," she continued, "there's a car parked under my window that hasn't moved for twenty minutes."
Another pause.
Then Adrian spoke.
"They're there for your safety."
Elena blinked.
"My safety?"
"Yes."
She stared out at the street again.
"You did this."
"Yes."
Elena turned away from the window and sat on the piano bench.
"You deployed a security team to follow me to school."
"They're monitoring the area."
"That sounds like a polite version of the same thing."
"They're being discreet."
She laughed softly.
"They're terrible at it."
Adrian didn't respond.
Elena rested her elbows on the piano.
"Adrian."
"Yes."
"This is too much."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
She sighed.
"You can't just surround my life with guards."
"They're temporary."
"That's not reassuring."
Adrian's voice remained steady.
"Someone threatened you."
"They warned me."
"They mentioned you by name."
Elena fell quiet for a moment.
She hadn't expected him to say it so directly.
Finally she spoke again.
"So your solution is turning my school into a fortress?"
"My solution is making sure nothing happens to you."
Elena looked down at the piano keys.
Her fingers tapped lightly against them.
"You know what the problem is?"
"What?"
"You're treating me like a target."
Adrian's answer came instantly.
"Because you are."
The words hung in the air between them.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Elena said quietly,
"I don't like living inside your war."
Adrian's voice softened slightly.
"I don't like that you're involved in it."
Another pause.
Elena looked out the window again.
The car was still there.
Still watching.
Still waiting.
Finally she said,
"Your security is too tight."
"Yes."
"It's suffocating."
"It's necessary."
She sighed.
"Adrian…"
"Yes?"
"If this keeps up, I might start sneaking out just to prove I can."
For the first time during the call—
Adrian almost sounded amused.
"Try."
Elena raised an eyebrow.
"Was that a challenge?"
"Yes."
She smirked slightly.
"Well then."
Her fingers touched the piano keys again.
"Let's see how good your security really is."
Across the city, Adrian stood near the window of his office.
He watched the traffic far below.
And despite the tension building around them—
A faint smile appeared.
Because Elena Volkov's biggest weakness…
Was also the one thing Adrian found impossible to control.
Her independence.