Hate Me Tonight, Love Me Tomorrow
Chapter 2: The Night We Stopped Pretending
Adrian Cole had a talent for making me angry.
Unfortunately, he also had a talent for making my heart behave like a foolish teenager.
“Are you going to keep staring at me?” he asked, loosening his tie.
I immediately looked away. “I'm checking whether your head has finally improved. It seems the arrogance is permanent.”
He laughed softly. “You know, for someone who hates me, you pay an awful lot of attention to me.”
“Keep dreaming, Adrian.”
“Gladly. Especially if you're in them.”
I rolled my eyes, pretending his words hadn't sent an embarrassing little flutter through my stomach.
It was nearly nine at night. Everyone else had left the office, but we were still there, arguing over the final details of a project that neither of us was willing to surrender.
Then the lights flickered.
I froze.
“Don't tell me you're afraid of the dark,” Adrian teased.
“I'm not afraid!”
The lights went out completely.
I heard him laugh, followed by the sound of his footsteps approaching me.
“Relax,” he murmured. “I'm right here.”
“That's exactly what I'm worried about.”
He switched on his phone's flashlight, illuminating his face. For once, he wasn't wearing that irritating smirk. He looked at me quietly, as if he were trying to understand something about me.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“Then stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you want to kiss me.”
His smile disappeared.
For one long second, neither of us spoke.
“And what if I do?” he asked.
My heart stumbled.
“Then you'd be making a terrible decision.”
“Probably.”
He stepped closer, then stopped, leaving enough space for me to move away.
“Tell me to leave, and I will.”
I should have told him to leave.
Instead, I whispered, “You talk too much.”
His eyes dropped briefly to my lips before returning to mine.
“Can I kiss you?”
I nodded, then managed to whisper, “Yes.”
His kiss began gently, almost cautiously, as though he couldn't quite believe I had allowed it. But when I touched his face and kissed him back, the last of his restraint melted away.
I had imagined kissing Adrian before. I simply hadn't expected it to feel like losing an argument I secretly wanted him to win.
When we finally pulled apart, he rested his forehead against mine.
“I've wanted to do that for months,” he admitted.
I stared at him. “You spend months insulting me, and this is your way of showing affection?”
“I never said I was good at it.”
“You're terrible at it.”
“Then teach me.”
I laughed, and he kissed me again.
That night, we talked about things we had always hidden behind our arguments. He told me he admired my confidence, even when it drove him crazy. I admitted that his intelligence impressed me, although his ego desperately needed a reduction.
At some point, his hand found mine.
Neither of us let go.
When he walked me to my car, he kissed my forehead and said, “Tomorrow, we're going to have a serious conversation.”
I narrowed my eyes. “That sounds threatening.”
“It's about us.”
“There is no us.”
He smiled. “Keep telling yourself that.”
Then he opened my car door, waited until I was safely inside, and stepped back.
For the first time since meeting Adrian Cole, I drove home smiling because of him rather than planning how to defeat him.
And that terrified me more than I wanted to admit.
---
Chapter 3: The Morning After
The following morning, Adrian was already in the office when I arrived.
He looked annoyingly handsome in a black shirt, with his sleeves rolled up and a cup of coffee beside his laptop.
I walked past him without saying a word.
“Good morning, sweetheart.”
I stopped so abruptly that my handbag slipped off my shoulder.
“Excuse me?”
He leaned back in his chair, looking far too pleased with himself.
“Would you prefer darling?”
“I would prefer you to behave like a normal human being.”
“After last night? Impossible.”
I approached his desk and lowered my voice. “Nobody can know about this.”
His expression changed.
“Why?”
“Because we work together. Because we argue every day. Because I don't want everyone discussing my private life.”
He studied me for a moment before nodding.
“Fine. We'll keep it private. But I'm not going to pretend last night meant nothing to me.”
My heart softened, but before I could answer, his phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and stepped away to take the call.
A few minutes later, I saw him laughing with a beautiful woman who had arrived at the office. She touched his arm casually, and he leaned toward her to hear what she was saying.
Suddenly, last night's sweetness felt foolish.
I returned to my desk and buried myself in work.
When Adrian approached me later, I barely looked up.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing.”
He folded his arms. “That word again.”
“Go and entertain your visitor.”
His eyebrows rose.
Then understanding dawned on his face.
“Are you jealous?”
I laughed without humour. “Please. I have standards.”
“Apparently, you have a terrible poker face too.”
“Adrian, leave me alone.”
He didn't argue. Instead, he pulled a chair beside my desk.
“That was my cousin, Vanessa. She's helping me organise a family charity event.”
I stared at him.
“Your cousin?”
“Yes.”
“Oh.”
He grinned. “You were jealous.”
“Finish that sentence, and I'll throw this stapler at you.”
He laughed, but when he reached for my hand, his voice softened.
“You don't have to compete for my attention. If we're going to do this, I want you to feel secure with me.”
For once, I had no clever reply.
I simply squeezed his hand.
Then my phone vibrated.
A message from an unknown number appeared on the screen.
Stay away from Adrian Cole. You have no idea who he really is.
My smile vanished.
I read it twice, then looked up at him.
“Adrian, do you know anything about this?”
He read the message.
The warmth disappeared from his face.
“Who sent this?”
“I don't know.”
He stood, his jaw tightening as he looked toward the office entrance.
“There's something I should have told you.”
My stomach dropped.
“What?”
He looked directly at me.
“Vanessa wasn't the reason I came to this company. And the person who sent you that message might be connected to a mistake I made a long time ago.”
For the first time, I wondered whether falling in love with Adrian Cole had been the beginning of something wonderful—or the beginning of a disaster.
---
Chapter 4: The Truth Between Us
Adrian took me to a quiet café after work.
He didn't touch my hand or make jokes. He simply sat across from me, looking like a man preparing to lose something important.
“Three years ago,” he began, “I started a business with my closest friend, Daniel. We trusted each other completely. Then money disappeared from the company accounts, and I discovered that someone had been using my signature to approve payments.”
“What happened?”
“I accused Daniel. He denied everything. The company collapsed, and we stopped speaking.”
“And you think he sent the message?”
“I don't know. But he recently contacted me, asking to meet.”
I studied his face.
“Why didn't you tell me before?”
“Because I didn't want my problems becoming yours.”
I shook my head. “You don't get to decide what I can handle, Adrian. If you want me in your life, you have to trust me enough to tell me the truth.”
He looked down at the table.
“You're right.”
It was the first time I'd heard him admit that without adding a sarcastic comment.
He reached for my hand.
“I don't want to lose you.”
“You haven't lost me. But I'm not going to be your girlfriend only when things are easy.”
His fingers tightened around mine.
“Girlfriend?”
I immediately regretted the word.
“Don't make me regret saying it.”
He smiled slowly.
“Never.”
For the first time, I kissed him first.
And for the first time, Adrian Cole looked completely speechless.
---
Chapter 5: The Woman Who Knew Too Much
Two days later, Adrian met Daniel.
I didn't attend the meeting, but Adrian called me afterward.
“Daniel has proof,” he said. “Someone inside the company was responsible for the missing money.”
“Who?”
He hesitated.
“Vanessa.”
I sat upright.
“Your cousin?”
“She had access to the accounts while she was working with us. Daniel says she used my signature to transfer the money and blamed him when he discovered it.”
“Have you spoken to her?”
“Not yet.”
That evening, Vanessa arrived at Adrian's office, looking furious.
“You're really going to believe him over your own family?” she demanded.
Adrian remained calm. “I'm going to believe the evidence.”
She turned toward me.
“And you. You think you know him? You have no idea what he's capable of.”
I stood beside Adrian.
“Maybe I don't know everything about him yet. But I know enough to recognise when someone is trying to frighten me into silence.”
Vanessa's face hardened.
Adrian asked her to leave and informed the appropriate people about the evidence Daniel had provided. The matter was investigated, and the company began taking steps to recover the money.
It wasn't a perfect ending to a painful situation, but the truth was finally coming out.
Later, Adrian and I stood outside the office beneath the evening sky.
“I should have handled this sooner,” he said.
“Yes, you should have.”
He gave me a tired smile. “You're not going to make this easy for me, are you?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Good.”
I frowned. “Good?”
He brushed a strand of hair away from my face.
“I don't want someone who agrees with everything I say. I want someone who challenges me, tells me the truth, and stays because she chooses to—not because she's afraid to leave.”
I looked at him for a long moment.
“Then don't give me a reason to leave.”
He kissed me softly.
“I'll do my best.”
---
Final Chapter: Hate Me Tonight, Love Me Tomorrow
Three months later, Adrian took me back to the office where everything had begun.
The lights were on this time. The desks were empty, and the city glowed beyond the windows.
I looked around suspiciously.
“Why are we here?”
“Because this is where you first told me you hated me.”
“I still hate you sometimes.”
He placed a hand over his chest.
“Cruel woman.”
“You'll survive.”
He laughed, then reached into his pocket and handed me a small box.
Inside was a delicate silver necklace with a tiny heart pendant.
I looked up at him.
“Adrian…”
“It's not a proposal,” he said quickly. “Don't panic.”
“I wasn't panicking!”
“You looked like you were calculating the cost of running away.”
I burst out laughing.
He took the necklace from the box and fastened it around my neck.
“I can't promise we'll never argue,” he said. “I can't promise I'll always know the right thing to say. But I can promise that I won't use silence to punish you, and I won't expect you to read my mind. I'll listen. I'll apologise when I'm wrong. And I'll keep choosing you, even on the days when loving me isn't easy.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“You've become dangerously romantic.”
“Don't tell anyone. I have a reputation to protect.”
I laughed through my tears and wrapped my arms around him.
“I love you, Adrian Cole.”
He held me closer.
“Say it again.”
“No.”
“Please?”
“Absolutely not.”
He kissed me, and I finally whispered the words against his lips.
“I love you.”
His smile was softer than I'd ever seen it.
“I love you too.”
And when he kissed me again, there were no arguments to win, no secrets to hide, and no audience to impress.
Just two people who had spent months pretending their feelings were hatred because admitting the truth had frightened them.
I had once believed love meant finding someone who never made me angry.
Adrian taught me that real love wasn't about never disagreeing. It was about learning to
disagree without destroying each other, to tell the truth even when it was uncomfortable, and to choose tenderness when pride would have been easier.
He was still arrogant.
I was still stubborn.
We still argued about ridiculous things.
But now, whenever he smirked and said, “You hate me, don't you?”
I would pull him closer and whisper:
“Tonight? Maybe.”
He would grin.
“And tomorrow?”
I would kiss him.
“Ask me tomorrow.”
THE END.