MasukDamien’s POVThe sound of the door closing upstairs cut through the room like a gunshot.Ofelia and I separated immediately.One moment, her body had been pressed against mine, her hands still twisted into my shirt, her lips swollen from the kiss. The next, there were several feet between us, and the cold air rushed into the space where she had been.Neither of us spoke.The faint footsteps above continued for several seconds, moving slowly across the upper hallway.Ofelia’s face had gone pale.“Someone’s awake,” she whispered.I was already moving toward the staircase.“Stay here.”Her eyes flashed despite the panic in them. “Don’t order me around right now.”I stopped at the first step and looked back.She stood near the wall, breathing unevenly, one hand pressed to her lips as though she could still feel the kiss there.The sight nearly pulled me back toward her.Instead, I forced myself to turn away.“I’m checking the hallway.”I climbed the stairs quietly.The upper floor was dar
Ofelia’s POVThe sitting room was almost completely dark.Only the faint glow from the streetlights entered through the tall windows, stretching pale shadows across the floor. Damien sat in one of the armchairs near the fireplace, his suit jacket draped over the back, his tie loosened, and his phone resting forgotten in one hand.He had been waiting for me.I knew it before he said a word.The realization made my pulse quicken.I closed the front door quietly and placed my handbag on the table beside it. My shoes remained in my hand because I had taken them off in the hallway to avoid waking anyone.For several seconds, neither of us spoke.Damien’s gaze moved slowly over me, from my face to the dress I had worn for dinner, then back again. His expression was controlled, but not enough to hide the tension in his jaw.“You’re still awake,” I said.“So are you.”“I went to dinner.”“I know.”The words sounded far too sharp for someone who had claimed he was not jealous.I crossed my arm
Damien’s POV“You think I’m trying to control you because I care where you go?”The words left my mouth before I could stop them.The moment they settled between us, I regretted them.Ofelia stood several feet away, her handbag resting against her side and anger still burning in her eyes. But beneath the anger, something shifted. Surprise. Curiosity. A dangerous hope I had no right to create.I should have corrected myself immediately.I should have said I cared because she was an employee, because she lived in my house, because Victoria would blame me if anything happened to her.Any explanation would have been safer than the truth.Instead, I remained silent.Ofelia’s grip tightened around the strap of her bag.“What did you mean by that?”“Nothing.”Her eyebrows rose.“Nothing?”“This conversation has gone far enough.”I turned toward the desk and picked up the quarterly report, pretending the numbers mattered more than the woman standing in front of me.“The work can wait until to
Ofelia’s POVDamien’s fingers remained wrapped gently around my wrist.The touch was careful, almost innocent, but nothing about the way my body reacted felt innocent. His thumb rested beside the bruise left by the reins, moving lightly over my skin as though he could erase the pain simply by touching it.My pulse jumped beneath his fingertips.He noticed.Of course he noticed.Damien noticed everything.His eyes lifted to mine, and the concern in them slowly changed into something deeper. Something warmer. We stood so close that I could feel his breath against my face. The office, the employees beyond the glass walls, and every sensible reason we should move apart seemed to disappear.For one dangerous second, I wanted him to close the remaining distance.I wanted to know whether he had been about to kiss me in the forest.I wanted to know whether the almost-kiss had stayed in his mind as stubbornly as it had remained in mine.His grip loosened slightly, but he did not release me.“O
Damien’s POV“She listens when people speak gently, Damien. You should try it.”Victoria’s advice followed me into the office on Monday morning.It stayed with me during the drive into the city, while I reviewed messages from the security team, and even after I sat behind my desk with three urgent reports waiting for my attention.I should have dismissed it.Victoria did not understand what had happened at the estate. She had not seen the tracks near the forest or the broken northern fence. She did not know how close Ofelia had come to real danger, twice in the same day.Speaking gently would not have stopped the horse from racing toward the trees.It would not have prevented her from walking into the forest after I ordered her to remain inside.Yet as I looked through the glass wall toward Ofelia’s desk, I knew Victoria had not been entirely wrong.Ofelia arrived twenty minutes earlier than usual.She wore a dark grey blouse, black trousers, and her hair pulled into a neat bun. Every
Victoria’s POVI knew something had happened the moment Ofelia and Damien returned to the house.Elena and I had only just come back from town with several bags of food when I saw them crossing the field from the direction of the forest. They were walking several feet apart, but the distance between them did not make the tension less obvious.Ofelia’s face was pale, her hair slightly messy from the wind, and there was mud along the bottom of her trousers. Damien looked even worse. His shirt was stained, a fresh cut marked the side of his face, and his expression had become so hard that none of the staff dared ask what happened.Yet neither of them looked only angry.There was something else between them.Something heavy and unfinished.Ofelia saw me standing near the terrace and forced a small smile.“You’re back.”“So are you,” I said, looking down at her muddy shoes. “Where did you go?”“Just for a walk.”Damien’s jaw tightened.I noticed.“A walk near the forest?” I asked.Ofelia g
Ofelia’s POV It’s just a coincidence, I told myself as I followed Mom up the wide marble steps. Thousands of rich men own black luxury cars. They all look the same. Sleek, expensive, probably made in the same factory. My brain kept repeating it like a prayer. The car outside didn’t mean anything.
Ofelia’s POVThe plane ride felt endless. I stared out the window at the clouds below, my two suitcases stuffed in the overhead bin and my heart heavy in my chest. Mom had booked the ticket and even paid for a car to pick me up from the airport. Part of me was grateful. The other part wouldn’t stop
Ofelia’s POV Just like cinderella, I went back reality. I was standing in the center of my apartment thinking about my life when there was a knock on the door. I already knew who it was before I opened it. Mr. Ramirez, the landlord, stood there with his arms crossed, looking tired but firm. “Mis
Ofelia’s POV It has been three days and that was all it took for my life to turn into a complete nightmare. I hadn’t eaten anything solid since the day Ethan left. Sleep came in short, broken pieces filled with dreams of empty closets and ringing phones. Every time my phone buzzed, it was another







