LOGINOfelia’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 POVThe moment Thomas said the northern fence had been broken, Damien changed.The softness that had entered his expression during our conversation disappeared. His shoulders straightened, his jaw hardened, and the man standing beside me became the cold, controlled Damien everyone at Blackwood Enterprises feared.“What did you find?” he asked.“Tracks near the boundary,” Thomas replied. “And blood on the wire.”Damien’s gaze moved toward the library windows.The forest stood beyond the garden, silent beneath the afternoon sunlight.“How long ago?”“Less than thirty minutes.”“Has anyone left the property?”“No, sir. The staff have been accounted for.”“Good.”Damien crossed the room and reached for the jacket hanging over the back of a chair.I stepped into his path.“What is happening?”He did not look at me as he pulled the jacket on.“Stay inside.”“That isn’t an answer.”“It is an instruction.”The familiar anger rose inside me.Only minutes earlier, he had almost told me
Damien’s POV “Because some truths would only put you in danger.” The words left my mouth before I could stop them. The moment they did, I regretted them. Ofelia stood in front of me in the open field, her face pale from the riding accident and her wrist marked red where the reins had burned her skin. Victoria remained a few steps away, watching us with growing confusion, while Thomas held Willow’s reins in tense silence. No one spoke. The wind moved across the grass and carried the scent of damp earth from the forest. Ofelia was the first to recover. “What danger?” Her voice was quieter now, but that only made the question harder to avoid. I looked toward the tree line. Nothing moved between the branches, yet I could feel the threat waiting beyond them. The incident had happened too close to the open field. Too close to the house. Too close to her. “That is enough for today,” I said. Her eyes widened. “No, it isn’t.” “You nearly fell from a horse. You need
Ofelia’s POVThe world became nothing but wind, pounding hooves, and terror.Willow raced across the field so quickly that the estate blurred around me. The reins cut into my palms as I pulled them with both hands, but the mare only threw her head and ran faster. My body bounced violently against the saddle, and every movement threatened to send me falling to the ground.“Stop!” I cried.The horse ignored me.The forest rushed closer.Dark trees stretched across the edge of the field, their branches twisting together like a wall. I could barely breathe. Every lesson Damien had given me disappeared from my mind. Hold the reins gently. Keep my balance. Stay calm.There was nothing calm about a frightened animal carrying me straight toward the same forest where I had seen that impossible shadow.Behind me, someone shouted my name.“Ofelia!”Damien.I tried to look back, but the movement made my balance shift dangerously. I quickly faced forward again and tightened my legs around Willow’s
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
Ofelia’s POV “What do you mean there is no money?” I asked, my voice shaking as I stared at the banker across the desk. My hands gripped the edge of the counter so tight my knuckles turned white. The man in the crisp suit didn’t even blink. He just slid a paper toward me. “I’m sorry, Miss Bennet
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 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







