Mag-log inDAMON’S POVBlood.It was splattered across the walls, streaking the floor. Rhys stood in front of it, an axe clutched in his hands.A body was lying face down on the floor.I had expected several things when I received my brother’s call.But nothing prepared me for this.I hesitated at the door.Rhys noticed and turned, revealing more blood across his face and chest. His eyes were wild and unrepentant, yet strangely calm.“Damon,” he said almost cheerfully. “You’re finally here, brother.”I could only stare at him, my mind struggling to reconcile the sight of my brother with the horror behind him.“What have you done?” I finally managed to ask, my voice low and shaking with controlled fury.He lifted the axe slightly and ran a hand through his blood-soaked hair. “I killed someone.““Of course you killed someone,” I snapped, impatience cutting through my shock. “I can fucking see that.”Rhys laughed.“You always overreact. Don’t tell me you’re mad. Mad is boring. This…” He gestured t
GABRIELLE’S POV I woke up the next morning with a smile on my face. Before I could even turn around to look, I knew the bed was empty. Damon told me he had a very busy day today. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling for a moment, stretching lazily as the memories from last night replayed in my mind. Heat crept up my neck. God. If someone had told me a few months ago that Damon Gravari would ask to make love to me, I would have laughed in their face. Yet here we were after everything, and somehow more intimate than we had ever been. My gaze shifted to the bedside table where a small folded note rested beside the lamp. A smile tugged at my lips as I reached for it. Damon might never admit to being the romantic type, but his actions said otherwise. He had developed a habit of leaving me these little messages whenever he had to leave before I woke up. I unfolded the paper. My smile deepened as I read the short message in his neat handwriting. I pla
DAMON’S POVAnger was the first emotion that hit the next morning.Actually, no.For the past few days, anger had been the only thing I could feel most of the time.I hid it well from Gabrielle because being in her presence gave me a sense of calm. With her, there was only peace, love, and warmth.But the moment I was away from her, the anger crept back in—stronger every day.It was becoming increasingly difficult to control after spending the last fifteen years feeling almost nothing at all.Now, it was like something inside me had finally woken up.And it was furious.I saw Father in my sleep every night, laughing and drinking with Rocco while they tore me apart piece by piece.Over and over again, the memories from my past played like a broken record.Oh, there were so many ways to kill Rocco.And I intended to enjoy every single one of them.I exhaled deeply and tried to clear my mind as I got out of bed.Gabrielle was still asleep when I finished getting ready for work.She was c
GABRIELLE’S POVI felt content just lying in his arms, listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat while his fingers traced slow patterns along my back.We stayed like that for several minutes, the silence between us comfortable and warm.“I know this might be the wrong time,” I said eventually. “But… your sister. What happened to her?”Damon’s hand stilled against my back.The change was subtle, but I felt it immediately.His chest rose beneath my cheek in a slow breath before his fingers resumed their lazy movements.“She died three years ago,” he finally said. “Four in a few months.”I tilted my head slightly so I could see his face.His expression had gone thoughtful, his eyes fixed somewhere above us as if he were looking at something far away.“I stayed with Rocco for some years after our parents’ death,” he continued. “And he assured me that Alessia was living with Beatrice.”My stomach twisted. “He lied?”“Yes,” he answered. “He had no idea where she was. By the time I came back
GABRIELLE’S POVI stared at him, searching his gaze.Damon looked almost uncertain—as if he wasn’t sure how I would respond. His eyes held mine, patient and strangely vulnerable.I reached up and touched his cheek gently.“You don’t even have to ask me,” I said softly. “I am yours completely… body and soul.”He froze as if my words had stunned him.His gaze searched my face slowly, like he was trying to find even the smallest hint that I didn’t mean it.“You know everything about me,” he said.“I do.”“And you stayed.”My chest tightened. “Of course, I did. I promised I would.”Something fragile and almost disbelieving shifted in his expression then.Damon’s free hand slid down and found mine.He raised my hand over my head, pinning it there and intertwining our fingers together.“I will always choose you,” he said suddenly, the words rough like they had forced their way out of his chest. “Before anyone else.”I blinked. “Damon—”“Before anyone,” he repeated, his voice calmer now. “Ev
GABRIELLE’S POVDamon led me downstairs and into another room at the back of the house.The moment he pushed the door open, I immediately understood why he had been hesitant earlier.The room was filled with instruments.A drum set stood near the center of the room, polished but clearly old.Against one wall sat a piano, its lid closed, while several guitars rested carefully on stands nearby.A violin case lay on a small table in the corner, and sheet music was stacked neatly on a shelf.I stopped just inside the doorway, taking it all in.“You played all these?” I asked slowly.Damon rubbed the back of his neck in a rare gesture of awkwardness. “Yes.”My gaze drifted to the wall behind the drum set.A framed photograph hung there.It was a younger Damon—much younger—sitting proudly behind the drums and he had braces.Actual braces.For a second I just stared.Then my hand flew over my mouth as laughter escaped me.“Oh my God,” I said between breaths. “You had braces.”Damon groaned i
GABRIELLE’S POV Damon didn’t come back home that night. I tried not to think too much of it, but every hour that passed made the house feel bigger… and colder. I’d have spent my time with Lila but she didn’t even want to speak to me anymore. I didn’t see myself as her stepmother. I neve
GABRIELLE’S POV I blinked, caught off guard by his words. “Punish me?” “For snooping,” he said, walking closer slowly. “You can always walk out and pretend you never saw this room.” My throat ran dry. “Damon… I…” He stopped in his tracks. “I told you I was too dark for you. You should lea
DAMON’S POV Three cold baths later and I still couldn’t get the image of her out of my head. She had no idea I was punishing myself as well. If I had stayed a second more, I’d have taken her on the bed, right there and then, without a second thought. She was the most perfect human ever to e
GABRIELLE’S POV No. No. “Heaven?” I asked, a frown tightening my entire face. “Did you kill my sister, Damon?” He didn’t respond. He poured maple syrup over the pancakes and acted like I hadn’t spoken. Like I hadn’t just asked him the one question that could break me in half. The hea







