Chapter Eight: The Taste Of Bitter Victory!

Vanessa's POV.

The air inside Damon's house felt as though it had been filled with smoke but there was no fire to confirm it yet.

Damon was surprised, in fact he stood frozen to the floor. Any Sabrina on the other hand, her face went instantly pale and for the first time since I had walked into this house. Her arrogance was gone and I was proud of myself.

I folded my arms across my chest as I watched the scenario that unfolded in front of me like a queen who had just declared war.

“Go on, officers. Please put the cuffs on her, I believe it will suit her more than her fancy jewelleries” I said softly as Sabrina's lips began to shake, then she turned to Damon.

“Damon, please say something. Don't just stand there as though you can't see what is going on! Don't let them take me away. They are going to put me in jail and those prison inmates will make my life a living hell” Sabrina begged and to me it felt as though her thoughts had already gone far and she was already thinking about how her life in prison was going to be.

Damon swallowed hard and he was trapped in between what to do and not what to do. He didn't want to make matters worse, he was angry and in disbelief but I noticed he didn't step forward.

“Don't listen to her officers. Please arrest her immediately, I have a whole lot of things to attend to. I don't just want to waste my time on Sabrina” I insisted and the officer reached for her wrist. And that was when she screamed out loudly.

“Please wait!” she cried out and her voice echoed in the house. “I will tell you the truth. I was the one who took Vanessa's gold jewellery” she confessed as silence took over the whole house for some minutes.

The officers stopped right in track as they stared at her intensely. While Damon's gaze snapped towards her so fast that I thought his neck would break and my lips curved into the slowest and coldest smile.

“You said you did what?” I asked, staring straight into her eyes.

“Please Vanessa. Give me a minute” she said as she turned her back against me.

“Where are you going?” I asked with a stern expression.

“I want to give you back your gold jewellery. So I am going to get it for you” she replied and I gulped hard, then I turned to look at one of the female officers who also looked at me.

“I don't trust Sabrina one bit. So can you please follow her upstairs, so there won't be any room for her to escape. This woman in front of us is evil and she can do anything to save herself” I said and the officer followed Sabrina behind.

While Sabrina was upstairs. I found myself not having the patience to wait for her anymore and after what took a long while.

I finally heard footsteps and I looked up to see Sabrina with a bag and the officer beside her as they walked closer to us.

She pulled out the jewellery case out of her handbag. And the gold shone brightly on our faces, but not enough to cease our vision. The gold jewellery was my parents gift, my inheritance, my pride.

“I really didn't mean to steal this gold jewellery from you. Vanessa, I just….I wanted something that was yours. Something I could hold onto, so I would always win against you. Please, don't let them arrest me.” she begged as tears slipped down her cheeks and I rolled my eyes at her.

For a second, the Sabrina who had once been my best friend showed in her. And not the loud, taunting woman without any emotions I found out was cheating with Damon. 

“Give me back my gold jewellery you thief. And also my jewellery isn't something you can hold onto because you won't be able to maintain it. So just focus on Damon, after all you snatched him away from me so you should be satisfied with him. Stop stealing things that are way bigger than you” I said, snatching the jewellery from her hand and the officers turned to me.

“Ma’am, do you still wish to press charges against Vanessa?” the male officer asked and I stepped closer to Vanessa as I held my jewellery case tightly in my hand.

My reflection was staring back at me through the polished gold.

“No. She is not worth my time or my prison taxes” I said and I could see relief written all over Sabrina's face.

The officers nodded at me and they understood more than I had just said to them.

“It's okay ma'am but as for you Sabrina. The next time a complaint is filed against you for theft, we are going to take you away with us whether you accept the crime or not. Because theft accusations aren't to be taken lightly” the officer said as they all walked out of the house and closed the door behind them.

“Vanessa, do you have any idea that you just humiliated me?” he said in a low and dangerous voice but his words didn't matter to me anymore. I didn't care about how he felt.

“And as for you. You made a fool out of me” he said as he looked at Sabrina with pure disgust. Sabrina shook her head as she reached for his arm.

“I just wanted-”

“Just shut up your mouth Sabrina! You stole from Vanessa? From her of all people? Do you realize what this means if this information leaks to the media?” he snapped at her, forcibly removing his hand away. Then I bursted out laughing so hard that I was sure it sent chills through their body.

“Ah, there it is. The truth I had been looking for all along. Damon isn't worried about me or you, Sabrina. He is just worried about the headlines” I said as I turned my back against him, walking slowly to the sofa and I sat on it with deliberate ease.

“Business mogul Damon Thorne was caught harboring a gold digger thief. That is a nice headline to it, don't you think so?” I asked and Damon's eyes burned into mine as he stepped closer to me. His voice dropping into a plea he probably thought I would never hear.

“Vanessa…. don't. Please it is up to you not to let this information get out. I'm asking you for the last time, please don't drag my name through the mud” he said and I leaned forward, I placed my elbows on my knees and stared straight at him.

“Oh, Damon. Are you actually begging me or threatening me? And by the way your name has been rolling in mud for years but I covered it all up. And now I am just the one bold enough to call it out”

“I gave you years of my life. And you chewed it up and spat it out as though it meant nothing to you and I. And now you think that I owe you silence? Dream on Damon Thorne.” I whispered with a cracked voice and for a brief moment my strength faltered.

My stomach twisted, not just with the baby inside me. But with the grief of everything I had lost. But I forced the weakness back inside of me, hiding it under my stern expression.

“I won’t expose you. And I don't want you to think that it is because you deserve mercy. But because I am too busy living my new life to waste more time on your ruin” I said and I noticed as Damon sighed in relief but I wasn't done yet.

“However,” I added as I stood up and moved so close to him so I could see that fear of being exposed in his eyes.

“Don't you dare mistake this for forgiveness. One word from me, Damon, and your empire turns to dust. I want you to sleep with that every night” I warned and he swallowed hard. 

I picked up my boxes one by one as I dragged them against the polished floor and the sound of the boxes said my final goodbye on behalf of me.

I stopped in my footsteps when I reached the entrance of the door. And I turned back to look at them one last time. 

“Enjoy your child, Sabrina. May he grow up never learning who his mother really is.” I said and then I left.

When I reached outside, I hadn't even realized I spent so much time inside that it had become dark. The night air was almost too cold for my body.

I placed the boxes in the trunk of my car and sat in the driver's seat, my heart pounding harder than it had done in years. 

I had only started to win against them but victory to me has never felt so bitter. 

My phone buzzed and I glanced at the screen to see an unknown number. I raised my eyebrows and I swiped up to answer the call.

“Hello?” I said but there was silence and I frowned.

“Who is this?” I asked but no voice was heard responding to me.

I could only hear the faint sound of somebody breathing and a chill ran down my spine. Then I ended the call, shaking it off as some mistake.

Then my phone rang again. It was the same number. And the same silence when I picked up. 

“This is Vanessa Roothmoore and I am warning you for the last time. Whoever you are, you had better stop playing games with me otherwise you're going to face the consequences and it is going to be harsh on you” I snapped at the person, my voice harsher than my fear.

But the line stayed silent until I ended the call all on my own.

I pressed my hand against my stomach. And for the first time in a long time I wasn't angry, I was scared. 

And I couldn't shake off the feeling that someone, somewhere, was watching me.