LOGINEthan slid into the car, feeling the air turn frigid the moment the door closed. Damien sat beside him, his face a mask of stone, his aura chillingly cold. Ethan shifted nervously; he wanted to ask why Damien had suddenly appeared at the cafe, but the lingering embarrassment from their last encounter in Damien’s room kept his mouth shut.Finally, Damien broke the silence. "Did you meet anyone new today?"Ethan blinked, his brows knitting in confusion. "No. I only met my friends—the ones you saw in the cafe."Damien remained quiet, but his expression was a brewing storm. Ethan could tell something was wrong by the sheer tension in the man’s posture. "Is there something wrong?" he finally ventured.Without a word, Damien tossed a photo onto Ethan’s lap. Ethan picked it up, his heart sinking. It was a clear shot of him sitting alone at the cafe, taken while he was waiting for Anastasia and Kristen."Did you hire someone to take pictures of me?" Ethan asked, his voice small.The air in th
Ethan waited at a small café for Kristen and Anastasia to arrive. He had been dodging their questions about his relationship with Damien for two weeks now. He didn't know how to explain it to them.Should I tell them I'm married to him or what?He shook his head." No, I can't tell them that. That would paralyze them from shock for two weeks ,especially Anastasia".He remembered how dramatic she could be.His thoughts were interrupted by the cute waitress, Rachel."Are you sure you don't need anything apart from soda?" she asked with a flirtatious smile, showing her white teeth.Ethan gave a small, polite smile. "I'm okay, thank you." He turned back to his phone, clearly not engaging further.Rachel, seeing that his attention was no longer on her, bent closer, bringing the menu in her hands nearer to Ethan. Her cleavage hung out as she said, "Are you sure? Look at our current menu—"She was cut off by a lady who came up and pushed her aside."Babe, I'm sorry I'm late!" The lady hugged
Nathan was handled roughly into the waiting police van, followed by Stephen and Stanley, who was still thinking about what Damien had told him.They soon arrived at the police station. Nathan began to get scared as they drew closer ,he could see the building through the window, and he still didn't fully believe he was actually being taken there."Uncle, do something!" he shouted. "I can't be arrested like a common criminal!"The police officer beside Nathan hit his head with a baton, not too hard, but enough to silence him. "Shut up," the officer said, visibly annoyed by Nathan's noise.Nathan went quiet, tending to his wound instead of shouting.They soon reached the police station. As soon as they arrived, the officers dragged them toward the cells. Stanley, his head down, heard a familiar voice. He looked up and saw the chief inspector talking with a fellow officer in the distance."Inspector!" Stanley shouted, hope filling his chest. "Inspector!"He had given this particular offic
Elijah, still recovering from the shock of his boss’s uncharacteristic praise, felt a wave of relief wash over him as Damien’s voice turned ice-cold again."But," Damien said, the word cutting through the air like a blade, "you behaved very foolishly tonight as well."Elijah smirked, focusing on the road." I knew it"he thought. "The Boss hasn't gone soft. He was just setting the kid up for a fall".Ethan’s brief moment of joy vanished. He looked at Damien, speechless at how quickly the man could flip from praise to condemnation. He felt a sting in his eyes, a lump forming in his throat. What now? he wondered." What did I do wrong this time?"."Do you know what your mistake was tonight?" Damien asked, his eyes fixed on Ethan’s confusion.Ethan racked his brain. He didn't have to look far for the answer. "Yes, sir," he said, forcing himself to look Damien in the eye. He felt like a student being scolded by a dean. "My mistake was trusting Stephen, even knowing there was a chance he woul
As the officers closed in, Nathan’s mask of aristocratic calm shattered. "Are you out of your minds?" he shrieked, his voice cracking. "Do you have any idea who we are? Don’t you dare bring those cuffs near me!"The guests stood frozen, their champagne glasses forgotten as they watched the Vale dynasty crumble in real-time. In the center of the chaos, Damien sat perched on a velvet chair like a king watching a play. He looked entirely unsurprised, his dark eyes tracking the officers as if he had written their stage directions himself.Stanley placed a trembling hand on Nathan’s shoulder, trying to project a power he no longer possessed. "Be calm, Nathan," he sneered, glaring at the police. "Don't let these riff-raff bother you. They’ve clearly received the wrong orders."Reassured by his uncle’s arrogance, Nathan’s panic turned back into a smug smile. He straightened his tuxedo, confident that the Vales were still untouchable.Stanley pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering over the
Nathan scrambled to his uncle’s side, his voice high and frantic. "Uncle? Uncle, can you hear me?"He began loosening Stanley’s silk collar, his hands shaking. As he leaned in close, Nathan noticed a slight, rhythmic twitch in Stanley’s eyelids. The realization hit him like a physical blow: his uncle was faking. Stanley wasn't dying; he was hiding. Every word Jack had said was true, and Stanley was using a "medical emergency" as a shield.Nathan looked up at Damien, desperate to end the nightmare. "Mr. Blackwood, please... let's do this some other time. My uncle needs immediate medical help!" He signaled frantically for the Vale bodyguards to carry the patriarch out.Damien didn't move. He simply tilted his head, a dark glint in his eyes. "Medical help? It’s a fortunate coincidence, then. I happen to know a few skills in medicine myself."Nathan’s jaw dropped. "You must be joking, sir! We all know you are a businessman. Please, let’s not toy with my uncle’s life!"Without a word, Dami
The car glided toward a towering structure of glass and chrome that seemed to pierce the very clouds. Sky Mall.It wasn't an ordinary shopping center; it was a shopping mall where the rich shopped, a place where the air itself smelled of expensive perfume and old money. Ethan stared out the window,
Nathan stepped out of Stanley’s room, the heavy oak door clicking shut behind him. The air in the hallway felt tainted, thick with the smell of cheap cigars and the lingering tension of their plotting. He took a breath to steady himself, but as he turned, he froze.Standing in the shadows of the ga
Ethan heard Stephen's voice behind him the very voice he had been trying to avoid.Then he turned back."I knew it!" Stephen exclaimed, his face lighting up with polished warmth. "I knew I’d recognize that golden hair anywhere."The hair again, Ethan thought bitterly. First thing tomorrow, I’m dyin
Damien got into the car, aware that Ethan was behind him. Earlier, he had spoken with Elijah and made it clear that Ethan was to be taken elsewhere after the press conference, Damien had other matters to attend to. When Elijah relayed this to Ethan, Damien caught the flicker of disappointment on hi







