CHAPTER SEVEN

Damian’s private office on the top floor of Kingsley Global felt like a fortress.

Floor-to-ceiling glass on two sides showed the entire city spread out beneath them, but the glass was one-way. No one could look in. Security waited just beyond the double doors. Oliver stood at the long conference table with three tablets already open, voice calm and precise as he laid out the damage.

“The second photo is higher resolution. Partial facial recognition is already circulating on student forums. Three gossip sites have picked it up. The university’s anonymous board has a thread with over two hundred comments in the last forty minutes. Most of them are vicious.”

Evelyn sat on the edge of the black leather couch, hands clasped tightly in her lap. She had changed into jeans and a soft gray sweater, but she still felt exposed. Damian stood near the window, sleeves rolled up, watching the skyline like it was an enemy.

“Issue the statement now,” he said. “Short. Clear. No room for interpretation.”

Oliver nodded and read the draft aloud.

Damian Kingsley is currently in a private relationship. The woman in question is not, and has never been, an escort. Further speculation will be treated as defamation. No additional comment will be provided.

Evelyn’s stomach twisted. “They’re going to call it a cover-up.”

“Let them.” Damian turned. His eyes found hers immediately. “I’d rather they call me a liar than keep calling you what they’re calling you.”

The quiet ferocity in his voice made her chest ache.

Oliver cleared his throat. “There’s more. A tip came in from one of our university contacts. Someone has already emailed the scholarship committee with the photo and a link to the hotel’s side entrance. They’re requesting an emergency review of Miss Hart’s standing.”

Evelyn’s blood ran cold. “They can’t take my scholarship. I’ve never broken a single rule. My grades are perfect.”

“They can open an investigation based on ‘conduct unbecoming,’” Oliver said carefully. “Especially if the media keeps pushing the escort angle.”

Damian’s jaw flexed. “Then we get ahead of it. Evelyn, you’re taking the rest of the week off from campus. Online classes only. I’ll have a private tutor arranged for any lab work you can’t miss. You’re not walking into that place while they’re circling like sharks.”

“I can’t just disappear,” she argued, standing. “That makes me look guilty.”

“It makes you look protected.” He crossed the room until he stood directly in front of her. “There’s a difference.”

Their eyes locked. For a moment, the office, Oliver, the entire city disappeared. All she could see was the controlled anger in his face and the way his hands flexed at his sides like he was fighting the urge to touch her.

Oliver discreetly stepped out, closing the door behind him.

Silence settled.

Damian exhaled slowly. “I hate that this is happening to you because of me.”

“It’s not only because of you,” Evelyn said. “I made the choice that night. I walked into that hotel.”

“You walked in because you had no other options.” His voice dropped. “I was the one who left the card and the note. I was the one who should have made sure you saw them. Instead, I let the room get cleared and spent three days hunting for a ghost.”

Evelyn’s throat tightened. “You found me anyway.”

“I did.” He lifted a hand, hesitated, then brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek with the backs of his fingers. The touch was brief, almost reluctant, but it sent heat racing down her spine. “And now the entire city is trying to punish you for it.”

She should have stepped back. The rules were clear. Don’t fall in love. Don’t cross the line. But her body refused to move.

“Damian…”

His name came out softer than she intended. His eyes darkened. For one suspended second she thought he might close the remaining distance and kiss her the way he had in the hotel; slow, consuming, like she was the only real thing in his world.

Instead, he dropped his hand and turned away, putting the width of the desk between them.

“Oliver will take you back to the apartment,” he said, voice rough. “Stay there. Rest. I’ll handle the university and the press.”

“And Victoria?”

A cold smile touched his mouth. “Victoria is about to learn what happens when she aims at something that belongs to me.”

The word *belongs* hung in the air, heavy and possessive. Evelyn felt it settle under her skin.

She left without another word.

Back at the apartment, the silence felt louder than before. Security checked in every hour. Oliver sent updates by text:

Statement released. Engagement is high but shifting.

Scholarship committee has agreed to hold any formal review until next week.

Miranda Hart attempted to access the hospital portal this morning. Access permanently revoked.

Evelyn sat on the couch with her laptop open, trying to focus on a lab report she no longer cared about. Her phone kept lighting up with new notifications from the student forum. She forced herself not to open them.

At 8:17 p.m., the private elevator chimed again.

Damian walked in carrying a paper bag that smelled like garlic and herbs. He looked exhausted. The sharp control he wore like armor had cracks in it now.

“I had the chef at the Italian place on Fifth make something that isn’t hotel food,” he said, setting the bag on the counter. “You need to eat.”

Evelyn stood. “You didn’t have to come.”

“I know.” He pulled out containers anyway. “Sit.”

They ate at the kitchen island in near silence. The pasta was perfect. She managed half a plate before her stomach refused more. Damian watched her the entire time, eyes tracking every small movement like he was cataloguing her state of mind.

When she finally pushed the plate away, he spoke.

“Miranda tried to confront the hospital staff today. She demanded to know who authorized the change in payment and visitation. They told her only immediate next of kin and the trust holder have access. She left, threatening legal action.”

Evelyn closed her eyes. “She’ll come after me next.”

“She’ll try.” Damian’s voice was quiet steel. “I’ve already had a restraining order drafted. The moment she shows up at this building or the hospital again, security will enforce it.”

“She’s still my father’s wife.”

“She’s a parasite.” He set his fork down harder than necessary. “And I’m done letting her feed on you.”

The raw protectiveness in his tone made her eyes burn. She looked away, blinking rapidly.

“You’re making it very hard to follow the rules,” she whispered.

Damian went completely still.

When she glanced back, his expression was unreadable—conflict and hunger and something almost like fear tangled together.

“I know,” he said finally. “I’m not doing a very good job of following them either.”

The confession landed between them like a live wire.

Neither moved. The city lights glittered beyond the windows. Somewhere far below, the world kept turning, gossip kept spreading, Victoria kept plotting. But inside the quiet apartment it felt like the only two people left alive were the ones sitting three feet apart, fighting the same losing battle.

Damian stood abruptly. “I should go.”

Evelyn stood too. “You don’t have to.”

“Yes,” he said, voice low and strained, “I do. Because if I stay another ten minutes, I’m going to do something the contract doesn’t allow.”

He walked to the elevator. At the threshold he paused, back still to her.

“Lock the door after I leave. Security is in the lobby all night. Call me if anything happens. Anything.”

“I will.”

The doors closed.

Evelyn stood alone in the middle of the living room, heart racing, skin still warm from the almost-touch that never came. She pressed her fingers to her cheek where his hand had brushed earlier and closed her eyes.

Across the city, Victoria Ashford sat in the back of a private car, scrolling through the newest comments on the student forum. She smiled when she reached the top post:

Someone should ask the scholarship girl how much Kingsley paid for the privilege.

Victoria typed a short reply under a fake account, then opened a new message to a contact at the university newspaper.

I have a better photo. Higher resolution. Interested?

She attached the file and hit send.

The real destruction had only just started.