DAMIAN’S RETURN

Lily’s POV

Two weeks passed after that night in the restroom, and if anyone at the office noticed anything different about the way I acted around Adrian, they never said a word about it. On the outside, everything looked the same. I showed up early, worked hard, kept my head down when I needed to. On the inside, I couldn’t stop replaying that night more than I wanted to admit, even to myself.

Adrian and I hadn’t spoken about it, not once. We both acted like it never happened, though every so often I caught him watching me a beat too long in meetings, and I knew he felt it too, whatever this thing was that neither of us wanted to name.

One afternoon, I was rushing across the lobby with a stack of files in my arms when my heel caught on the edge of the rug. I felt myself falling before I could stop it, but Adrian was closer than I realized, and his arm shot out to catch me before I hit the ground.

For a second, neither of us moved. His hand was firm against my waist, and I could feel the heat coming off him even through my dress.

“You should watch where you’re walking,” he said, but his voice didn’t carry its usual coldness.

“Thank you, sir,” I muttered, straightening myself out as fast as I could.

He let go of me like he’d just remembered where we were, and by the time I looked up, his face was back to its usual unreadable calm. A few coworkers nearby exchanged glances, and I heard someone whisper something about it not being like him to help anyone up like that. I didn’t have time to think much more about it before everything else that day fell apart.

I was walking toward the logistics department when I noticed people gathered near the main entrance, some with their phones out, others whispering back and forth. I slowed down, trying to catch what was happening.

“Where is he?!”

The voice was loud, angry, and familiar in a way that made my whole body go still. I turned toward the sound, and my breath caught in my throat.

Was I seeing things? Was this some kind of sick joke?

“I said, where is your boss?!” the man shouted again, grabbing one of the security guards by the collar. The guard struggled to hold him back, but the man was too strong for him. “Where is Adrian?!”

My chest tightened. “Damian,” I whispered, so soft I barely heard myself say it. My knees felt weak underneath me. This wasn’t possible. Damian was dead. I got the call five years ago, that night. I saw the news about the crash, how the wreckage was too damaged for anyone to be identified. I had mourned him. I buried that grief a long time ago. So how was he standing here, alive, screaming in the middle of Adrian’s lobby?

“What’s going on here?” Adrian’s voice cut through the noise as he came marching in from the hallway, his secretary/assistant hurrying to keep pace beside him.

Damian’s head snapped toward him, and the moment his eyes landed on Adrian, his whole body seemed to shake with anger. He lunged forward, but Adrian’s assistant stepped in fast, blocking him and pushing him back before he could reach him.

“Murderer! Killer!” Damian shouted, his voice cracking. “How could you do this to your own best friend’s family?”

“Ex–best friend,” Adrian said, cold as ever, and something in me wanted to slap him for how easy those words came out of his mouth.

Adrian’s eyes found me across the room for a second, like he was checking how I was taking all of this in. I looked away quickly. He had no idea how much this actually meant to me, how much it was tearing me apart inside.

“You killed him over a misunderstanding,” Damian yelled, chest heaving. “Gary trusted you like a brother. His wife treated you like family. Clara loved you like family. You were like an uncle to Kathryna, for God’s sake.”

Hearing my real name out loud like that made my whole body freeze. Tears blurred my vision before I could stop them. Watching Damian fight this hard for my family, even after all this time, cracked something open in me that I thought had closed for good.

“You disappear for years and now you show up accusing me of murder?” Adrian said, his voice thickening with irritation. “Do you even know who you’re talking to?”

Damian smirked, standing his ground. “You can’t touch me, Adrian. You can’t.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “Get him out of here,” he told security, then raised his voice to the crowd. “The rest of you, back to work.”

People scattered instantly, phones disappearing into pockets, everyone pretending nothing had happened. The guards dragged Damian out, tossing him onto the pavement outside.

“I’ll be back, Adrian!” Damian shouted as they pushed him further away. “You hear me? I’ll be back!”

I couldn’t stay still. Against every warning bell going off in my head, I followed him outside, keeping a careful distance until we were far enough from the building.

Up close, he looked nothing like a man who had survived a plane crash years ago. If anything, he looked untouched by time, still wearing the same terrible taste in clothes I remembered from before.

“Dam Dam,” I called softly, my voice shaking.

He froze at the sound of the name and turned around slowly, his eyes narrowing as he studied my face. Only Kathryna had ever called him that.

“How do you know that name?” he asked, his voice tight with confusion.

I walked past him, keeping my voice low. “Come with me if you want answers.”

He fell into step beside me without another word. I called Charles, told him to meet us a few streets away, and within minutes we were in the back of the car heading toward the mansion. Charles’s eyes met mine in the mirror more than once, but he didn’t ask questions, not with Damian sitting right there.

Once we were alone in my room, I finally let myself breathe. Damian stood there, arms crossed, waiting for an explanation that made sense.

“You mean…” His eyes searched my face carefully. “You’re Kathryna Grayson?”

I nodded, pulling up the hem of my dress just enough to show him the scar on my thigh from a roller coaster accident when I turned fourteen. It was the kind of proof no stranger could fake.

His whole body seemed to give out at once. He pulled me into his arms without hesitation, holding on like he was scared I might disappear again if he let go.

“You’re Kathryna Grayson?” he asked again, quieter this time, like he still couldn’t believe it.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​