Noah's POV
The next morning, I woke up by 5am because I did not want to be late for my first day, I did not want to give Damien more reason to hate me. I went into my bathroom and took a warm shower. Then I went to dress up. During college, I bought some office wears so they came in handy today. After my first paycheck, I will go shopping. I wore a navy blue shirt and a black pants trousers and my black shoes I wore for my wedding.
They were the only appropriate thing I could wear. I went downstairs to the kitchen and saw Elena.
"Good morning Elena" I greeted her
"Good morning my child, you are up early today" she said
"Well, today is my first day working for Mr Moretti, so I want to make a good impression " I told her with a smile on my face.
"I see you are excited" she smiled at me
"Very, I have always wanted to work for my own benefit, and now that I can, I am over the Moon" I said
"This is the first time I have seen you smile like this, keep that smile on your face, it suits you " she said. I did not say anything because I did not know what to reply.
"So, are you riding with Damien?" She asked
"No, I am not, I will find my way on my own" I told her. Since Damien already told me to find my way, I will do so.
"Are you sure? Why do you ride with him since you are both going to the same place" she said
"No, I want to know the neighbourhood well so I will prefer going along " I told her. She just looked at me and wanted to say something but decided against it.
"Okay, whatever you say" she said. Then she packed my lunch for me.
"Make sure you eat everything in the bag" she said in a motherly tone. I was glad I got to know Elena, she was like the grandmother I never had. My mother's parents died shortly after she got married to my father so I never knew them.
And my father's parents are still well alive but they only see Jade as their only grandchild, so in a way, I was happy I had Elena.
"I will Elena, thank you" I said. I checked the time and it was 6:20, I have to leave now in other catch the first bus. I bid Elena goodbye, I did not even bother checking if he was still home which he was, I just did not want to give him any chance to scold me.
When I got to the bus stop, I waited for a while before the bus came, when the bus arrived, I boarded the bus and started my journey. Outside the window, I saw people passing by, everyone going on with their lives. Sometimes I wondered what life was outside those prison walls and now, I am finally living it.
The bus stopped at the bus stop, I got down and walked down a little to get to my other bus stop. When the bus arrived, I boarded. When the bus stopped at my last bus stop, I crossed the street, when I checked the time, it was already 7.50am, I had to rush into the building.
The building in front of me was very tall, filled with glass but I did not have enough time to admire it. I got to the receptionist.
"Hi, Mr Moretti asked me to come in" I told her politely. My mother always taught me to be polite even if the person does not deserve it. She just looked at me from head to toe and continued what she was doing, she just ignored me.
At that point I was already late, so I remembered the letter and gave it to her, she was sceptical but she allowed me through. I went straight to the elevator, it was already ⁷:55am, I was already scared I would be late on my first day .
By 7:58 am, I reached his floor and saw another receptionist but this one was nicer to me, she just let me through. 8:00 am on dot, I knocked on his door. I was trying to catch my breath because of all the running. Then I heard his voice.
"Come in" he said . I took a deep breath and opened the door. When I got inside, his office is a shade of grey and black, similar to the one in the penthouse, his shelf were arranged with books neatly, he had a couch at one end of the room, his desk at the middle and then the windows.
I think he has a thing for Windows because back at the penthouse too, you could see the view of the city. The one in his office was just like that. I was lot with the view that I did not notice his angry face.
"I don't have all day for you to be lost in your thoughts" he said angrily. I quickly came out of my trans and sat down in front of him.
"Now, your work is to attend to all my needs like, answering the mail, setting up meetings, organising files and all. Your office is the room beside mine, there is a laptop and a phone there for you to use, am I clear?" he asked?
"Yes sir" I replied
"You will refere me to Mr Moretti only and nobody, I mean nobody must know about our marriage, is that clear?" He asked
"Yes Mr Moretti " I replied. Then he continued to explain other things I would be doing. I just paid closed attention to him, I did not want to miss a detail.
"There are some mails that needs sorting so go and do that" he said and went back to focusing on his laptop. I just stood up and went to my office.
As I entered my office, I took in my surroundings, it was similar to his office but mine was just smaller. I then went to my table and saw the laptop and phone. The phone was the latest iPhone model, iPhone 16. I have always loved gadgets but my father forbid me from having a phone.
I sat down and started working on the mail. From time to time, Mr Moretti will call me into his office and assign me a new work when I have not even finished the one I was doing, but who was I to complain?
It was already noon so it was time for my lunch break, Mr Moretti already went out so I decided to eat in the office, I did not really feel like going out to eat and since Elena already packed me lunch, it was easier.
As I was eating, the door of my office flew opened and two men came inside, it was Mr Moretti friends and the ones that came to pick me from my father's house.
"Hello sirs, Mr Moretti is not available, Is there anything I can help you with?" I asked them
"No need to be polite, just call us by our names, I am Luca and this is Enzo and we are not looking for Damien, we are looking for you" Luca said. Before I could reply, another voice spoke but this time the voice was angry.
"What the hell is going on here" Mr Moretti asked.
Damien's POVThe morning sunlight poured into the penthouse, spilling across the polished marble floor in soft golden waves. I’d always hated mornings—meetings stacked before I’d even had coffee, men waiting with questions, enemies watching my every move. But this morning… I woke up slower than usual, my body instinctively seeking the warmth that wasn’t there.Noah’s room was down the hall, but every time I woke, I half-expected him to be beside me. That thought shouldn’t exist. We were not there yet. Hell, I wasn’t even sure where there was. But it was there nonetheless, stubborn and insistent.I pushed myself out of bed, showered, dressed, and followed the smell of breakfast. Elena was back, which meant the penthouse felt alive again. When I entered the kitchen, the scene was so ordinary it nearly undid me—Noah at the counter with Elena, sleeves rolled up, carefully arranging slices of fruit while Elena bossed him around about portion sizes.He looked… at peace.I stayed at the door
Noah's POVWhen I woke up the next morning, I was wrapped in warmth.It took me a second to realize where I was. My cheek was pressed against Damien’s chest, his steady heartbeat echoing in my ear. His arm was around me, holding me close like I was something fragile, something precious.I didn’t dare move at first. I just laid there, letting myself breathe in the faint scent of his cologne, mixed with something uniquely him—something grounding, something safe.Safe.That word still felt foreign to me. For so long, safety had been a dream I couldn’t reach, like the stars scattered across the night sky. But here, in his arms, I felt a flicker of it.And it scared me.Because if I let myself believe it, if I let myself sink too deep into this warmth, what would happen when it was ripped away?I tried to push the thought aside. I had promised myself I would stop living in fear of “what if.” I wanted—needed—to live in the “right now.”And right now… I was in my husband’s arms.“Are you awa
Damian's POVThere are moments in life that alter you so completely you know you’ll never be the same again. Tonight was one of those moments.Noah’s words echoed in my head long after he fell asleep in my arms. His voice, broken but steady, confessing the pain he had carried his whole life—it had carved itself into me.I’d faced enemies with knives, guns, and armies at their backs. I’d stared death in the face and walked away without flinching. But sitting there, holding Noah while he trembled from nightmares he couldn’t escape, I felt something I’d never felt before.Fear.Not fear for myself—but for him. Fear that if I wasn’t careful, if I didn’t protect him, I might lose him.And that was unacceptable.When Noah finally drifted back into an uneasy sleep, I laid him down carefully on the bed and sat beside him. The moonlight spilling through the window caught the faint lines on his arm where his sleeve had ridden up. Scars. Evidence of battles he should never have had to fight.My
Damian's POVThe house was silent. Too silent.After the ambush, we’d returned under heavy guard, the compound fortified like a fortress. Men patrolled the grounds with rifles, cameras blinked in every corner, and yet… Noah hadn’t spoken a word since we stepped through the door.Now, in the bedroom, I watched him from across the room. He sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at his hands. The faint glow from the lamp bathed him in warm light, but his expression was far away—distant, haunted.He’d been quiet before, shy at times, but this silence was different. He was carrying something.I crossed the room slowly, careful not to startle him. “Noah,” I said gently.He didn’t look up. “You shouldn’t keep the lights on for me. I can sleep in the dark.”The way he said it—flat, hollow—made something in me ache. I sat beside him, leaving a careful gap between us, and waited. Sometimes silence needed silence in return.Finally, he spoke again, his voice barely more than a whisper. “When I
Damian's POVThe night air carried a bitter chill as I stepped out of my office and into the courtyard where several of my men had gathered. Their faces were grim, marked with blood, smoke, and exhaustion from the ambush at the warehouse. The smell of gunpowder clung to their clothes, and the sight of their wounds filled me with a rage that simmered low in my chest.The Vipers had made their move.I clenched my fists, forcing myself to stay calm. Rage was fuel, but if I lost myself to it, I’d be no better than the animals we were fighting. I needed control. I needed clarity.“Report,” I demanded, my voice echoing across the stone walls of the compound.Luca and Enzo, stepped forward, “Boss, they came in hard and fast. Twenty men, armed to the teeth. They knew our routes, knew when the trucks would arrive. This wasn’t random—it was planned. Someone fed them our movements.”A traitor. My stomach twisted.“How many casualties?” I asked.“Three dead. Five injured.” His eyes flicked downw
Damian's POVThe silence in my father’s study was heavy, broken only by the faint ticking of the grandfather clock against the far wall. The rich scent of old leather, cigar smoke, and polished oak filled the room, grounding me in the moment. My father leaned back in his chair, his sharp eyes fixed on me.“What do you mean, they are onto us again?” he asked, his voice low, controlled, but carrying that undercurrent of steel that could cut through bone.I met his gaze . “There have been sightings of their men around the city. Not just rumors. Real movements. They’ve been testing our people, probing the borders of our businesses. Two of my men caught a group of them shadowing one of our clubs last week.”My father’s jaw tightened, his hand curling into a fist against the desk. For years, the Vipers had been a festering scar on our family—an enemy that had tried to destroy everything we loved. They were the reason my mother bore those invisible wounds that never quite healed. They were t