Now, exactly one week later, the clock ticked past 6:15 p.m. on Saturday evening, and it was Robert Blackwood birthday. The mansion was alive with light and sound. The floors were shining and the chandeliers sparkled like fallen stars.In a decorated room near the east wing, Isla was standing with her frame adorned in an emerald gown as she gazed into a very tall mirror.Her hair was pinned at the back, her earrings long and delicate, and beside her was Damien himself.He was already in his black tux, sharp and immaculate, as he adjusted his cufflinks gently. But his eyes weren’t on himself, instead, they were on her, on Isla's reflection.There was something careful and watchful in his gaze like a storm holding back.He allowed a short pause to pass first, before leaning slightly toward her.“You’re overdressed.”Isla turned her head to glance at him, one brow raised recognizing the teasing tone. Her mouth tilted into a half-smile as she shrugged, “For what?” “For surviving my f
It was Sunday morning and the mansion was so quiet like it was used to being nowadays.No staff around. No footsteps, tray movements, or polite good mornings anywhere.Just plain silence, the kind that no longer felt empty but was rather pregnant with peace.Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Isla was standing barefoot with her hair still messy from sleep, Damien’s shirt hanging off her body loosely, as she sliced strawberries into a white ceramic bowl while humming absently to a tune.She had just picked up a knife when the sound behind made her turn her head slightly, eyes shifting toward the entrance.And to her quiet surprise, he was behind her.Damien, still looking sleepy with no shirt on, leaned against the doorframe with a kind of careless ease only he could wear. Isla arched one of her brows, now wearing a soft, amused smile.To think that she hadn't even heard him come in.“How long have you been standing over there Mr Ghost?” she asked playfully.Damien’s mouth curved lazily as h
It was a Wednesday, and the boardroom at Blackwood group was buzzing quietly with the sound of multiple people talking. Every now and then, you would hear the click of a laser pointer or papers being passed from one person to the next.Damien himself was sitting at the head of the long glass table wearing a sharp suit, though his collar was slightly loose. His eyes for now wear not saying much.Meanwhile, the rest of the table was full of executives men and women in their business best, all focused on the meeting going on.A large screen at the front of the room showed graphs and slides.“We’re expecting a twelve percent increase if the partnership holds through Q3,” one woman was saying, pointing to a bar graph with her laser.Damien barely reacted. All he could do was let out a vague grunt and looked up for just a second… before his eyes dropped back once more to the phone in his hand.The phone….and not the meeting was Damien's main point of focus right now.He was actually wat
Grandmother Hayes stormed Nate's residence like she had come for war. And indeed she had.She did not wait to be announced.Her heels struck the floor like the bell of judgment. Her face was taut with restrained fury, her lips pressed far too tight as she muttered furiously.“Of all the shameful creatures…That…that embarrassment of a woman has the nerve to still breathe the Hayes air?”On getting to the front door, she pushed aside the living room curtain with a dramatic swipe.And there she was.“Vanessa!”Sitting so daringly calm, like royalty, she was even sipping a glass of juice! Eyes steady. Like nothing had happened earlier that day.Not the lies. Not the scandal. Not the betrayal.Not the fake pregnancy, the false charges, not the heap of public disgrace she had tried to hang around Isla's neck like a noose.The sight of her was enough to turn one into a cold-blooded murderer.Grandmother Hayes stopped in her tracks. Her eyes were red and flaring. Her jaw set. For a momen
As soon as the door went shut behind them, a hush followed.Damien didn’t speak. He only gazed very intently into her eyes now.Not with the usual strategy or plain calculation but just a yearning need.Their lips glued together again but not roughly; rather, the friction of lips was slow, deep, and certain. Like both of them had been holding it in for too long so that now that it had finally shown forth, there was no more going back.When he finally set her down again, she wobbled slightly on her feet.But Damien was there to steady her with a look that spiked her desire twice as much.Then came the undressing.He reached for her shirt first, fingers brushing her skin as he peeled it upward. Isla raised her arms to help him. Her hands slid beneath his shirt next, dragging it upward and over his head. Pants followed. Her own first. Then his.Damien pushed her gently to the bed, making her fall on her back while his masculine frame descended on her.There was no performance here. N
On their way back from the hospital, Damien drove with one hand on the wheel while the other held onto Isla's hand.He hadn’t said much since they stepped into the car.Neither did Isla, who sat calmly beside him, angled slightly toward the window, but her hand stayed right where he held it. Her fingers pliant in his touch while her eyes were quiet and distant.Her mind was elsewhere.It was spinning, replaying everything that had taken place just moments ago. How Vanessa’s carefully built illusion had ended in vanity.“So she lied?”“She really lied about all that?”“Faked a pregnancy? Fabricated pain? Brought the police? Framed me? Vanessa?”The thoughts struck like cold water, not because they were new, but because of the sheer depth of cruelty. The lengths Vanessa had gone to ruin her.“How far was she even willing to go?”Isla blinked slowly, her expression neutral as the last question floated quietly through her. After some time, her mind started to shift now, it began to s