Scandal Never Ends.Damian's POV We stood there for a long time with our arms around each other, heads bowed, without saying a word.I didn’t know how long it lasted, and I didn’t care. It was the first moment in weeks that felt real. I could feel Eliot's heartbeat softly beating against my chest. His breath was warm against my neck. He held on to my coat so tight that I could tell he was afraid that letting go would break him.I stood still, because I wanted that moment to last longer.But even the best moments never last.Eliot finally took a step back, breaking the embrace.There was something behind his eyes when he looked up at me. They were softer than they had been in a long time. Something uncertain. His lips parted like he wanted to say something, but he hesitated.I spoke first. "Come with me."Two of his eyebrows came together a little. "Damian..."“I’m serious,” I said. “Let’s go. Leave this house and stop hiding. We don’t have to make it public. We don’t have to do a
The Secret MeetingDamian’s POVI sat in the middle of the room, trying to steady my breathing, but every breath felt like it had to fight its way through the thick pain lodged deep in my chest. Leo’s words echoed louder than they should have. The world didn’t move, but something inside me had shifted."I found him." I didn't say anything at first. I just stared at him as if I didn't hear what he said right. Like maybe I had imagined it. The words didn't seem real, too delicate to grasp all at once. Leo stood just a few steps inside the room. His shoes were wet from the rain and his coat was still on. But there was something steady and certain in his eyes."Where?" I finally asked, carefully keeping my voice low.Leo stepped forward and sat down in the chair across from me. He spoke in a calm but sure voice. "He's back. In the city." I stood up straight, and my shoulders stiffened with shock. "Back?" Leo said yes. "Yes." At first, I wasn't sure. I had been looking at less
The Last StrawDamian’s POVThe silence wasn’t new to me anymore. It had become part of the walls, the furniture, even the shadows that stretched across the floor as the sun moved through the hours. But today, it was worse. It stuck to me like a second skin, sticky and unmoving. My phone was on the table next to me, face down. Since last night, I hadn't touched it. Not since I received the photo.I should have deleted it.But I didn’t. I just left it in my gallery.With Eliot’s face, half-turned, his eyes closed, the lean of another man beside him too close, too familiar. I could hear the click in my chest when I saw it. A soft break. Not loud. Just final.He had moved on.I didn’t leave the apartment. I barely moved at all. There were dishes in the sink I didn’t remember using, and the blinds stayed shut even though the morning light tried to sneak in through the cracks. The room felt smaller today. Not physically, but I felt like it was closing in on me from the inside, slowly kill
The Fake RedemptionDamian’s POVIt was just after noon when the knock came. I was sitting on the edge of the couch, half-dressed, nursing a cup of coffee that had long gone cold. The windows were closed, the blinds drawn. I hadn’t opened them in days. I mean what was the point? Day or night, it all looked the same now.Before I answered, I slowly stood up and ran my hand through my hair. Lila stood on the entrance with a calm smile and an air of well-rehearsed worry when I opened the door. Leo was just behind her, with his hands in the pockets of his coat and his eyes sharp but not mean.“Why aren't you answering your phone?" Lila asked as she walked in without being asked.“I didn’t feel like talking,” I muttered, and shut the door behind them.“This is not the time to pull some stunt or solitude,” she said, crossing her arms. “Not now.”Leo stayed by the wall and looked at the few papers that were strewn around on the table. Even though he hadn't said anything yet, I could feel
Eliot’s DilemmaEliot's POVThe closing door sound echoed like a last word in a conversation I didn't want to start. I stood alone in my apartment, staring at the empty space Vera had just left behind. I still had the picture of her and my mum, taken at a time of happiness I had no idea existed clutch in my hand. The sight of it unsettled me more than I expected.The room felt colder now. Her perfume was still lingering in the air. It smelt flowery and sharp, like lavender pressed against steel. My fingers curled around the edges of the picture, the corners digging into my skin. She had walked in with a smile, left with a promise and now I was left with the aftertaste of a choice I wasn’t ready to make.I should’ve gone after her. But I did Before my thoughts could settle, I had already moved. I grabbed my jacket from the hook and put the photo into my back pocket. The city outside was still awake, with lights that sparkled like faraway stars. I followed the sound of her steps d
The Shadow HeiressDamian’s POVI didn’t sleep. I couldn’t. Sleep meant peace, but there was no more room for that. anymore. After Leo’s call, I did nothing but sit there and look at the city as if it knew what I needed to know. The city never stopped moving. But inside me? Everything had frozen. My mind and heart were beating too fast and loud. The words that Leo said were still stuck in my head.“She’s the real owner of Westbridge Capital.”Vera Morgan.A name I didn't know very well. A woman I had never seen before. And yet, she was at the centre of everything that was going wrong in my life.I stood slowly and stretched out my stiff limbs. My body hurt from being too tired from carrying too many lies, not from not getting enough rest. I leaned closer and looked down at the dark city below. As I did, my fingers touched the cool edge of the windowpane. There were so many lives behind those bright windows, but I felt like mine was the only one that was breaking.The silence in t