CHAPTER 7

Rooftop Aftermath

Damian's POV

That night, I didn't sleep.

Not even for a second.

As I lay there, I looked up at the ceiling and counted the tiny cracks in the plaster as if they were stars. It felt like the silk sheets were too tight. It seemed like the air weighed more than it should have. I kept looking for peace but couldn't find it.

I saw Maria's face every time I closed my eyes.

Not mad. Not disgusted.

Just... shocked.

It felt like the ground had moved under her, and she wasn't sure if she should run or stay.

Eliot left quietly after she caught us. He didn't ask if I was okay. He just put on his coat, took out his phone, and walked out of the elevator as if he hadn't just broken all the rules we lived by.

But before he left, he gave me a quick look.

It was the kind of look that asks, Will you still choose me tomorrow?

I sat on the edge of the bed with my hands clasped together and my elbows on my knees like I was praying. But I wasn't.

But in that moment, I wished I believed in anything that could save me from what I was about to do.

I could still feel his lips on mine.

Like we were still on that roof, my heart was still beating fast.

But my chest?

It felt like it was broken. Hollow. As if someone had knocked the breath out of me, I haven't been able to breathe since.

Maria.

She was more than just a maid. She was like the furniture in the house. Familiar. Loyal to the core. The woman who sewed my shirt hems when I was twelve years old. The person who always brought tea without being asked. She called me "mi niño bonito" when no one else was around.

Now she had seen me pressed up against Eliot, my hands in his hair and mouth on his like we had all the time in the world.

Except we didn't

And now she knew about us

I showered twice.

Three times at most.

I had lost track after the second one. I scrubbed my skin as if I wanted to forget what had happened, as if the steam could wash away my shame. But the truth stuck to me like smoke.

It was impossible to get rid of.

The house was still when I stepped out. Through the shades, the morning sun came in, and everything outside looked so normal.

It almost seemed rude.

I walked slowly and stiffly down the stairs. I was expecting to hear whispers and stumbling steps behind closed doors. But there was silence.

Maria and I walked past each other in the hallway.

She kept going.

She didn't even spare me a glance.

Like I wasn't there, she walked into the laundry room with a stack of clean towels in her arms.

And that was worse in some way.

I hesitated in front of my dad's office.

The door was shut.

It wasn't strange. It was like he never felt the outside world when he worked behind that heavy oak door. There was more air around it this time, though. It looked like something bad was waiting behind it.

I didn't bother to knock.

I kept going.

I made myself a coffee but I couldn't drink it. I didn't eat the toast. Everything felt like cardboard. Every sound and flicker of movement made my stomach turn. I kept checking the window. To see if I'm being watched. Constantly check my phone to see if I had a new message.

I told myself I was being dramatic. But I knew better.

There was something else.

Something worse than Maria saw.

The rooftop kiss.

It's not just about the kiss. The time before it. The second after.

There was someone there.

I felt it in my bones.

The world stopped when Eliot kissed me, like really kissed me. But when I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye. A shape. A shadow. A flash of something shiny. A camera lens. My world fell apart.

When Eliot pulled away, his brow furrowed slightly with a forced smirk and said something stupid like, "We should do this more often."

But I saw the fear behind it.

He knew it too.

But none of us had spoken a word about it.

Now It sounded like thunder in my head.

I took out my phone and looked at the security feed. But It was too big from the rooftop. The building next door was not caught in it. And the cityscape? Too open and obvious.

I brought out my phone, hoping to see a message this time but still nothing.

Nothing from Eliot. Maria hasn't said anything. No press. No leaks. Yet.

I mustered up the courage and pulled up my messages and finally texted him.

Me: "We have a problem."

A minute went by.

Two.

Then my screen came on.

Eliot: "You're going downhill. Take a deep breath."

Typical Eliot. Short. Flippant. Cool under pressure.

I scoffed and quickly typed back.

Me: "Someone saw us, you know that.”

Eliot: "Let them. Who cares about that.”

I wasn't amused.

What did I expect anyway, he had nothing to lose. Unlike me.

He wasn’t the one with a father who believed image was everything.

He wasn't the heir to a business that was trained to be perfect.

He just doesn't get it.

"Me: “You don’t understand.”

This time, there was no reply.

I threw the phone on the couch and combed and ran a hand through my hair.

My hands were shaking.

Slowly I began to pace. Then go faster. I tipped over a chair but didn't pick it up. My thoughts were all over the place. What if Maria told someone? What if the board found out? What if this made everything worse?

The way my father would look at me.

It was already clear that he would feel bad when he knew about this.

“I raised a son. Not a weakness.” That's what he would definitely say.

The sound of my phone jolted me out of my mind.

I went cold. My heart was beating fast as I walked back slowly, feeling fear in my chest as I reached for it.

It wasn’t Eliot or Maria. Not even someone I knew.

Just a number. No name. No ID.

I opened the message.

Then everything stopped.

"Nice kiss on the roof. Do you want to keep it a secret?" **

My blood froze.

I stared at the screen like maybe I was dreaming, if I blinked enough, the words would disappear. But they stayed. Burning through me.

As I sat down, my heart was beating so fast that it blocked out everything else.

Someone knew. Just like I had suspected. And now they had proof.

I held my breath, my body visibly shaking.

They could destroy everything.

I read the message again. It wasn't long. But enough to make me jump. There was no demand. No price but just a question.

“Want to keep it a secret?”

Of course I want to. But at what cost?

My eyes fell on the meds again. It stared back at me like a ticking bomb.

My mind drifted back to Eliot. To the rooftop. The way he put his hands in my hair and his mouth on mine.

I remembered how good it felt at the time.

But also how wrong and humiliating it would look like on the headline. How quickly everything could fall apart.

Then I came up with one word.

Why?

Why did I go up there?

Why did I let him touch me?

Why did I kiss him back?

Even when everything I had worked for was at stake.

I closed the phone and sat still.

The silence wasn't empty anymore, though.

It was full. Heavy. Like an open flame ready to be lit.

And somewhere out there, someone was holding the flame.