AmbushedEliot’s POVThe light from the sun in the morning came in through the sheer curtains and made long gold lines on the wooden floor. It was soft and quiet in Damian's apartment, like a lullaby, but it started to feel like something else to me. Something stronger. It felt like a memory was trying to hold me back.I stood at the window, arms crossed, watching the clouds shift across the sky. The city buzzed beneath, full of noise and life and distraction. I hadn’t stepped out in weeks. Not really. Not since everything fell apart and all I could hold on to was Damian. He had let me crash here, quietly caring for me as if I might break under stress.But this place wasn’t mine.And all of a sudden l, I felt like I needed to breathe my own air again. My own walls. My own stillness. I didn’t want to run. I just needed to stand on my own for a moment, remind myself that I wasn't lost in someone else's shadow.I glanced toward the couch.Damian was asleep there, and his arm was wrappe
Damian’s ChoiceDamian’s POVEven though it was quiet inside, my mind wasn't. It was full of noise, memories, and possibilities I didn't want to face. I could still hear Vera's voice from the short call we had hours ago. "Step away from Eliot, and I’ll give you the company back.” After that, the line went dead, but what she said set everything inside me on fire.I sat on the couch's edge in the room. Long shadows were cast on the floor by the dim light from the doorway that came into the living room. Eliot leaned against the other cushion and quietly watched me. Lila stood by the window with her arms crossed and her teeth clenched. There was a long stretch of thick, unsure, and fragile silence between us.“She wants to meet,” I finally said, my voice low and rough. I hadn’t slept much. “Tomorrow. She said she’ll put everything on the table.” Eliot's lips were close together. "Are you going to go?"I turned to look at him. His eyes didn’t flinch and the question he asked wasn't
The CollapseLila's POVI stepped out of the bathroom because I could hear some whispers. At first, I didn't move. As I listened again, the words that weren't meant for me made my heart pound harder in my chest.I turned sharply, the cold pregnancy test still clutched in my hand.My girlfriend stood by the window with her back to me and her phone close to her ear. Even though the blinds were closed, the dim light from the hallway made her silhouette stand out more, like something was broken.She didn’t know I was at her back.Not yet.“Who are you talking to?” I asked, voice low, too calm for what I felt bubbling under my skin.She jumped before turning towards me. Her eyes widened, but she recovered fast—too fast. She hung up the phone with a shaking hand and faked a smile that didn't show in her eyes.“Lila, it’s… it’s not what you think.”I stared at her, at the way her hands trembled slightly before she tucked them behind her back. My grip tightened around the test until the pla
The Secret ClauseDamian's POVI stood frozen in my father’s study, the air was thick with the smell of leather and old paper, and there was a kind of silence that doesn't settle; it waits. Each wall here stared at me, and every corner whispered secrets. My gaze still locked on the drawer labeled Inheritance Protocol with letters written in my dad's strict handwriting. It felt like a warning, a challenge, a line drawn in legal ink.My fingers hovered over the brass handle. A rush of heat spread across my face and my heart beat fast against my temples like a drum of fear and need. I tried to pull the drawer out again. Locked. My jaw tensed up. Of course it was. Maxwell Vale never made anything easy. He didn’t believe in access without permission. I presses my palm flat on the surface, and took a step back, sweeping the room with my eyes, looking for anything out of ordinary: anything that might indicate where the key was.The door creaked open behind me, and my spine stiffened.“Mr. Da
The Fall of a GiantDamian's POVMy voice cracked as I turned toward the study door, panic clawing its way out of my chest. “Help! Someone! Please!”My father's body was still on the floor of his study. His hand moved once and then stopped. His normally calm and tight-lipped face was twisted in pain. His eyes were rolling back a little, and his lips were parted as if he had been interrupted in the middle of a statement. A man like Maxwell Vale never looked weak. Not until now.My heart was beating so fast that I could hardly hear myself. I struggled to open the screen on my phone as my fingers slid across it. I finally got through to the emergency services and yelled out our address and what was going on with a voice that didn't sound like mine.“Someone just collapsed,” I said breathlessly. “He’s not breathing right. You have to hurry.”Even though the call was over, my ears kept ringing. I could hear footsteps behind me. The maids came and stood at the door, their faces pale w
When a Father Betrays His SonDamian's POV"So that’s what this is about?" I snapped, my voice slicing through the tension that had built up in the room like fog. "You wanted to change me into some version my father could like? You mean that's what this whole show was all about, right, Aaron?"I could tell Aaron was feeling guilty because he had a tight mouth and narrowed eyes as he stood across from me. Even though the windows were wide open, the room was very hot. Eliot stood off to the side and watched in silence, like a man getting ready for an explosion.Aaron defensively crossed his arms. "You think I was trying to trick you?" Towards your dad? Do you really think that's what this was all about?""Don’t act like you’re not guilty of what you did," I spat, stepping forward. My hands trembled at my sides, not out of fear but fury. "You knew how broken that relationship was, and you used it for your own good. You used me.”Something flashed behind his eyes for a moment. Shame or