CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 4

I spent the night at a nearby hotel. Although I refused to sleep, I kept thinking about the coming apocalypse. Today was the day of the meeting with Damian Stark, and I wasn't nervous one bit.

I stopped by my apartment to check the progress. It was going well. The building was oddly quiet today, and to my surprise, the apartment next door was also undergoing a renovation—the same apartment that belonged to Damian during the apocalypse. He had already started fortifying it.

Back then, when it first happened, I didn't think much about it. I just thought the person moving in might be on high alert, or I even thought he was a criminal. Something had changed. Why did it seem like all the neighbors were gone this time?

I moved closer to one of the workers working on Damian's apartment.

"What happened here?" I asked.

The man stared me up and down. "Are you the lady next door?"

I nodded, and he gave me a wry smile. "Someone from the Stark team just bought this entire building and told everyone to move out except you!"

The man spoke, and I gasped.

"The whole building?!" I repeated.

"Yeah. Isn't it strange that you two are the only ones doing a renovation? What is happening exactly?"

"Do you really wanna know?" I leaned in, and the man gave me a curious look. "Zombies will invade the city soon!"

The man laughed loudly, holding his stomach. He gave me a look of clear skepticism. "Are you high or something, woman?" he questioned.

I rolled my eyes and walked away. I had bigger things to deal with, like my meeting with Damian himself.

I drove to my company and prepared for the meeting. At exactly 10:00 AM, I got to the meeting room and waited patiently for him.

He showed up a while later with his secretary. He was tall, looking exactly like I remembered: black hair, a sharp jawline, a defined chin, and a handsome face carved like a Greek god. Maybe I had been blinded back then by his looks and the vibrant energy that caused me to fall for him, even when he always gave me the cold shoulder. We never talked much, yet my eyes were so blind back then. Pulling everything back now felt like a slap to the face.

Damian met my intensity once he walked in, observing every single detail about me before proceeding to take a seat opposite mine.

I didn't even waste a second. I began, my voice sharp and clipped. "I must say, I'm surprised that Damian Stark himself, CEO of the Stark Group, is here." I paused, shaking my head and spinning a pen around my fingers. "And the same Damian Stark just bought the building I'm staying in and drove all the neighbors out except me."

I watched him closely to see any look of recognition, surprise, or amusement in his eyes, but instead, he gave me his usual cold stare.

"Would you rather I drive you out as well?" he spoke, his voice deep and firmly under control.

I shrugged lightheartedly, a chuckle coming out of me.

"Playing dumb, I see. About this project—I'm sorry, but I changed my mind."

He didn't look surprised one bit. With a raised brow, he said, "You were very excited to make this deal two weeks ago. What changed, Ms. Lake?"

"Let's just say nothing changed. Maybe I do not fancy the Starks anymore." I paused. "Now that you know my answer, you can leave my company," I added hastily.

Seeing his face alone annoyed me so much. I couldn't stand him, but what could I do? He was officially my neighbor next door.

Damian stood up from his seat, and his legs moved slowly toward me. I sat up straight and gave him a matching stare.

"You do know that you are acting irrationally, Ms. Lake. If you know how to run a company, you won't let your personal feelings get in the way," he said coldly.

My ears rang. Personal feelings? Bingo!

I smirked. "Personal feelings? Close, but no, Mr. Stark. Why do you speak of personal feelings when I do not know you at all?"

A hint of surprise flashed through Damian's eyes.

"Then what do you know about the catastrophe that will take place next month?" Damian asked, raising a brow, as if he was testing the waters to see if I was dumb enough to admit anything.

"The zombie apocalypse? Do you know about that too?"

Damian simply ignored my question. As he moved closer, he stopped when his shoes touched mine. I was highly aware of our proximity. What was he planning to do? He wasn't supposed to come this close.

"You know too? You remember what happened?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"No, I just woke up today after the last thing I saw was you and me searching for supplies and eventually getting tackled by roaming zombies on the way. I lived through an event that happened five weeks before my death."

Something flashed in his eyes—doubt, maybe.

"Oh, so we both know about March 1st. So why were you asking me questions?" He raised a brow.

"I'm only confused, Damian. Back then, it seemed you already knew about the apocalypse even before it happened."

Damian shrugged. "Let's just say I was reborn twice."

I scoffed and crossed my arms. Twice? Possibly, but it was hard to believe.

"Why did you choose my apartment building?"

"Honestly, it was a random pick and the best fit. I never knew you lived there."

Damian stepped away, keeping a decent distance between us.

"Now we both know what's going to happen. I can only tell you to prepare well for it if you want to survive at all costs," he said calmly before walking away.

I scoffed again. Survive at all costs? When he was the bastard who pushed me out of the door and locked it in my face.

I cursed him under my breath.

I lied. I told him I did not remember. There was only one motive behind it: if I told the truth, maybe he would want to get rid of me even earlier. But if I lied, then we would just have to mind our own fucking business.