LioraWe pulled into the driveway, sleek gates parting without a word. Damien stepped out first, buttoning his jacket like the night hadn’t left its mark, then turned slightly, waiting for me. Always composed.Inside, the warmth hit me, the faint scent of cedarwood and leather was rich. Damien tossed his keys on the console with practiced ease. I followed, my heels clicking against the marble, my nerves steadying with every step.“Do you realize you look… dangerously charming tonight?” I asked softly, glancing at Damien as we stepped into the house. The echo of the casino still clung to me, but here, in the quiet, I could finally say it.His lips curved immediately, smug and deliberate, one brow lifting with the kind of arrogance he could make look alluring. “I thought someone didn’t notice,” he murmured, pride dripping from every syllable.I laughed, shaking my head. He had been waiting almost begging for that compliment the entire night.“Don’t get too pleased with yourself,” I teas
Damien The game began.Harper played like a man with an audience, his every move was a performance. He dealt with exaggerated flair, the deck snapping like thunder on his hands, tossing cards onto the felt as though each carried divine favor. His laughter was too loud, his grin too wide, and every flourish begged for attention.“Guess fortune loves me tonight,” he declared, slapping down his first hand with the arrogance of a king already crowned.The crowd chuckled politely, feeding his ego. His men clapped shoulders and smirked like they were in on the win. The dealer, a woman, a new employee with careful eyes and steady hands, tried to keep her composure, her voice measured as she called the play. But I saw the slight twitch in her lip. She already knew which way the cards leaned.I studied Harper like a surgeon studies an open wound. Twitch on his mouth. Every bead of sweat sneaking out at his temple. Every time he exhaled too quickly and tried to laugh it off.My response was de
Damien“Damien,” Liora’s voice snapped me back, bright and blunt enough to cut through the quiet. She leaned forward, eyes wide, the look that made questions feel like small, precise weapons. “Do you know my mother?”The room tightened around me. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees, and that look in her eyes made questions feel like a ticking bomb.“No,” I said. The single word was honest and careful. “My mother was what I meant to say.” “She never liked this life. Said it was dangerous and that it would ruin the lives of the people I love, my wife, and children. I promised to protect them. I told her I’d protect you.”Her fingers found the back of my hand and rubbed once in a slow, steady circle. The smallness of the gesture was everything, intimate. “If you ever want to talk about your mom,” she said, quiet and intentional, “I’m here.”It should have relieved me. Instead, the generosity sat in my chest like an accusation. I was the man with the answers and the lies and I just sp
DamienHer words dropped like lead. "Your wife, Liora, is my baby girl. My daughter. I have no intention of harming her. I have always protected her in my own way." I didn't move. Not even a flicker of reaction crossed my face. Years of negotiations, betrayals, and enemies had taught me to master silence. If there is one thing in this world I value above anything, it is Liora, my wife, light. And if what this woman claims is true, then it changes everything.I studied her carefully. Most people, men twice her size, broke under the weight of my silence. They fidgeted. She didn’t. Her back remained straight, her chin lifted, her eyes steady on mine. If anything, there was a strange fire in them, a defiance wrapped in calm.I leaned back slowly in my chair, one hand resting against the polished mahogany armrest. The other is holding the gun steady, not to pull it, but as a subtle reminder that I can.My jaw tightened. “So if I run a DNA test,” I asked slowly, letting my voice drop unt
DamienShit.The curse rolled through my mind before I could stop it. For a moment, I’d been careless close to spilling a truth I had no intention of handing to Liora yet.Since our wedding, I've promised myself one thing, keep her safe at all costs. That vow had become my anchor, so I’d hired Smith, my best investigator, to shadow her whenever I wasn’t in New York. Her movements, anybody circling too close, none of it escaped me.And lately, Smith’s reports carried a description I hated seeing repeated.It must be Kate.The woman lurked in shadows like a parasite, watching Liora, breathing obsession. She claimed not to want my wife in that house, yet couldn’t stop watching her.I’d given Kate more leniency than she deserved. That time was almost over.When Smith told me he had spotted her near the caregiver center where Liora’s father stayed, my pulse sharpened. The only Strange thing the reports say is Kate never entered, only stood outside, like a predator waiting. Why not walk in
Liora “Eat, kitten.”He said it like a command, deep and steady, as though my empty stomach was why I kept asking questions that didn’t belong to me.I lowered my gaze to the plate. And just like that, I obeyed. Not because he ordered me to, but because hunger pressed at me and the weight of his words made refusal impossible.The clink of cutlery against porcelain filled the space between us. No other words were spoken. Only silence, layered with the quick, stolen glances we kept trading when we thought the other wasn’t looking. If only he knew how loud my thoughts were. If only I knew his too.When Margaret cleared the table, I stayed in my seat. Then, slowly, deliberately, I pulled my chair closer to him. Close enough he would feel the pull of my presence, close enough that he would know I wasn’t letting this go.“I’ve let you into my world,” I said softly, careful to keep my tone sweet enough to stir something inside him. “You know everything about me and in fact, you monitor me m