CHAPTER 04

OPHELIA COLE

I paced back and forth across the rehab visitation room, my nerves stretched thin. The last couple of days had been hell. Thank goodness the Dawson(s) had maids who helped with a few things , especially taking care of Grandma, because I couldn’t count how many times I’d zoned out or how many nights I’d cried myself to sleep, only to wake up and pretend everything was fine.

Disappointed? Yes.

Betrayed? Absolutely.

My mind kept replaying every possibility, the ifs and the if-nots. I wanted so badly to believe it was all some terrible joke. He would never… right?

“Ophelia.”

I froze. Hearing my name in his voice felt like being dropped into ice water. I turned to look at him, the man I had given my heart to, my life to. I should’ve felt excited to see him after so long. I should’ve run into his arms, told him how much I’d missed him. But instead, all I could manage was a stiff smile as we both sat down.

He didn’t try to hug me. Didn’t even reach for my hand. His expression was… strange. Not cold, exactly. Just unreadable. Like he wanted me there but also didn’t.

We stared at each other for a long, heavy minute.

“How are you feeling?” I finally asked, keeping my eyes on him even though he kept looking everywhere but at me.

“Fine.” His answer was simple, flat.

“You look… different. More pretty.”

A compliment. From him.

I should’ve been ecstatic. I’ve always wanted him to see me,really see me. He rarely ever complimented me, so hearing him call me pretty should have sent me above the clouds. Instead, all I managed was a quiet, awkward, “Thank you.”

We spent the next few minutes talking about the accident.

Well - I talked.

I asked questions.

He gave short, clipped answers.

And then silence settled between us again, so heavy I felt it in my chest.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“I got some disturbing texts. And images.” My voice wavered as I pulled out my phone and slid it toward him. “They aren’t real, right? Someone must’ve made them up. Some people really don’t want us together out there.”

I laughed,sharp and hollow. Nothing about this was funny. Not even close.

He stared at the screen for barely a second before pushing the phone back toward me. He exhaled hard and rubbed his forehead like I was a headache he didn’t want to deal with.

“You’re not a child, Ophelia. It’s time we stop playing this hide-and-seek game. It’s getting boring.”

I frowned. “What are you talking about, Luca? We’re getting married. We’re not playing any game.”

“That… that right there is exactly your problem.”

His tone cut deep.

“You’ve been so obsessed with this fantasy of marrying me that you didn’t even notice when we fell apart.”

I laughed again,because surely this was a joke. It had to be. I’d just shown him pictures of him and Charlotte Sky—the city’s sweetheart—wrapped around each other with the media painting them as couple. I hate how many times I looked her up, scrolling through every perfect photo of her and wondering what he saw in her that he didn’t see in me.

I expected him to deny it.

Or at least pretend.

Anything.

I would’ve forgiven him instantly. That’s how much I loved him.

Instead,

“Charlotte Sky is everything you’re not,” he said calmly. “She’s present. She’s tender. I mean, I’m in love with her, Ophelia. If you weren’t so focused on painting me as some perfect hero, you would’ve seen that. So don’t start whining now.”

His next words gutted me.

“And don’t get me started on our sex life,which literally doesn’t exist. You’re so naive and saintly you needed to wait till marriage. I’m a man. What did you expect to happen?”

“I was abroad studying!” I snapped, my voice cracking. “You can’t seriously love her. You must be confused. And if sex was the issue, you could’ve just told me—”

“Too late, darling.” He shrugged. “Too late.”

“You don’t love her…” I whispered, but even as I said it, I saw the truth all over him. The way his eyes lit up when he talked about her,it was the same way they used to light up when we were eight, sitting under the moon, promising the world to each other.

I hated this pain.

This sharp, breath-stealing heartbreak.

I blinked hard, fighting tears.

“Were you really going to marry me,” I asked quietly, “knowing you don’t love me anymore?”

He leaned back. Unbothered.

“My father insisted. So I figured I’d give you both what you always wanted. Marriage.”

That evening, I did something I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d done...

I drank.

I drank because maybe, if I got drunk enough to knock myself out, I’d wake up tomorrow and everything would be the same again. This day… this conversation… it would all disappear like it never happened. My heart wouldn’t feel like it had been torn apart. He would still love me. He would still look at me the way he used to.

Was it such a crime that no man had ever touched me?

He had never complained. Never asked.

So finding out that was the flaw he ran to fix somewhere else —

It burned.

“That’s enough. We should get you home.”

Damien’s voice came from behind me, steady and calm, as he gently took the glass from my hand. I couldn’t trust myself to get home safely, so I’d stupidly texted him my location but I hadn’t expected him to show up this fast.

His scent hit me the moment I stood, and when I staggered, he caught me easily,his arms firm around me. I kept my eyes everywhere but on his face, because I knew if I looked at him, I’d fall apart completely.

“How could he?” I whispered, my voice breaking.

Damien didn’t ask questions. He didn’t tell me to stop talking. He just handed me a can of water and waited patiently while I drank. When he took it back, my hand lingered on his, and when I finally met his gaze…

Soft.

Warm.

Almost apologetic.

Like his eyes were saying I’m sorry for the pain someone else caused.

And when my eyes drifted down to his lips, I knew I was about to do something reckless. Something I shouldn’t.

And I did.

In the next breath, my lips were on his.

It tasted faintly of mint… and something else.

Something warm. Safe.

It was soft, unmoving, like he was giving me one last second to change my mind…

One last breath to pull away.

But I didn’t.

I pressed fully into the kiss.

And Damien?

He didn’t push me away.

He kissed me back.