CHAPTER 6 DON'T TOUCH HER

The words slammed into Damian like a physical blow.

“Don’t touch her.”

For a second, nobody moved.

Amelia’s body trembled weakly in Adrian’s arms, her face pale enough to terrify everyone in the room.

“Move aside,” Damian said coldly.

Adrian ignored him completely.

“Get water,” he told Sophie calmly. “And call the nearest clinic.”

Sophie snapped out of her shock immediately and rushed toward the kitchen.

Damian’s jaw tightened violently.

The sight before him ignited something ugly inside his chest.

Another man holding Amelia.

Protecting her.

Touching her like it was natural.

And the worst part?

Amelia wasn’t resisting.

Years ago, Damian would’ve dismissed the feeling as irritation.

Tonight, it felt dangerously close to jealousy.

“She’s my wife,” Damian said sharply.

Adrian finally looked up.

“No,” he answered calmly. “She’s a pregnant woman under severe emotional stress.”

The emphasis on pregnant made the room heavier instantly.

Damian’s expression darkened.

“I know she’s pregnant.”

“Clearly not well enough.”

The hit landed perfectly.

Damian took a step forward, eyes icy.

“You seem very comfortable involving yourself in my marriage.”

“And you seem very comfortable destroying it.”

Silence exploded between them again.

Pure tension.

The kind that made breathing difficult.

Amelia stirred weakly before whispering softly:

“Stop…”

Both men immediately looked at her.

Her eyes were glassy with exhaustion.

“I’m tired.”

That single sentence killed the argument instantly.

Adrian carefully helped her sit down on the couch while Sophie hurried back with water.

Amelia’s hands shook so badly she nearly dropped the glass.

Damian noticed immediately.

And hated himself for noticing.

Because five years.

Five years married to her.

Yet he couldn’t remember the last time he had truly looked at Amelia carefully.

Noticed her carefully.

How many times had she hidden pain while standing beside him smiling?

The thought unsettled him deeply.

Sophie knelt beside Amelia protectively.

“You need a hospital.”

“No hospitals,” Amelia whispered instantly.

Damian frowned.

“Why not?”

Her fingers tightened around the glass.

“Because tomorrow the media will already destroy me enough.”

The words hit harder than expected.

For the first time, Damian fully understood what tonight had done to her.

The scandal wasn’t private.

The entire city witnessed her humiliation.

By morning, every news outlet would tear her apart.

And because of him—

She would face it alone.

Damian suddenly turned toward Nathan.

“Shut every story down.”

Nathan blinked slightly.

“Sir?”

“Every article. Every photograph. Every social account discussing tonight.” His voice became terrifyingly calm. “I want all media coverage erased before sunrise.”

Nathan immediately nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

Sophie stared at Damian in disbelief.

The terrifying thing about power was how casually people like him used it.

But Amelia only looked tired.

So unbelievably tired.

Damian stepped closer carefully this time.

“Amelia.”

She didn’t look at him.

The distance between them suddenly felt unbearable.

He had spent years believing Amelia would always remain beside him no matter how cold he became.

Now he realized how dangerous that assumption had been.

Because tonight she actually left.

And somehow,that terrified him more than losing billion-dollar deals ever had.

“We need to talk properly,” he said quietly.

Amelia laughed weakly.

The sound hurt to hear.

“Properly?”

Her eyes finally lifted toward him.

Red.

Heartbroken.

“You handed me divorce papers in front of hundreds of people.”

Damian’s chest tightened sharply.

“I know.”

“No,” she whispered painfully. “You really don’t.”

Silence.

Then Amelia slowly stood despite Sophie protesting immediately.

“I spent five years trying to become someone you could love.”

Damian froze.

Every word pierced deeper than the last.

“I learned your routines. Your moods. Your silences.” Her voice shook harder now. “I defended you when people called you cold. I waited for you every night even when you forgot I existed.”

“Amelia—”

“And tonight,” tears finally spilled down her face again, “the one moment I thought might finally make us happy…”

Her hand moved instinctively toward her stomach.

Damian’s breathing stopped.

God.

The baby.

That was what she meant.

She had walked into that gala carrying hope.

And he crushed it publicly.

A strange ache spread violently through Damian’s chest.

One he couldn’t suppress anymore.

For the first time in years, guilt became almost unbearable.

“I didn’t know,” he said quietly.

Amelia smiled through tears.

“That’s the problem.”

The apartment fell silent again.

Because she was right.

He didn’t know.

Didn’t notice.

Didn’t see her.

Not truly.

Not until she disappeared.

Adrian watched everything silently from nearby.

And honestly?

Part of him hated Damian for looking shaken now.

Because Amelia had needed this version of him years ago.

Not after being destroyed.

Damian took another slow step forward.

“I made a mistake.”

“A mistake?” Amelia repeated softly.

“Yes.”

“You forgot a meeting once. That’s a mistake.” Her voice cracked harder. “What you did tonight was cruelty.”

The word hit him hard.

Cruelty.

Was that what he had become to her?

Damian suddenly realized something horrifying.

He could not remember the last time Amelia looked genuinely happy around him.

The realization stayed lodged painfully inside his chest.

Then Amelia whispered the words that truly shattered him.

“I was so excited to tell you.”

Damian closed his eyes briefly.

Every instinct inside him twisted painfully.

He imagined her preparing the gift box carefully.

Imagined her smiling nervously.

Imagined her rehearsing how to say it.

And then imagined himself handing her divorce papers instead.

The image made him feel physically sick.

Damian opened his eyes again.

“I’ll fix this.”

Adrian almost laughed.

Fix this?

As though emotions worked like damaged business contracts.

Amelia looked exhausted hearing it too.

“You can’t.”

“Yes, I can.”

“How?” she whispered. “Can you erase tonight from my memory?”

Damian went silent.

Because he couldn’t.

No amount of power could undo what he did.

Outside, thunder rumbled across the dark sky.

The tension in the apartment became suffocating.

Then suddenly Nathan’s phone rang.

He answered quickly before his expression shifted.

“Sir…”

Damian looked irritated.

“What?”

Nathan hesitated.

Then lowered his voice.

“The media leak didn’t stop at the gala.”

Damian’s eyes sharpened dangerously.

“What do you mean?”

Nathan looked grim.

“Someone released private information online.”

A cold feeling spread instantly through the room.

“What information?” Damian asked flatly.

Nathan looked toward Amelia uncertainly.

Then finally answered:

“Mrs. Vale’s medical records.”

Sophie gasped.

Adrian’s expression darkened instantly.

Amelia went completely still.

“No…” she whispered.

Nathan swallowed.

“The pregnancy was exposed online ten minutes ago.”

The room exploded into silence.

Amelia felt like all the air had vanished from her lungs.

Her pregnancy.

Public.

Just like that.

Her hands began trembling violently.

“No…”

Damian’s face turned terrifyingly cold.

“Who leaked them?”

“We’re tracing it now.”

But Damian already knew.

Vanessa.

It had to be.

Rage unlike anything he felt all night surged through him instantly.

Because humiliating Amelia was one thing.

But exposing her pregnancy?

That crossed a line even Damian found disgusting.

Sophie grabbed her phone quickly.

“Oh my God…”

Amelia couldn’t breathe properly anymore.

Sophie looked horrified scrolling through headlines.

“‘Divorced CEO Wife Pregnant Amid Cheating Scandal.’”

Another refresh.

“‘Did Amelia Hart Trap Damian Vale With a Baby?’”

Another.

“‘Mystery Pregnancy Shocks Vale Family.’”

Each headline felt like another knife.

Amelia suddenly rushed toward the bathroom.

Then barely made it before vomiting violently.

Damian moved instinctively.

But Adrian reached her first again.

Supporting her hair gently.

Rubbing her back carefully.

Protecting her.

Something dark twisted viciously inside Damian at the sight.

Not because Adrian touched her.

Because Adrian knew how to comfort her.

And Damian didn’t.

Five years married.

Yet another man understood Amelia’s needs better than he did.

The realization burned.

Inside the bathroom, Amelia gripped the sink weakly afterward while tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

Everything was ruined.

Everything.

Tomorrow strangers would discuss her pregnancy online like gossip.

People would judge her child before it was even born.

Her chest hurt so badly she could barely stand.

Adrian handed her water quietly.

“You need to breathe slowly.”

She laughed shakily through tears.

“I can’t do this.”

“Yes, you can.”

“No…” she whispered brokenly. “I’m tired.”

That word again.

Tired.

Not weak.

Not helpless.

Just exhausted from carrying pain for too long.

Damian stood outside the bathroom doorway watching silently.

And suddenly he understood something terrifying.

Amelia had been enduring unhappiness for years.

Quietly.

Alone.

While he remained too emotionally blind to notice.

Nathan approached him cautiously.

“Sir… there’s another issue.”

Damian looked murderous already.

“What now?”

Nathan lowered his voice further.

“Your mother saw the news.”

Damian’s expression darkened instantly.

And right on cue,

His phone rang.

Mother.

Damian answered coldly.

“What?”

Her furious voice exploded immediately through the line.

“Tell me the pregnancy rumors are fake.”

Damian’s jaw tightened.

“They’re not.”

Silence.

Then—“You divorced her while she’s carrying a Vale heir?!”

Damian closed his eyes briefly.

Not because he cared about the family outrage.

But because hearing it aloud made everything sound even worse.

“I’ll handle it.”

“You already handled it badly enough!” she snapped. “The board members are furious. Investors are already talking.”

Of course they were.

Because to wealthy families, scandals meant weakness.

But strangely,Damian barely cared about the company consequences right now.

His gaze drifted back toward the bathroom where Amelia sat crying quietly.

And for the first time in years…

Work no longer felt like the most important thing in his life.

“I said I’ll handle it,” he repeated coldly before hanging up.

The apartment remained tense afterward.

Then Adrian suddenly stood.

“She shouldn’t stay here.”

Damian’s eyes narrowed immediately.

“What?”

“The media will find this apartment by morning.”

Sophie paled instantly.

He was right.

Once reporters traced Amelia here, chaos would erupt.

Damian spoke immediately.

“She’s coming home with me.”

“No.”

Amelia’s voice came from the bathroom doorway.

Weak.

But firm.

Damian looked at her sharply.

“You can’t stay here.”

“I’m not going back to the mansion.”

Something in her expression made his chest tighten again.

Fear.

She genuinely didn’t feel safe returning emotionally.

Adrian spoke calmly.

“She can stay at one of my private properties.”

Damian’s gaze turned icy instantly.

Absolutely not.

The mere thought of Amelia living under Adrian’s protection made something irrationally possessive rise inside him.

“She’s my wife,” Damian said dangerously.

Amelia looked at him tiredly.

“You divorced me.”

The words sliced through the room.

Damian went silent.

Because legally—

Not yet.

But emotionally?

Maybe she already had.

Adrian stepped beside Amelia protectively.

“She needs stability right now. Not pressure.”

Damian stared at him coldly.

“And you think you can give her that?”

“Yes.”

One word.

Calm.

Certain.

But it hit Damian harder than it should have.

Because Adrian believed it.

And worse,Amelia looked like she believed it too.

Then suddenly Amelia swayed again.

Her vision blurred dangerously.

“Amelia!”

Adrian caught her immediately.

But this time, before anyone could react,

Amelia collapsed completely unconscious in his arms.

And Damian felt real panic for the very first time in his life.