Chapter six- Red dress

Damon POV 

I stepped out of the SUV, slamming the door harder than I needed to. The silence of the estate swallowed me whole but inside my head, everything was chaos.

I had spent longer at the office than I planned. The new deal we were supposed to sign had been delayed-thanks to my father. That man could be trouble when he wanted to. 

He insisted Ethan had to sign every deal before it could move forward. Ethan, of course, was nowhere to be found. 

My phone rang. 

Jack. I answered, already knowing why he was calling. 

“Boss Damon,” He greeted, dragging out the word like he always did when he wanted to tease me. I didn’t respond-too tired to play along.

“The Movestisca Group doesn't seem to like a company that's going to wait much longer for us to sign this deal," He said. 

“Jack,” I replied coldly, “I can't do anything about that. I'm not even the official CEO yet. That title will be ripped from me soon enough, remember?”

“Why don't you care more? Your brother can't handle this company”

Jack had been my best friend since childhood, more like a personal adviser now. He'd tried a thousand times to convince me to just do what my father wanted: marry the girl he chose and keep the position, instead I had married the woman meant for Ethan. Funny how life works sometimes. 

But I'd lost interest in the benefits a long time ago. I knew exactly what it meant to work under my father. 

“Good night, Jack. We'll talk tomorrow.”

“I almost forgot-you've got a wife at home now. Alright, Boss.”

I hung up and walked into the sitting room. That's when I remembered what had happened here earlier. 

Amber and Ethan 

Her legs wrapped around him like it was normal. His hands on her thighs. Their lips tangled together like I wasn't even supposed to exist. 

What the hell was Amber doing with him?

I moved deeper into the mansion and head for my room, my chest heavy. I didn't know if I was more angry or disappointed-I wasn't sure which one was worse.

The door clicked shut behind me, I tossed my blazer aside, yanked my shirt over my head and threw it onto the couch. I needed to breathe. I walked to the window and stared at the fading light. The view didn’t calm me. Nothing could. 

Why did this bother me so much? Amber was my past.

I rubbed my temples and let out a slow breath. Then my thoughts shifted. 

Zebulunia. 

I married her to protect her. But Ethan…I could sense wouldn't make it easy for me.

A little gasp made me turn. 

She was standing just outside the bathroom, skin still damp from her shower, a white towel wrapped tight around her chest. But that wasn't what made my heart stutter. 

Her face.

She wasn't wearing the mask. 

Her eyes widened as our gazes locked. Panic flared in them.

We just stared at each other, as if the building might collapse if we looked away. 

Something about her eyes, they were dangerous. 

I was seriously drawn

Her hands suddenly shot up to cover her face. But it was too late, I'd already seen her.

My breath caught in my throat. I wasn’t even breathing. 

God. She was breathtaking. 

I have seen thousands of faces but this one was exceptional. 

Not just beautiful. Devastating. Angelic and innocent,  as if the universe had made her with too much care. 

Her lips were full and slightly parted, trembling as if she didn’t know whether to speak or scream. 

I couldn't look away. No wonder she hid it, that face could start wars.

And yet… she looked so exposed, so vulnerable. 

My feet moved before I told them to. I stepped closer, my eyes never leaving hers. Just inches away I could see the way her chest rose and fell with each uneven breaths. 

I reached up, my hand hovering near her cheek. The air between us was heavy, pulsing with something raw. My gaze fell to her lips. Soft, pink and trembling. 

My thumb brushed against her lower, she shivered. 

I want to kiss her. 

God help me, I wanted to taste her like a man who'd been starving.

 And she stood there-frozen, wide-eyed  as if she felt it too.

Her breathe sped up.

Then-

She turned and fled. 

Ran across the room and slammed the dressing room door shut. 

I let out a frustrated breath and dragged a hand down my face. 

Damn it. 

I hadn't meant to get that close. But she pulled me in like gravity. 

I walked into the bathroom and splashed water on my face 

I needed control. 

**

Ethan's POV

The club was dark, loud and thick with heat. Music pounded through the floor, lights flashing over bodies that swayed and twisted like shadows. 

I sat back in the VIP booth, half-hidden in the corner, a bottle of whiskey open in front of me. A blonde was on my lap, laughing too loudly, her perfume cloying and sweet. Her hands slid over my chest like she thought she could keep my attention. 

She couldn't. 

Because my mind was somewhere else. 

Everything I blinked, I saw it-Damon and Zebulunia standing in that courthouse. Her hand in his. His arm around her like he owned her.

Someone had posted the pictures online. Damon had the nerve to marry her. To act like she belonged to him. 

She didn't. Not yet.

Even if I had never truly wanted her, she had been mine first. And no one, especially not Damon got to take what was mine. 

He had rejected to marry the woman father had proposed to him, only to marry the one meant for me.

The blonde on my lap said something, giggling as she leaned in. I didn’t hear her. My hand moved before I even thought about it. Pushing her off, she stumbled and swore under her breath, then glared at me. 

“Whatever,” she spar, tugging her dress back into place. 

“Get out of my sight,” I said flatly. 

She disappeared into the crowd without another word. 

I poured myself another drink, the liquid shaking slightly in my glass. 

My jaw was tight, my thoughts were sharper than the burn in my throat. 

Amber. 

That had been the mistake. I hadn’t planned to kiss her, not at first. 

She had shown up at the house acting sweet and asking about Damon and Amber engagement and they were getting married that day.

She wore that innocent little smile and a dress that didn’t hide much. 

One second she was sitting beside me. The next, she was on my lap. 

I kissed her. She was too beautiful to ignore.

And I know the moment she stepped into the mansion, the moment I looked in her eyes, that she was dangerous. 

Amber had come around before, claiming she wanted to speak to Damon. I never bothered to figure out why. But now… I understood. She wasn’t just visiting, she was watching. 

Then Damon and Zebulunia walked in. 

It wasn't supposed to happen like that. That was supposed to stay hidden  

Amber hadn’t been part of the original plan, she was just there. 

But now?

She's in.

And Zebulunia-poor, beautiful Zebulunia, she was going to suffer. Oh, I would make sure of that. 

Damon would lose everything. 

I leaned back against the booth, letting the lights blur around me as the outline of my plan sharpened in my head. 

My phone buzzed. I picked it up immediately. 

“Yeah?”

A voice on the other end spoke quickly, low.

A smirk pulled at my lips.  Exactly the call I had been waiting for. 

“Tomorrow,” I said coldly. “We start”

I ended the call and set the glass down. My reflection in the dark whiskey smiled back at me. 

Let the game begin.