Chapter 7

Clair had begun to notice the difference.

It was impossible not to.

At first, she had tried to convince herself that she was simply overthinking things. Caleb was her husband, after all. She knew him better than anyone else—or at least, she thought she did.

But lately, every conversation with him felt like a reminder of how far apart they had become.

Caleb rarely asked about her day anymore. He barely listened when she spoke, and whenever she tried to have a meaningful conversation with him, he somehow found a way to end it.

Damien was different.

He listened.

Actually listened.

When Clair spoke, he didn’t stare at his phone or look impatiently toward the door. He paid attention to every word, sometimes asking questions that made her realize he had genuinely been listening.

He noticed small things too.

If she looked tired, Damien would ask if she was alright. If she mentioned that she hadn’t eaten, he would remind her to get something before the day became too busy.

They weren’t romantic gestures.

At least, Clair didn’t see them that way.

They were simply things a considerate person would do.

But somehow, those little things meant more to her than they probably should have.

Sometimes she caught herself wondering how two brothers raised in the same house could be so different.

And then there was Caleb.

The Caleb she knew now was nothing like the man she had married.

She remembered when he used to make her laugh until her stomach hurt. She remembered how easily they could talk for hours about absolutely nothing. She remembered how excited he had been about their future together.

Where had that man gone?

Had she imagined the sweetness she once saw in him?

Or had he simply stopped trying?

Clair didn’t know.

And she was beginning to realize that she didn’t know her husband as well as she thought she did.

That afternoon, Clair sat in one of the rooms in the Hayes residence, surrounded by stacks of documents.

Alexander had asked her to arrange several files for him and bring them to his office before his next meeting.

They were important business documents containing details of several deals the company was working on.

Clair carefully sorted through the papers, making sure everything was in the correct order.

She reached for another file.

Her elbow accidentally knocked against the coffee cup sitting beside her.

The cup tipped.

Clair froze.

Coffee spilled across the table and straight onto the documents.

For a second, she simply stared.

Then her heart dropped.

“Oh my God.”

She quickly grabbed the papers, but it was already too late.

Several pages were soaked.

Ink had begun to bleed across the documents.

“No, no, no…”

She grabbed a tissue and desperately tried to blot the pages.

Her hands began to shake.

These weren’t ordinary documents.

They belonged to Alexander Hayes.

And Alexander was not exactly known for being forgiving when it came to mistakes involving his business.

“What am I going to do?”

She looked at the clock.

Her stomach twisted.

She was supposed to deliver the files soon.

Her mind began racing.

Should she tell Alexander what happened?

No.

Absolutely not.

He would think she was careless.

Maybe she could explain that it was an accident.

But what if he didn’t believe her?

What if the documents couldn’t be replaced?

What if she caused a problem with one of the company’s deals?

Clair’s breathing became quicker.

She stood there, staring at the ruined pages.

Her mind was completely blank.

Then suddenly, a name came to her.

Damien.

She immediately reached for her phone.

“Damien…”

She quickly searched for his number and pressed call.

He answered after a few rings.

“Clair?”

She exhaled in relief.

“Damien, I need your help.”

There was a brief pause.

“What happened?”

Clair looked down at the ruined files.

“I—I accidentally spilled coffee on some of your father’s documents.”

“You what?”

“I know, I know,” she said quickly. “It was an accident. I was arranging them and the cup tipped over. They’re important documents and I’m supposed to take them to his office soon. I don’t know what to do.”

She could hear the concern in Damien’s voice.

“How badly are they damaged?”

“Some of the pages are completely ruined.”

“Alright. Don’t panic.”

“Don’t panic?” Clair stared at the papers. “Damien, your father is going to kill me.”

A small laugh escaped him.

“My father isn’t going to kill you.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know him better than you do.”

Despite herself, Clair smiled faintly.

“Okay. So what do I do?”

“Give me a few minutes.”

“Damien—”

“I said don’t panic. I’ll handle it.”

The call ended.

Clair stared at her phone.

For the first time since the accident happened, she felt like she could breathe.

In his office, Damien immediately opened his computer.

He knew exactly which documents Clair was talking about.

He searched through the company’s digital files until he found the copies.

Fortunately, the documents had already been uploaded into the system.

He quickly printed fresh copies and carefully arranged them in the same order as the originals.

It didn’t take long.

Damien gathered the papers and made his way toward Clair.

When he found her, she was still standing beside the table, looking as though she had been waiting for a verdict.

“Here.”

Clair looked up.

Her eyes widened.

“The files?”

“The originals are damaged, but I was able to retrieve the digital copies from the system.”

She took them from him, looking through the pages one by one.

Everything was there.

Every document.

Every page.

Her shoulders finally relaxed.

“Oh my God.”

She looked at him.

“Damien, thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me.”

“Yes, I do.”

She smiled.

“I honestly don’t know what I would have done without you.”

Damien shrugged.

“It was nothing.”

“Nothing?”

Clair laughed softly.

“You just saved me from having to explain to your father that I destroyed his business documents.”

“Technically, you only spilled coffee on them.”

“That sounds even worse.”

They both laughed.

Clair looked down at the files again.

Then, without thinking, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

Damien stiffened for half a second.

Then he relaxed.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

When she pulled away, she was still smiling.

“I really mean it.”

“I know.”

She glanced at the clock.

“Oh no!”

Her eyes widened.

“I’m late.”

She grabbed the files and hurried toward the door.

“Clair.”

She stopped and looked back.

“Don’t run. You’ll drop them again.”

She rolled her eyes.

“Very funny.”

Then she disappeared down the hallway.

Damien watched her leave.

The smile slowly disappeared from his face.

His expression became unreadable.

He had helped her.

That was true.

But he also knew something else.

Every time Clair needed someone, Caleb wasn’t there.

Damien was.

And whether Clair realized it or not, that difference was beginning to matter.

Clair made it to Alexander’s office just in time.

She placed the files on his desk, trying her best to hide her nervousness.

Alexander briefly looked through them before nodding.

“Good. You can leave them here.”

Clair smiled.

“Of course.”

She turned toward the door, relief washing over her.

She had gotten away with it.

Or rather, Damien had saved her.

As she walked back, one thought kept returning to her mind.

She had someone she could rely on.

Someone who would answer when she called.

Someone who listened.

Someone who helped without making her feel like a burden.

Damien.

For the first time, Clair didn’t think of him merely as her husband’s brother.

She thought of him as someone she could trust.

Someone she could call when everything went wrong.

Someone she knew would be there.

And that realization frightened her a little.

Because she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt that way about Caleb.

Caleb noticed.

He had been noticing for days.

At first, it was little things.

Clair mentioning Damien during dinner.

Clair laughing at something Damien had said.

Clair asking Damien for help with something she would normally have asked Caleb about.

But now it was becoming impossible to ignore.

That evening, Caleb watched from across the room as Clair smiled while talking to Damien.

There was something different about her expression.

She looked comfortable.

Happy.

The same kind of happiness she rarely showed around him anymore.

Caleb’s jaw tightened.

He stared at his brother.

Then at his wife.

His hands curled into fists.

What the hell was going on?

Why was his wife suddenly so close to Damien?

And why did Damien seem so comfortable around her?

Caleb’s blood began to boil.

He didn’t know what they were talking about.

He didn’t know what had changed.

But he knew one thing.

He didn’t like it.

Not one bit.

His eyes remained fixed on Damien.

For the first time, Caleb felt something he hadn’t expected to feel toward his own brother.

Jealousy.

And beneath it was something much darker.

Fear.

Because somewhere in the back of his mind, a terrifying thought had begun to take shape.

What if Clair was slowly becoming closer to the wrong brother?