Chapter 5

Lilith POV

I pushed the bedroom door behind me closed before leaning against it, my breathing was so forceful like I had just escape from something wild back there.

And indeed, my hands were still shaking really hard.

I could still feel the heat from Damien’s fingers against my skin.

My chest was rising and falling vigorously. I couldn't slow it down.

“Damien? The stranger from that night was my husband…Lucian’s brother? ”

I asked myself with a face completely rumpled from shock and sheer disbelief.

My head spinning too fast, and my stomach tightened so hard that it felt like it was about folding on itself.

“Was this some sort of coincidence? Or did he know who I was from the start? ”

But how could he have?

How?

I felt a cold chilly sensation run from my head to my spine.

Have I just walked into something the waiting mouth of fresh chaos? Or have I been chosen again?

I stumbled to the edge of the bed and sat down limply in muted confused silence.

My legs weren't feeling steady, and my hands in a sudden frantic swipe reached out to grab the blanket like it could anchor me to something.

Downstairs, I could hear Lucian’s voice; it was low, it was sharp, and fast.

He was speaking his language of strife again…… Italian I couldn't understand, but I didn't need to. The tone was acidic as always, he was furious, however, he was not loud, he wasn't breaking things, and that was even worse than the former.

Lucian’s quiet rage was the kind that crept behind you with a knife, it was the kind that smiled while it burnt.

I circled my fingers more tightly around the blanket, closing my eyes harder.

My chest was tight and my heart was beating too loudly in my ears, so that I could hear the vivid rush of my own blood.

“God…. Damien? Why now? Why in the name of heaven did he come back? Why the hell did he kiss my hand like that?”

Again, I grabbed my phone from the nightstand, and there was only one person I could maybe, probably talk to. Especially in situations like this.

“ It was Sophie. ”

I immediately dialed her line, it rang about two times in a row but there was no answer.

I waited a second more and dialed again, but the response remained the same, the returned back unanswered.

“Busy, ” I whispered to myself. “She had to be really busy. ”

My mind dragged me back to that night at the restaurant.The wine bottle between us.

The way she smirked after I told her everything better and blurting, “One night with a stranger won’t kill you. It might even save you. ”

I laughed then, I thought she was just teasing.

However when I gave it a second thought I could see that it did kill something.

It killed the part of me that still believed in safety, the part that believed in silence as a shield.

And now, silence was beginning to feee flashbacks of Damien’s hand brushing against mine when Lucian looked away.

That smile, that damn smile that held too much for comfort

He very well knew my stomach would flip.

“But wait a minute…what if he tells Lucian?”

Oh God, he would tell Lucian.

I'm fucking dead.

But before I could even price that thought to the finish I was startled back to the present by the sudden ring of my phone buzzing against my laps.

I picked it and looked down sharply to check It was a message from an unknown number.

"You want answers? Meet me here. Tomorrow."

Not too far under it, there was an address I had never seen before, and my throat instantly dried after reading it carefully.

My fingers started to shake as I held the phone.

“Answers? From who? Damien?”

My eyes fixed on the screen.

I would risk everything if I went. Lucian watched me, he controlled my hours.

And if I should decide not to go, I might never get a chance like this ever again.

The part of me that was still Lucian’s prisoner screamed to stay, to be safe, to be his perfect, obedient doll. But the new part, the part he had created with every cruel word and possessive touch, was louder. This was more than curiosity. This was my chance to seize a piece of the truth he had kept from me, to look the chaos in the eye and, for once, not flinch. It was the most dangerous thing I had ever chosen to do. And that, more than anything, was why I had to do it.

The house was too quiet the next morning. There were no steps. It was just soft movements from the kitchen.

I stepped out of the bedroom wearing a long gray sweater and plain jeans, no makeup, and my hair pulled back.

In the kitchen, I heard one of the maids whisper to her her mate,

“Mr. Lucian has left. He flew to Greece. It was unexpected.”

I almost dropped the glass I was holding.

Wait…. He was gone?

He was really gone for real?

I didn't even need to try too hard for the lucky doors to open this wide.

My hands were trembling around the glass as I nodded politely, without uttering a word.

However, something inside me started to bloom

It was feeling like the green energy of hope?

I rushed upstairs and started to dress up quickly as I tied a scarf over my head and put on dark sunglasses.

It was the kind I used to wear in my earlier years before the Verona name swallowed me.

I left the villa without saying a word.

The house address Damien gave me sat in the hills, and was surrounded by trees too quiet to trust.

The place was like something out of a story where nothing ended well.

I proceeded to climb the steps slowly.

My breath was shallow, and my throat felt too patchy.

My hand lifted to knock, however before they could touch the back of the wood, the door swung open before I could touch it.

Damien was standing right there in front of me, and I found myself hiding my breath.

He was calm. Like he had sworn to himself that I would come.

I opened my mouth to speak rage, accusation, something, but before the words could make their way out of my mouth, he reached out to pull me close by the waist, the heat in his hairy chest burning like the fire in his eyes.

I opened my mouth to gasp his mouth instantly attached to mine and without further hesitation he started to kiss me.

This was nothing like the kiss back at the restroom.

This one was not gentle or sane, it was hunger, fire, and possession.

I froze instantly, and every part of me started to tense.

My hands pushed at his chest and mouth, trying to move away.

However, he didn't stop. And for a heartbeat, neither did I.

The fear was a live wire in my veins, but beneath it surged a current of pure, undiluted defiance. This was his brother. The one man Lucian feared. And in this moment, he was mine. My body wasn’t betraying me; it was finally, fiercely, choosing for itself.

My mouth worked a little more actively to kiss him back. It was hard, it was desperate, and needy. It was like I had been waiting and dying for it without even knowing.

His hands slid into my hair, and my fingers twisted in his shirt, and my legs almost gave out.

His mouth covered mine again, it was slower this time, it was deeper, it was hotter, and then, something inside me instantly broke apart.

My mind was screaming and urging me to stop.

However my emotions had since grown deaf.

And at that dangerous point I no longer knew how to stop, I only knew how to open, and kiss him harder. I allowed him to press me into the wall, responding as my fears melted under the heat of his body.

And as his hands found my skin, I realized this was no longer about curiosity or rebellion.

It was no longer about survival.

The thought was a terrifying, thrilling whisper: To hell with the consequences.