Chapter 4: The Intruder

SIENNA Point Of View

My signature on the contract marriage agreement was still drying when the master suite doors were pushed open.

I had barely finished moving the triplets' small bags into the grand master quarters, an almost unreal suite lined with white marble, plush red, and silk, when a commotion echoed up from the main entrance downstairs. My hands froze over the small zipper of Toby's bag. I stood still in the large, quiet room, listening closely as angry voices bounced off the hard walls below.

"I don't care if he's in a meeting, land the helicopter!" a sharp, demanding voice cut through the huge foyer. "I am his fiancée! I do not wait in the lobby like a commoner!"

My stomach dropped into a cold, heavy pit.

Clarissa Montclair.

I knew that name. Every tabloid in the country knew that name. She was the daughter of Montclair Shipping, high society's darling, and the woman Damon had been publicly linked to for the past two years. A match arranged by their families to lock in the coming corporate merger. She was rich, powerful, and used to getting everything she wanted with a simple snap of her fingers.

"Mommy?" Mia whimpered, clutching her stuffed rabbit tightly as she sat on the edge of the king sized bed. Her small knees were pulled up to her chest, her big eyes round with fear. "Who is yelling?"

"Stay here with Leo and Toby, sweetie," I whispered, walking over to kiss her warm forehead. "Lock the door from the inside and don't open it for anyone except me.... No matter who that is."

Leo nodded, grabbing his little brother's hand and pulling him toward the inner bedroom. I waited until I heard the heavy door click shut and the lock turn from the inside before I turned around.

I smoothed down my worn uniform, took a steadying breath, and stepped out onto the upper balcony that looked over the grand foyer. My heart was pounding like a drum against my ribs.

Clarissa stood at the bottom of the staircase, wrapped in a cream designer coat, her blonde hair styled to perfection. She was mid rant at Mrs. Gable, waving her manicured hand in the air, when her eyes traveled up the stairs and landed on me.

Her sneer came instantly, cold and full of disgust.

"You," Clarissa spat, taking two sharp steps up the marble stairs, her red heels clicking like gunshots on the stone. "What is a servant doing coming out of Damon's private wing? Mrs. Gable, why isn't this woman scrubbing floors in the annex?"

I stood my ground at the top of the stairs, my fingers gripping the cool metal railing so tightly my knuckles turned white. Before I could open my mouth to speak, heavy, steady footsteps echoed from the hallway behind me.

Damon stepped out into the light. He had taken off his tie, his top button undone, but his presence was as heavy and commanding as ever. He looked tall, dark, and dangerous standing beside me. He didn't even look at Clarissa at first. His gaze swept briefly over me, checking on me and making sure I was unhurt, before dropping to the angry woman at the bottom of the stairs.

"You're loud, Clarissa," Damon said coldly, his voice cutting through the tension in the hall like a sharp knife. "And you're uninvited."

Clarissa's face softened into a practiced, pouty smile, though her eyes stayed sharp and mean. "Damon, darling! I flew in early from Paris to bring you the wedding venue options for our winter gala. But your staff is acting completely absurd, they locked the main gates and tried to tell me I couldn't come in!"

She glided up the remaining steps, her heavy perfume filling the air, reaching out to slide her hand over Damon's arm.

I instinctively stepped back, my head down, ready to fade into the background the way I always had as a simple worker in this house. But before I could turn away, Damon's hand shot out through the air.

His fingers wrapped firmly around my waist, pulling me right against his side.

I gasped, my breath catching in my throat as my heart pounded against my ribs as the warmth of his body took over my senses. He held me tight against his hip, letting everyone know I was not going anywhere. Clarissa froze in place, her hand dropping from his arm like she'd been slapped across the face.

"Damon..." Clarissa whispered, the color draining from her face as she stared at us. "What... what is the meaning of this? Why are you holding the help?"

"She isn't the help," Damon said flatly.

He didn't hesitate for even a second. He pulled a red box from his jacket pocket, flipped it open with his thumb, and slid a massive, flawless diamond ring onto my left ring finger. The large stone caught the bright chandelier light, sparkling with heavy white fire. The weight of the stone felt like an anchor on my hand.

Clarissa's mouth dropped open in complete shock. Her face turned red, then pale again. "Are you insane?! That's the Sterling family heirloom! That belongs to..."

"It belongs to my wife," Damon interrupted, his voice dropping low and hard, cutting through the entire foyer like thunder.

Suddenly, a small door down the hallway clicked open with a soft sound. Five year old Leo, unable to stay still inside the quiet room, peeked his head out into the hall. "Mommy? Is the mean lady gone?"

Clarissa's head snapped toward the small child. She stared at Leo's dark hair, his sharp little jaw... and those unmistakable, striking golden hazel eyes that matched Damon's perfectly.

"A child?" Clarissa's voice cracked into a high pitched shriek that echoed off the high ceiling. "You married a nameless, penniless maid who brought a bastard into your house?!"

Damon's grip on my waist tightened instantly. He took a slow, heavy step toward Clarissa, a cold, dark look washing over his face that made even the wealthy heiress flinch back in fear.

"Watch your tongue in front of my son," Damon growled, his golden eyes flashing with raw anger. "Meet Sienna Sterling. The only mistress of this estate, and my wife. If you ever speak to her, or my children, with that tone again, I will break the Montclair shipping contract by noon tomorrow and leave your family ruined."

Clarissa shook with humiliation, her chest heaving as she glared at me with pure hatred in her eyes. "You'll regret this, Damon. She's using you! A woman like that doesn't belong in our world!"

She spun on her heels, her cream coat flowing behind her as she stormed down the stairs and out of the manor, slamming the heavy front doors shut behind her with a loud crash.

Silence fell over the foyer. The housemaids stood frozen downstairs, not daring to make a single sound.

My heart was beating so hard I thought it might burst out of my chest. I turned in Damon's grip, placing my hands against his chest to try to pull away, but his hand stayed anchored on my waist, holding me against him like he would never let go.

"You didn't have to do that," I whispered, my voice shaking as I looked down at the ring glittering on my finger. "She's going to tell the press. She's going to make our lives a nightmare."

Damon leaned down, his breath warm against my ear, his thumb tracing the side of my hip through the thin fabric of my dress.

"Let her try," he said softly, his golden eyes burning into mine with a dangerous, unshakable intensity. "You're in my world now, Sienna. And no one takes what's mine."