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.

"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.

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.

"Mommy?" Mia whimpered, clutching her stuffed rabbit tightly as she sat on the edge of the king sized bed. "Who is yelling?"

"Stay here with Leo and Toby, sweetie," I whispered, kissing her forehead. "Lock the door from the inside and don't open it for anyone except me."

I smoothed down my worn uniform, took a steadying breath, and stepped out onto the upper balcony that looked over the grand foyer.

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 when her eyes traveled up the stairs and landed on me.

Her sneer came instantly.

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

Before I could open my mouth, 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 didn't even look at Clarissa at first. His gaze swept briefly over me, checking on me, before dropping to the woman at the bottom of the stairs.

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

Clarissa's face softened into a practiced, pouty smile, though her eyes stayed sharp. "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, reaching out to slide her hand over Damon's arm.

I instinctively stepped back, ready to fade into the background the way I always had. But before I could turn away, Damon's hand shot out.

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

I gasped, my heart pounding against my ribs as the warmth of his body took over my senses. Clarissa froze, her hand dropping from his arm like she'd been slapped.

"Damon..." Clarissa whispered, the color draining from her face. "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. He pulled a red box from his jacket pocket, flipped it open, and slid a massive, flawless diamond ring onto my left ring finger. The weight of the stone felt like an anchor.

Clarissa's mouth dropped open in complete shock. "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.

Suddenly, a small door down the hallway clicked open. Five year old Leo, unable to stay still, peeked his head out. "Mommy? Is the mean lady gone?"

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

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

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

"Watch your tongue in front of my son," Damon growled, his golden eyes flashing. "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. "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 coat flowing behind her as she stormed out of the manor, slamming the doors shut behind her.

Silence fell over the foyer.

My heart was beating so hard I thought it might burst out of my chest. I turned in Damon's grip, trying to pull away, but his hand stayed anchored on my waist, holding me against him.

"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."