Chapter 11

Ava’s POV

I sat on the bed with my arms wrapped tight around my knees. I could not help but feel like an intruder in this giant, rich house. It was bad enough that I was being held captive like a prisoner against my will, but now I felt even worse.

After Selene walked out of the room, I completely freaked out. I pulled at my hair, feeling so angry at myself. Why did I ever accept Damien's help in the first place? I was such a fool. I knew he was powerful, and now I knew he had another woman right by his side. A rich, powerful lady who was going to be his wife. I should have just run away. I should have hidden in another city. Anything was better than standing in this room, taking insults from his new woman.

All through the afternoon, I stayed in the room, feeling terrible about myself.. A servant came into the room twice, bringing nice plates of hot food for me and Lucas. I fed Lucas his lunch, but I refused to eat a single bite myself. My stomach was tied up in tight knots. I could not swallow anything. I just stared out the window, counting the hours until the sun went down.

Later that evening, the front doors of the door opened. Damien stepped in.

When my eyes landed on him, something inside me snapped. The sight of his handsome, calm face just infuriated me to no end. How dare he act like everything was normal? How dare he come in like he owned me?

"What is your plan, Damien?!" I shouted at him, jumping up from the bed. "What are you trying to do to me?!"

Damien stopped in his tracks. He blinked, looking genuinely surprised by my sudden anger.

"Ava, calm down," he said, raising his hands slightly. "I just got back. I came to check on you and Lucas."

"Do not tell me to calm down!" I yelled, taking a fast step toward him. "Let me go, Damien! Just open those doors and let us leave right now! I am an adult! I am fully capable of protecting my son the way I see fit! I took care of him for years without anyone helping, and I do not need your help now!"

Damien's face darkened instantly. His jaw tightened, and his eyes turned hard as ice. He took a heavy step toward me, towering over my small frame.

"This is not about protecting your son, Ava," he said gruffly, his voice deep and rough like grinding stones. "This is about making sure he is always safe! This is about making sure he grows up properly, and not living a poor, miserable life out in the dirt with you!"

The word poor hit my heart like a sharp knife.

Before I could even think, my arm flew up. My palm swung through the air and hit his face with a loud, hard slap.

PAK!

Damien's head snapped to the side. The whole room went dead silent.

My breath was fast and heavy. My hand was stinging from the hard blow, but I did not care. I glared at him, tears of anger burning in my eyes.

"First your lover walks in here to call me a nobody," I spat out, my voice trembling with rage. "And now you walk in here to call me poor! You think you are better than me because of your money and your fancy house? You mean nothing to me, Damien! Nothing!"

Damien slowly turned his head back to face me. He held his red cheek with one hand, but he was not looking at me with anger. He was looking at me with pure shock.

"What did you just say?" Damien asked, his voice dropping to a low, dangerous whisper. "Selene, talk to you?"

"Yes! She did!" I screamed in his face.

Damien stood completely still. He looked like he had just been hit by a rock. "Selene came over to the estate? After I specifically told the guards not to let anyone in here?"

He did not wait for me to answer. A look of dark, wild fury crossed his face. He turned around on his heel and marched right out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Damien! Let me go! Let us go!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as his heavy footsteps moved down the hallway. "Let me out of here! You monster!"

My screams did not bring him back. The hallway went completely quiet again.

My legs gave out beneath me. I buckled right onto my knees on the cold floor, pulling my hands up to cover my face. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks, soaking into my skin.