All Chapters of Selfish Romance : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Serena stood frozen in her apartment, holding the photo tightly in her hand.Her breath was ragged, coming in short bursts as she stared at the faded image of smiling children.Her entire childhood felt like a hazy memory, blurred by grief, betrayal, and distance.Now, that haze was given a face. Damien's.A soft, hesitant knock sounded at the door.Serena moved slowly towards the door and opened it without uttering a word.There stood Damien, his face etched with the weight of years and secrets.She'd given him ten minutes.He stepped inside, hands buried in his coat pockets as if to avoid touching anything."Talk." she instructed.Damien glanced around and then focused back on her."You were the Foundation's crown jewel. I was tasked with protecting the project, protecting you. But from the moment we met again, I couldn't keep playing their game.""So you lied. About who you

The soft glow of morning did little to unravel the tension winding through Serena like a taut string. Her gaze was fixed on the velvet box holding the flash drive inside.It seemed like a trap and also the next breadcrumb in a puzzling game she hadn't agreed to playShe refrained from touching it-for now.Instead, she dialed Ava's number."Someone was in my apartment. They left another drive," Serena said."Get out immediately," Ava urged. "Don't touch it. We'll sweep the place. You've been compromised."Within the hour, Serena found herself relocated to a secure location above a Brooklyn printing warehouse.The windows were reinforced with bars, the locks were industrial-strength, and Damien was already present when she arrived."This place doesn't show up on any record," he said, motioning to a steel table surrounded by monitors tracking Foundation chatter."This is where whistleblowers turn into ghos

The screen glowed in the dim room, casting cold light across Serena’s face. Her eyes locked on a single line:Project Harbinger – Active RebuildHer hand hovered over the enter key, tension stiffening her shoulders. Something deep in her gut twisted.Behind her, the sound of a towel being tossed echoed as Damien stepped in, hair still damp from the shower. “You okay?”Serena didn’t look at him. “Someone sent me a file. No name. No traceable sender. Just this.”Damien took a step closer. His gaze landed on the screen, and his body went rigid. “Project Harbinger… I heard that name once. Years ago. Boardroom whispers. Everyone pretended it didn’t exist.”Serena pressed the key.Lines of code streamed across the screen. Schematics. Old surveillance photos. Blacked-out names. Then one final line, bold and unmistakable:> Initiative status: Phase One complete. Candidate pool narrowed. Re-engineering in progress.Her breath caught. “What is this?”Damien leaned over her shoulder, his voice l

Serena didn’t sleep that night. She sat curled on the edge of the bed, knees drawn to her chest, a blanket wrapped around her like armour. The tablet in her lap glowed with soft blue light, casting ghostly shadows on the walls. She hadn’t moved in hours. Across the room, Damien sat at his desk, tapping keys on his laptop. He wasn’t pretending to work—he was giving her space. But every few minutes, his eyes flicked toward her. He didn’t push. He waited. Eventually, her voice cut through the quiet like glass. “My mother was one of them.” Damien paused. His fingers stilled. “I know,” he said softly. “I saw the file.” Serena’s eyes didn’t leave the screen. “She authorized it. Every test. Every injection. She stood there while I screamed. And then she wrote me that letter... like that made it okay.” Damien crossed the room and crouched in front of her, steady, quiet. His hands rested on his thighs, giving her space. “You’re allowed to be angry,” he said. “You don’t owe h

Damien’s penthouse gleamed with glass and steel, every surface polished to a mirror shine. The kind of place that showed you had it all—wealth, power, and control.But as Serena stood alone in that vast, empty room, the silence felt like a cage wrapped tight around her chest.She held the photo again—the one she’d found buried inside a stack of old files in Damien’s locked drawer. A little girl in a paint-splattered sundress, grinning crookedly at the edge of a playground. And several feet behind her, half-hidden in shadows… Damien.Her stomach twisted into knots.Coincidence? She didn’t believe in those anymore.Part of her wanted to confront him. To demand answers.But another part whispered that maybe there was some reason. Maybe it was all a terrible misunderstanding.Then she heard it.Damien’s voice muffled behind the door to his office.She pressed herself against the wall, heart poundi