Semua Bab The Debt Collectors Bride: Bab 61 - Bab 70

Damien’s pov:The drive back to the mansion felt like it lasted a lifetime.The night was pressing hard against the armored windows, thick and pitch-black, broken only by the low, rhythmic hum of the engine. My men were everywhere, they spread out in a convoy with their eyes peeled and fingers on triggers. I knew they were there, but I couldn't really see them. All I could see, all I could feel, was the woman sitting next to me.Sera was as still as a statue in the passenger seat. Her hands were gripped so tight in her lap that her knuckles were white. She hadn’t said a single word since we left. She just stared straight ahead at the dashboard lights, her eyes wide and unblinking. There was a smear of dried blood on her sleeve. It wasn't hers. It was mine.I could still feel the kick of the gun in my palm. I could still hear the way she gasped when that last man hit the dirt. I could still feel how she’d clung to my jacket back there, like I was the only thing keeping her from floatin

Sera’s pov:I tried to forget what he said. That was the first lie I told myself that morning.The second was that it didn’t matter.But as I walked away from the medical wing, Damien’s voice wouldn’t leave me. It echoed off the cold marble floors and followed me through the silent, winding hallways of the mansion. It wasn't just the words, it was the way he said them…soft and familiar. Like they had been waiting years to be spoken aloud.“….You don’t have to disappear.”I told myself it was nothing. A coincidence. A half-dream pulled from pain and exhaustion. I was just being dramatic. He was on heavy medication; I was exhausted. It was just a coincidence. A trick of the mind.But my chest knew better.I moved through the mansion without direction at first. I passed rooms I knew by heart and others I had never entered. Guards nodded as I went by, no longer watching me the way they used to. Damien had meant what he said. I was free to walk.That should have comforted me. Instead, it m

Sera’s pov:I opened the door without even thinking about it, because I knew if I waited one more second, my courage would disappear completely.Damien was standing there, taking up the whole doorway like he always does. He had those broad shoulders and that quiet, scary stillness that usually makes people want to run away. But today, he looked... different. He was pale and looked so tired. Even though his clothes hid his bandages, I could tell he was hurting by the way he held his jaw and the stiff way he stood. It was like he was just tolerating the pain because he had to.We just stared at each other… no hellos,no relief, no apologies. The truth was just sitting there between us, and we couldn't ignore it anymore.“You said something,” I started. I was surprised by how calm and steady my voice sounded. “When you were asleep.”He didn't move a muscle.“You said it so softly,” I went on. “Like it was just a habit. Like you’d said it a hundred times before.”His eyes got darker. He

Sera’s pov:The kiss didn’t just end when we stopped.It stayed on my skin, in the shaky way I breathed, and in the warm glow that settled deep in my chest. Long after Damien left, I stood by the door, just staring at the wood, trying to wrap my head around how one moment could change my entire world.I didn’t regret it. That realization was quiet and simple, and it scared me more than anything else. I had just kissed a man who lived in the shadows. A man whose hands were built for fighting and breaking things… and yet those same hands had held me like I was the most precious thing he’d ever touched.And I didn’t regret a single second of it.I sat on the edge of my bed and pressed my fingers to my lips. I was almost afraid the memory would fade if I moved too fast, but it only got clearer. I remembered the way he forced himself to stop. The way his self-control seemed even stronger than his hunger for me. He looked at me like I was the only person left on earth.Loving him wasn't a

Sera’s pov:The room smelled like cold metal and cleaning supplies.I stood by the door, my hands folded and my back straight. I could feel Damien watching me from the corner, waiting to see if I would run.I didn't move an inch.The man tied to the chair was young… way younger than I thought he’d be. His hands were zip-tied and his ankles were locked to the floor. He had a split lip and a black eye, and he looked at me like I was the last person he expected to see.“She can leave,” he rasped, nodding toward me. “I’ll talk to you, just get her out.”Damien didn’t budge. “She stays.”The man’s eyes went wide. “You’re bringing civilians into this now?”I took a step forward before Damien could say a word.“I’m not a civilian,” I said.My voice sounded solid. I was actually proud of how steady I felt.The man stared at me, looking for a crack in my armor, but I didn't give him one. Luca was standing off to the side with his arms crossed, and two guards stood by the walls like statues. D