All Chapters of Ashes Of His Regret : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

ESMERALDA'S POVDamien's hands are everywhere.Sliding down my sides, gripping my hips, pulling me closer like he can't get close enough.I've forgotten what it feels like to be wanted like this. With this kind of intensity. This kind of hunger.Julian's touch became perfunctory toward the end. Routine. Like checking a box on his to-do list.Satisfy wife. Check.But Damien touches me like I'm a puzzle he's determined to solve. Like every gasp, every shiver, every arch of my back is data he's collecting for later use.Clinical, almost.Except nothing about this feels clinical.His belt hits the floor. Then his pants. He's in just his boxers now, and I can see exactly how much he wants this.Wants me.The evidence should be gratifying. Empowering.Instead, it makes me nervous.Because this is real now. Not practice. Not strategy.Real."Second thoughts?" he asks, his voice rough."No. Maybe. I don't know." I laugh, the sound slightly hysterical. "This is insane, isn't it?""Completely."

ESMERALDA'S POVThe charity auction is exactly the kind of event I used to dread.Excessive wealth on display. Society vultures circling. Everyone watching, judging, calculating your net worth based on your dress and your companion.But tonight, I'm not the anxious wife trying to please Julian's business associates.I'm Damien Hale's date. And that changes everything.The dress helps. Deep sapphire blue that makes my skin glow, backless again because Damien seems to have developed a preference. Diamonds at my throat and wrists borrowed from some exclusive jeweler Damien called as casually as ordering coffee."You look like you're going to war," Lila said when she saw me earlier.She wasn't wrong."Ready?" Damien asks, offering his arm as we step out of the car.He's in a black tuxedo, perfectly tailored, his bow tie slightly loosened in that deliberate way that screams effortless wealth. The kind of look Julian spent hours trying to perfect and never quite achieved."Ready," I say, ta

VIVIENNE'S POVI've known it for weeks, but tonight at the auction confirmed it.The way he watched her. The way he bid on that ridiculous dinner just to compete with Damien Hale. The way he barely touched his food, his eyes following that stupid, disgusting, waste of an ex wife Esmeralda's every move.He's still in love with her.Or thinks he is.And that's a problem. A significant problem.Because I didn't engineer this entire situation just to have it fall apart because Julian can't control his emotions.I sit in the penthouse living room, my living room now, though it never quite feels like it.and scroll through my phone. The PI I hired sent his preliminary report an hour ago.SUBJECT: Esmeralda Voss (née Morrison)CURRENT RESIDENCE: Unknown believed to be residing with Damien HaleRELATIONSHIP STATUS: Dating Damien Hale (3 weeks)FINANCIAL STATUS: No income, no assets, living expenses presumably covered by HaleThree weeks. They've only been together three weeks and she's already

DAMIEN'S POVIt's a foreign feeling. Uncomfortable. I've built my entire life around control every decision calculated, every risk assessed, every relationship transactional.But Esmeralda is unraveling that control thread by thread.I watch her across my mother's dining table, laughing at something Eleanor said, her eyes bright and genuine.She's gotten too good at this. Too comfortable playing my wife.Or maybe she's not playing anymore."Don't you think, Damien?"I blink, refocusing on my mother. "Sorry, what?"Eleanor's knowing smile makes my chest tight. "I said Esmeralda would look lovely in my wedding dress. It's stored upstairs. Perhaps she'd like to try it on?""Mother," I warn."What? You said you're getting married eventually. And my dress is exquisite. Custom Dior from 1982."Esmeralda's cheeks flush. "That's very generous, but I couldn't ""Nonsense. It would make me so happy." Eleanor reaches across the table, taking Esmeralda's hand. "Please. Humor a dying woman."The g

ESMERALDA'S POVThe gym is my sanctuary now.Four weeks of training with Marcus Damien's handpicked personal trainer and my body barely resembles what it was when I left Julian.I'm stronger. Leaner. More defined.Every morning at six, I'm here. Pushing myself. Building muscle. Becoming someone Julian won't recognize.Becoming a weapon."Good," Marcus says as I finish my final set of deadlifts. "Form is perfect. You've come a long way."I catch my reflection in the mirror. Sports bra, leggings, hair pulled back in a high ponytail.Muscles I didn't know I had are visible now. My shoulders are defined. My core is tight. My legs are powerful.This body could destroy a man.This body will destroy Julian."Same time tomorrow?" Marcus asks."Same time."He leaves, and I'm alone in the private gym Damien rented for our exclusive use. No gawkers. No society vultures. Just me and the weights and the version of myself I'm creating.I move to the punching bag, wrapping my hands with practiced ef