Semua Bab BURN FOR ME.... Mr COLE: Bab 21 - Bab 30

_DAY 8. MONDAY. 3AM._I woke up screaming. Not a sound. Just air. My chest locked. Hands clawing at the blanket like it was rope. Damian was there instantly. No light. Just his arms. "Shhh. I’m here. You’re home." He said it 4 times. Until my breathing matched his. My forehead was sweating. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. "Nightmare?" he whispered. I nodded against his chest. Couldn’t talk yet. He didn’t let go. Not for an hour. Just held me. Thumb rubbing circles on my back. When the sun came up, he was still awake. Watching me. --- _WEEK 1: THE RULES_Damian didn’t go to work. He canceled everything. *Rule 1:* No one comes in without him. *Rule 2:* I don’t go anywhere alone. *Rule 3:* Doors stay locked. 3 times. Malrik tried to argue. Damian shut him down with one look. At breakfast he cut my food. Even toast. Like I was 5. "Damian," I said. "I can do it." His eyes flicked to my hands. They were shaking again.

_MONDAY. 7:03 AM._The house was too quiet. For 84 days there had been guards at every door. Cameras in every hall. Damian checking locks three times. This morning there was just coffee. And him. In the kitchen. Burning toast. "Morning," he said. Didn’t look at me. Focused on the smoke alarm. I smiled. "Morning." He turned. Really looked at me. Hair down. Jeans. No makeup. "You look..." "Like what?" "Like you." He exhaled. Like he’d been holding it. --- _DAY 86: THE QUESTION_"Gallery," I said over breakfast. "I want to reopen." Damian’s knife stopped mid-cut. "When?" "Saturday." I watched him. "I need to do this." He set the knife down. "Okay." One word. No fight. "Just okay?" I asked. He reached across the table. Took my hand. "Six days I couldn’t protect you. I’m not going to spend the rest of my life stopping you from living." My throat hurt. "Two guards," I said. "Not four." "Two," he agreed.

MONDAY. 3:42 AM._I woke up alone. The bed was cold on his side. Damian wasn’t in the bathroom. Not in the kitchen. Not in the office. I found him in the gym. Lights off. Only the red glow of the treadmill. He was running. Bare feet. Sweat dripping. Eyes fixed on nothing. "Damian?" He didn’t answer. Didn’t slow down. I touched his arm. He jerked back like I burned him. "Don’t." His voice was raw. "Don’t what?" "Don’t touch me." I stepped back. "Okay." He kept running. For 40 minutes. Then he collapsed. Right there on the mat. Chest heaving. I sat next to him. Didn’t touch. Just sat. --- _DAY 129: MORNING_He didn’t go to work. First time in 6 years, Malrik said. He stayed in his office. Door closed. No calls. At noon I knocked. "Food?" "Not hungry." At 3PM I knocked again. "Water?" Silence. At 6PM I used my key. He was on the floor. Back against the wall. Laptop open. Comments on the screen.

. FRIDAY. 8:30 AM._Damian hadn’t slept in 36 hours. The boardroom was cold. 10 people. All staring at him. Victoria sat at the head of the table. Red suit. Smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "We have a problem, Damian," she said. "Your name is in the news again. Your company stock dropped 8%. Investors are pulling out." "I don’t care." "You should." She slid a folder across the table. Inside: photos. Him and me. On the rooftop. In the car. At the gallery. Times. Dates. And then... other photos. From 6 days. The ones that were supposed to be sealed. "Where did you get these?" His voice was low. "The same place the reporter got them," Victoria said. "From someone inside. Someone who still has access." She leaned forward. "Unless you step down as CEO for 3 months. And let me run things. I leak the rest." The room went silent. Damian laughed. No humor. "Blackmail me?" "I’m saving you," she said. "From yourself. You’

SATURDAY. 7:14 AM._The doorbell rang. Early in the morning. Damian looked at me. I was in a towel. It was raining outside."Who is it?" I asked. His face went hard. "Shit." The bell rang again. Three times.He opened the door. And there stood... A woman. In her 50s. Pearls. Cold eyes. And behind her a 19 year old girl. Blonde. With Damian’s nose."Mom," Damian said. "Clara." My stomach dropped.---_THE MOTHER_Eleanor Cole. Damian’s mother. Who’d been in Europe for 8 years. "After the divorce," Damian had told me that night. "She said she couldn’t breathe in America."And now she was here. "And who is this?" she looked me up and down. "Mom, this is Ava. My... partner." Partner. He didn’t say girlfriend.Eleanor came in. No bags. Just a small suitcase. Like she was staying for 2 days. Or forever."So," she sat on the sofa. "The girl from the news. The one who lived in your basement." Clara, her sister, immediately said: "Oh my god,