Rain tapped against the loft windows like it was trying to get in—persistent,obnoxious, and too familiar. Fitting, considering everything else that had tried to claw its way into my life these past twenty-four hours.
I don't know what to do now !
Pippa sat curled against my thigh, warm and soft, but alert… always alert.Little guardian. Little warning bell. The only creature in my life who isn't selfish.
But I need her
I ran a hand through her fur, trying to steady the hum in my chest. I hadn't slept much. How could I. Not after watching Damien's hand slide over Megan's waist like it belonged there. Not after slapping him across the face in front of half the city's business elite.
I don't regret anything
Julia had crashed on my couch, as she usually did when I looked like I had lost everything. At the moment, she was rummaging through my kitchen cabinets for coffee like she lived here.
She kinda did though.
"So," she muttered, head buried behind the cereal boxes, "how does it feel after you publicly smacked your fiancé and then abandoned the event like a final boss?"
Wow...I know she's grinning
I didn't answer. I kept staring out the window, watching reflections of things I didn't want to think about.
"Liora," she pressed, pulling out a mug shaped like a cat. "Talk. Before you implode and I have to call a therapist and we know that's not your scene,baby."
I breathed out slowly. "I'm… exhausted."
With everything and everyone
Julia paused. That word rarely came out of my mouth.
"Tired of them?" she asked quietly.
I nodded.
"My mother blaming me for everything? Victor treating me like a bargaining chip? Megan acting like she's the princess of the universe?.I'm sure they didn't even confront that wench after all this " I rubbed my temple. "And Damien… whatever that was last night."
Julia exhaled a whistle. "Yeah, okay, you win. That's a whole bingo card of trauma.But I'm here you know"
Before I could respond, Pippa's head shot up. Growl. Low. Sharp. Warning.
Then came the knock.
Three taps. Steady. Confident. Entitled.
I froze. Julia slanted me a look. "You expecting someone?"
"No."
Another knock. Same pattern. Same arrogance.
Who the hell now !
I didn't move.
Julia mouthed, It's him.
I mouthed back.Over my dead body.
But the universe despised me, because before I could stand up, the door pushed open like it belonged to him.
Damien Hart stepped inside.
Tailored grey coat. Wet hair pushed back. Those eyes dragging across my loft like he was assessing a hotel suite. The kind of man who made people stare without meaning to—but right now, he looked like the last person I wanted breathing.
What on earth made this bastard come here
Pippa lunged forward with a furious bark, tiny teeth flashing. Damien gave her a lazy glance.
"Morning,little menace," he murmured.
Of course. Even the dog he greeted with arrogance.
My spine straightened. "You don't get to just walk in here."
He smirked, unbothered. "Door was unlocked."
Ugh ! Bullshit.
Julia scoffed loudly. "Because some people don't expect uninvited CEOs to show up at 8 a.m."
Damien ignored her. His eyes locked on mine like this was a conversation we were already having in his head.
"My mother sent me," he said. "Victor too. They want this mess contained."
"Contained," I repeated flatly. "Like a scandal?"
"Like a business risk," he corrected. "You walking out after slapping me wasn't… ideal."
"Oh, yes," Julia muttered behind him. "The real tragedy."
I shot her a look, then faced Damien fully.
"What do you want?"
His lips quirked, cruel amusement flickering. "To talk."
"I don't."
"You will."
God, he was insufferable.
I crossed my arms, staying as far away from him as possible. "Why did you kiss her?"
He tilted his head, considering whether he even wanted to answer. Then his smile sharpened.
"Does it matter?"
"It does to me."
Why wouldn't it,you jerk...I'm your fiancée
"Why?" he asked, stepping closer. "Because your pride got bruised? Because you expected… what? Fidelity? Emotion?Love?"
Every word was intentionally sharp, designed to sting.
Julia stood, ready to intervene, but I raised a hand.
No. I needed this truth.
"Just tell me," I said. "Why Megan? Why there? Why now?"
He chuckled. A wicked sound.
"Megan was there," he said simply. "And she wanted me."
The way he said it—like it was insignificant, like I should've known—made something cold settle under my ribs.
"And Megan," he added, leaning against the wall, "is hot and available. You… aren't."
My pulse stopped.
Hot! Available! What is she,a commodity?
Julia froze.
Even Pippa stopped growling.
Cruel. Cocky. Sharp-edged. Damien Hart wasn't even pretending to be decent.
"You really think you're something, don't you?" I said softly.
He lifted a brow. "I know what I am."
"A scumbag?"
"A practical one," he replied. "The engagement is business. A façade. You're part of the deal, not…" His gaze slid down my body, slow and dismissive. "Not a temptation.Not a joy"
The slap came before I even decided to do it.
CRACK.
His head jerked to the side. His jaw flexed. For a second, silence swallowed the room whole.
Julia muttered, "Round two."
I'll show you Round two,three...hundred
Pippa barked, thrilled.
Then Damien's tongue dragged across the corner of his mouth, slow, tasting the metallic edge of where my ring might've scratched him.
And he smiled.
Not like he was angry.
But like I had just become the most interesting thing in his world.
"There she is," he murmured.
My stomach dropped.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," he said, straightening, eyes sharpening with unsettling clarity, "you finally stopped pretending to be the obedient daughter they trained. The one who bowed her head to Victor. The one who let your mother and Megan treat you like a placeholder.Did you always had this in you"
Heat crawled up my neck.
"Don't talk like you know me."
"Oh, I don't," he admitted. "But I saw something last night. After the slap. After you walked away." His voice dipped. "You were done."
I swallowed.
He wasn't wrong. I was done. With all of them. With the roles, the expectations, the manipulation.
But I wasn't going to let him be the one to say it.
"Thanks," I said coldly. "Now get out."
He didn't move. "The families want you at the Grey estate tonight. To discuss the engagement."
"I'm not coming."
"Yes, you are."
"No," I repeated, "I'm not."
He stepped closer. Too close. Pippa scrambled to guard my feet, baring teeth.
"Move one more inch and she'll chew your ankles off," I warned.
Damien paused. Smirked. "She'd try."
I pushed Pippa gently aside and stared him down.
"I'm not marrying you," I said. "I don't care what deal Victor signed. I'm not your pawn."
He didn't flinch.
He didn't soften.
He didn't do anything a normal person would do.
Instead, he leaned in—not romantically, not intimately, but challengingly—like we were two players moving a piece on the same board.
"You think walking away saves you?" he murmured. "It doesn't. Your family won't let go. Neither will mine. And whether you like it or not, you and I are tied until this deal dies.Better accept it"
"Then kill it," I snapped.
He laughed. Actually laughed.
"Liora… you think I want this engagement any more than you do?" His voice dropped lower. "But you walking out last night? Slapping me again just now?" He shook his head slowly. "You just made everything more complicated."
"Good."
He straightened, expression shifting into something unreadable.
"You're not as boring as they said."
"What?"
He shrugged. "Victor. Evelyn. Even Megan. They always talk like you're invisible. Quiet. Harmless."
I clenched my fists.
He finished with a lazy smirk:
"I don't think so anymore."
"Get out," I repeated.
I don't care about your opinion on me.
This time, he actually listened. He pulled his coat back on, unfazed, eyes flicking once to Pippa, once to me.
At the door, he paused.
"Oh, and Liora?"
He met my gaze one last time.
"Next time you slap me, aim lower. I might actually lose my temper."
He left.
The elevator dinged.
Silence fell.
Julia exhaled in a puff. "Well. He's… wow. He's a weird asshole.And wait, did he like it"
Like who ?
I sank to the floor as Pippa crawled into my lap, whining softly.
"I'm done with them," I whispered.
And for the first time, I truly meant it.
---