CHAPTER 16
Damien’s POV
Celeste’s car disappeared down the road, swallowed by the city lights, and yet I couldn’t move. A strange feeling churned in my chest, something restless and unfamiliar. It seemed to be eating me up, little by little..
There’s something different about her now. She’d changed.
I had known it the moment she stood before me, her voice steady, her eyes cold. This wasn’t the same woman who had once clung to me, who had loved me with a devotion so unwavering it suffocated me..
That Celeste… was slipping away.
A sudden pang of raw panic struck deep, as if something irreversible had just happened–something I couldn’t fix, no matter how much I wanted to.
Just then, I heard a sob that disrupted my thoughts and the rising emotion within me.
“Damien…
Genevieve’s choked sob snapped me out of my thoughts.
I turned to find her cradling her wrist, her eyes shimmering with tears as she winced in pain.
“It hurts,” she whimpered. “Celeste–she… she grabbed me so hard… Look, it’s completely red!”
She extended her arm toward me, and sure enough, faint red marks were blooming against her skin.
I sighed, running a hand down my face before gently taking her wrist. “I’ll have the doctor look at it-”
But my words trailed off.
Because as I stared at the faint redness on Genevieve’s wrist, another image flashed in my mind.
Celeste’s palm and wrist. Those deep, angry scars.
Wounds that weren’t just fresh–but old, layered over each other, evidence of silent suffering.
Genevieve whimpered dramatically, leaning against me, but my mind wasn’t here anymore.
I remembered the way Celeste had ripped her wrist from my grasp earlier, the way she had flinched.
I was shocked on my face when I saw the scars, but Celeste didn’t respond.
How much pain had she endured?
How had she even gone through it?
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A strange, sickening burden pressed against my chest, squeezing tight and seemingly making it hard to breathe.
+20 Bonus
“Damien?” Genevieve’s voice was soft, expectant. I felt her shift closer, her body pressing against mine. “You’re not listening… I just–ugh, I can’t believe she attacked me like that!” She sniffled, tilting her face up to meet my gaze, her lips slightly parted.
I barely registered her words,
Because the only thing
hing I could see–was Celeste.
Genevieve sniffled against my arm, her grip on my sleeve tightening “She betrayed you, Damien,” she whispered, her voice. trembling just enough to sound genuine. “You gave her everything. You could have sent her to prison, but you didn’t. You showed mercy. And this is how she repays you? Running off in secret… with him?”
Her words slithered into my mind, curling around my lingering doubts like poison.
Celeste, who had once worshipped and loved me, had walked away so easily.
“She didn’t even hesitate,” Genevieve continued, her fingers trailing down my arm, nails grazing my skin like a silent plea. “She
didn’t fight for you, didn’t try to fix things. No, Damien… She went straight to him.”
I swallowed hard.
Theo Mercer.
That bastard.
Genevieve must have noticed the shift in my expression, because she immediately smiled. It was as if she had not been crying just
moments ago. She had certainly struck a nerve, though.
“You think she really wants a divorce because of everything that happened between you two?” she pressed on, her tone deceptively soft. “Or do you think… maybe she’s just found someone else?”
I surely didn’t want to believe it. But the image of Celeste standing beside Theo, accepting his help, trusting him–it burned.
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” Genevieve murmured, resting a hand lightly over mine. “I’ve always been by your side, Damien. Always. And yet, she runs to the man who has done nothing but try to one–up you his entire life. What does that say
about her?”
I didn’t know how to answer.
Actually, I didn’t want to deal with this right now.
“Come on, let’s just go,” I muttered, leading the way to my car.
When we arrived at my estate, my mother was already waiting. The moment she saw Genevieve’s tear–streaked face and the red mark on her wrist, her expression turned cold.
“Oh, my poor girl,” she gasped, reaching out. “What happened? Who did this to you?”
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Genevieve leaned into her comfort, her lower lip trembling. “It… It was Celeste.”
+20 Bonus.
My mother paused, but you could see how livid she was quickly becoming “That ungrateful little-“Her voice rose in fury. “Even after Damien saved her, even after you took care of her like a sister, she still chooses to act like this?! Has she no shame?!”
“Mother,” I warned, but she wasn’t finished.
“She should have been locked up for good! Do you see now, Damien? That woman was never meant to be your wife. She’s dangerous! Unstable! And now I heard she’s parading around with Theo Mercer as if—”
“That’s enough,” I snapped, harsher than I intended.
Both women flinched at my tone.
I turned abruptly and walked out of the room, ignoring the questioning looks behind me.
Because no matter h
how much I wanted to ignore it, no matter how much I told myself that this was exactly what I wanted-
I couldn’t shake the feeling that Celeste was slipping through my fingers
And I hated it.
Suddenly, my phone buzzed in my pocket, cutting through my thoughts. I pulled it out, barely glancing at the screen before
answering
“Sir,” my assistant Mark’s voice came through, tense and hesitant. “There’s… news from Ravencrest Asylum.”
I stopped in my tracks.
My heart jumped. Then a creeping chill settled in my gut, spreading outward in a haste.
