I stood outside Damian’s office, my breath caught in my throat as his words cut through the air like a blade.
“So don’t let your people tell Lynn anything about me and Seraphina,” Damian ordered, his voice steady and deep. A voice that I have always been entranced in.
“They wouldn’t dare let slip even a word about Seraphina in front of Lynn,” another voice assured him.
The thermos in my hands felt unbearably heavy. My fingers clenched around it as an icy wave of realization crashed over me.
Tomorrow was supposed to be our engagement party. Just three hours ago, Damian had called to postpone our engagement party. He said some business he had overseas was encountering issues, and he needs to travel. He also added that he was busy with work and that I should get some rest. Feeling sorry for him, I had decided to surprise him with a warm meal.
Instead of me surprising him, I had been the one to be surprised and served with a cruel betrayal.
My chest tightened as memories of us played in my mind like scenes from a movie.
Damian, filling the city with billboards, declaring his love.
Damian, holding my hand as we traveled the world together.
Damian, down on one knee, proposing by the sea.
Had it all been a lie?
Tears blurred my vision.
I wiped my face quickly, but the pain in my heart didn’t fade.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was a message from a potential client, offering a major job in Dubai. Before, I wouldn’t have considered leaving, but now…
The voices inside the office fell silent. I took a step back, unsure if I should stay or walk away. Before I could decide, the door swung open, and Damian’s secretary stepped out.
“Miss Callista, what a surprise. When did you get here?” Her voice wavered, nervousness siping into her tone.
I forced a smile and lifted the thermos. “Just now. I thought Damian could use something warm.”
Relief washed over her face as she opened the door for me. Damian turned at the sound, his amber eyes locking onto mine. He rushed over, taking the thermos from my hands.
“It’s cold outside,” he chided gently. “You should’ve stayed home.”
His concern felt like poison seeping into my veins. The man who had just been discussing keeping secrets from me now acted as though I was his whole world.
He led me to the couch in his office and had me lie down. He adjusted the thermostat and draped a blanket over my shoulders.
I curled up on the couch, watching as his friends and secretary left the office, their smiles filled with meaning I had once been too blind to see.
How many times had they smiled at me like that? How many times had they known the truth while I played the fool?
Damian sat beside me, his brows furrowed. “Are you cold?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine. You should have the soup first.”
He hesitated, but then took a sip.
Watching him take a sip, a thought suddenly flashed in my mind.
“What if I had poisoned the soup?”
I shook the thought away, knowing fully well that I will only gain momentary satisfaction, but my life will be ruined.
The warmth in his eyes, the way he grinned after finishing—it was all an act. He pulled me into his private lounge, tucking me into the bed there, his arms wrapping around me protectively.
“Sleep, Lynn,” he murmured. “I’ll be here.”
His steady heartbeat should have comforted me. Instead, I felt trapped. Suffocated.
Hearing his slowed breathing I knew he was asleep. I turned to look at the face I always thanked God for. The same innocent face I was entrapped in.
Just looking at him, reminded me of the illusion he had slowly crafted and I had never noticed.
The soft glow of his phone caught my eye. Curiosity clawed at me, refusing to be ignored. I reached for the device. The device looked different from the one I knew and a hollow laugh couldn’t help but escape my lips.
Trying his usual password which was my birthday. It didn’t work. His birthday? Still wrong. Then a thought struck me.
Seraphina.
With trembling fingers, I entered a series of numbers connected to her. On the third attempt, the screen unlocked.
A bitter laugh escaped my lips. He had changed everything for her.
A message from his assistant popped up: Mr. Sinclair, the transfer deed for the beachfront tower, is finalized.
Attached was a file. I clicked on it. The owner’s name appeared: Seraphina Caldwell.
More messages followed. Luxury cars, properties, bank accounts. Everything was for her.
I scrolled further. The earliest file was a will. Damian had left his entire fortune to Seraphina.
I stared at the screen, my vision swimming. I had spent years managing his wealth, yet I had never realized that most of it had been funneled to another woman.
Then I saw it—a certificate for an engagement ring.
My breath hitched. It was the same ring I had wanted when we picked out wedding bands. The same one he had rejected for being too plain. Three days ago, Seraphina had posted a photo wearing that ring.
I clicked on the audio embedded in the image, my hands shaking. Damian’s voice filtered through, low and affectionate. “I knew you’d love it.”
A sob built in my throat, but I swallowed it down. It had never been mine. None of it had.
My fingers clenched around the phone. I had been so blind. So foolish.
I clicked on everything and sent them to my own phone.
As I placed the phone back, my mind drifted to another troubling thought. Alos Vaugh. A dangerous mafia lord known for his ruthlessness. My kidnapping had been at his hands, something I had never truly understood. Damian had saved me from him, but why had I been taken in the first place?
Why had a man like Alos been involved in my life at all?
From the earlier conversations today, I realized that despite the fact that Damian had saved me, he was still the one who had asked Alos to kidnap me. But why? Was he afraid that after realizing Seraphina’s betrayal, I will do something terrible to her? Or was there something else?
Could it be that Damian and Alos have been working together? If Damian had wanted me out of the way before, had he ever really intended for me to come back?
A shiver ran down my spine.
Another thought crossed my mind. Could Damian also be part of the Mafia, since most of the wealth I had handled seemed to be everything Damian had, yet those weren’t enough to actually qualify him as the richest man in Everon City.
At this point, it seemed like everything I had overlooked where unfolding before me.
“I couldn’t stay here for another moment.” The thought popped in my mind. I realized how deep the waters I was in and how dangerous my situation was. Even the thought of revenge dissipated like smoke from my thoughts.
Setting the phone back on the nightstand, I grabbed my own and booked a one-way ticket to Dubai. By tomorrow, I would be gone.
Damian Sinclair had built a world of illusions for me.
It was time I shattered it myself and escape from this dangerous mire.
