CHAPTER 6

Damien’s POV

Theo’s words echoed in my head, taunting me. 

Should I go see Celeste? Or would that mean I was falling for another one of her games?

Beside me, Genevieve had gone completely still. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it again.

“What?” 

There was hesitation in her eyes. "I didn’t want to tell you this," she murmured, lowering her gaze as if reluctant. "But since Theo is getting involved… I think you should know the truth."

I frowned. "What truth?"

She exhaled, as if choosing her words carefully.

"Celeste and Theo…" She paused, glancing at me as if gauging my reaction. "They’ve known each other for a long time. Since college. They had… quite a good relationship."

My eyes widened. I could feel my heart hammering against my chest. I never knew about this. Celeste never told me.

"How do you know this?" I asked sharply.

Genevieve hesitated, then gave me a small, almost regretful smile. "Because we were classmates. Celeste and I. And Theo. They were… very close."

I clenched my jaw. "What do you mean ‘close’?"

She gave a small shrug. "She never cut ties with him, even after marrying you. I always thought it was strange, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to cause unnecessary problems."

Her words sank into me, slow and poisonous. They’ve known each other for years! And who knows what kind of relationship they had then? So this is why Theo’s so damn concerned about her!

Everything was starting to make sense.

I had married Celeste out of necessity—forced into the arrangement after that night I found myself in bed with her. I never wanted her. I even suspected that she’d drugged me.  

But over time, her tenderness, her quiet devotion… She had started to break through my walls.

I had started to fall for her.

And just when I finally started to really care, that video ruined everything. The one I found on Genevieve’s computer, proof that Celeste had been unfaithful. 

And now I discover she has this secret connection with Theo, my biggest rival? What the hell?

I stood up and started pacing the room. How many men did she have? Did she ever really love me, or was she that great of an actress?

Genevieve watched me carefully, then sighed. "Damien, I know this is frustrating for you, but maybe you should let her stay there a little longer."

I stopped pacing and turned to her. "What?"

She tilted her head slightly, giving me a look of concern. "She’s clearly still in denial about everything. Definitely not in a good state of mind too. Maybe a few more days in the sanatorium will help her… fully realize who her husband is and what she has done to you."

Genevieve was right.

Celeste had always been proud, stubborn—but once she faced reality, she would have no choice but to crawl back to me.

She had nowhere else to go.

*******

Celeste’s POV

I barely slept that night.

Curled up in the cramped utility room, my body aching from the abuse, I stared at the ceiling, willing the hours to pass.

But my mind wouldn’t quiet. 

Had something happened to Auntie? What about the kids in the orphanage?

Did Theo understand what I was trying to tell him? Would he come?

My stomach clenched in pain, the hunger gnawing at me after going an entire day without food. My body was weak and barely holding on.

Just then, the door creaked open. I gasped, expecting another round of torment. But instead,  the janitor stepped inside. The only one who hadn’t treated me like an animal. 

Without a word, he slipped a single apple into my hands.

"You need to eat something." he whispered, glancing nervously at the door.

My throat tightened. It was the first act of kindness I had received in so long.

“Uh… Thank you…” I bit into the apple, the crisp sweetness almost unbearable in its relief.

However, his next words destroyed me.

"Your aunt… She’s still alive, but…" His voice dropped lower. "She’s in a vegetative state now."

The apple slipped from my hands. I was even forgetting to chew.

"That’s not possible," I rasped. “She was in the hospital… She was going to be fine…”I shook my head, my vision blurring with tears.

The janitor looked at me with pity. "They say she won’t wake up."

In that instance, something inside me snapped. The last thread holding me together shredded apart.

A ragged sob tore from my throat as I curled forward, clutching my arms.

I had lost her. Auntie Eleanor—the only person who had ever truly cared about me—was gone. And with her, the last clue to finding my parents.

I had no one left.

I was a pariah. A discarded pawn. Stripped of everything.

And the man I once loved—the man I had devoted myself to—had done this to me.

I pressed a trembling hand to my mouth, suffocating the sound of my grief. Oh, God. 

Then suddenly, a rage I had never known began to rise and consume me. “It’s their fault!” I hissed angrily. “Damien and Genevieve did this!” 

The grief burning in my chest turned and twisted, morphing into a monstrous fury. An intense fire ignited inside me, boiling past the pain. Past the heartbreak.

They thought they had won? They thought they could destroy me and walk away unscathed?

No fucking way. I’m not letting them get away with this. 

They are going to suffer and pay. 

I will take back everything they had stolen from me. And they’re going to be sorry they did this to me. 

With a sharp, furious gesture, I yanked my wedding ring off my finger.

The cold metal bit into my skin one last time before I hurled it to the ground, watching as it clattered against the concrete floor.

I had wasted years on Damien Vaughn.

But not anymore. Those days are over. 

Damien and I are over. For good.