Imogene and Damien have had their happy, let's be honest, steamy, couple moments for thirteen chapters now. Time for them to return to their drama filled and problematic lives. Hold on to your hearts!!!
Damien Shaw The rain is coming down hard, relentless. It’s been like this for two days, just gray skies and the constant drum of water against the cabin roof. We’re supposed to be on a flight back to LA by now, but the storm’s got all flights grounded. It’s just me and Imogene, trapped in our Villa. I can feel her restlessness even when she doesn’t say a word. She’s sitting by the window, staring out at the rain like she’s trying to conjure some sort of magical power to make it stop. I want to tell her to relax, to stop worrying, but I know it wouldn’t help. She’s been on edge since our flights got delayed. I know it’s because of Lily. We haven’t been able to receive any calls from Breonna or get updates about Lily in two days due to bad network connection and the storm’s just making everything worse.I’m about to suggest we make some tea or watch a movie—anything to distract her—when her phone rings. My heart leaps, is the line finally back up?I see Imogene’s shoulders tense
Damien Shaw The rain continues to pound against the windows of our cabin as I continue to good Imogene in my arms. The sound of the rain feels louder now and I feel her breath against my neck, shallow and uneven. I rest my chin on top of her head, inhaling the familiar scent of her hair, and try to find something, anything, to distract her from the spiral of thoughts I know is taking over."Remember the second day of this trip?" I murmur, keeping my voice light. "When we hiked up that trail and found that little cove? You swore you wouldn’t go into the water, but then I saw you diving in before I even had a chance to take my shoes off."She doesn’t answer, but I feel her relax slightly against me. I continue, trying to keep her in the moment. "That night, after dinner, you fell asleep with your head in my lap while we were watching that ridiculous rom-com. I didn’t have the heart to wake you, so I stayed up the whole night watching you sleep, just listening to the waves crash."
Imogene Scott Damien’s eyes are burning into me, and I feel my throat tighten. The words are stuck somewhere between my heart and my mouth. Why the fuck did I take so long to say something? I open my lips, barely a whisper coming out. “It was a mistake… Jace came on to me at the—”Before I can finish, Damien grabs Jace by the collar, rage overtaking his face. “You son of a bitch!” he roars, pulling Jace closer and slamming his fist into his face. The sound of the impact is sickening, a harsh crack that echoes through the kitchen. Jace stumbles back, crashing to the floor, clutching his jaw.“Damien! No!” I shout, but it’s useless.Damien hauls Jace up by the collar again, dragging him into the living room. I follow, heart pounding. Damien throws another punch, and Jace barely has time to react before his head snaps to the side from the force. Blood spills from his lip, and I can hear Dahlia screaming, rushing over to try and pull them apart. “Damien! Stop it!” Dahlia cries, h
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Imogene Scott Damien refuses to speak to me for the rest of the trip. I don’t blame him, I really messed up and it has once again cost us our relationship. I try to keep my thoughts occupied with Lily throughout the remaining twenty four hours that the storm persisted. Even throughout the flight home, we didn’t say anything to each other. The moment we touch down in LA, I feel the gnawing guilt that has been growing in my chest again. Damien and I have barely spoken since the incident with Jace. His hands grip the steering wheel tightly as he drives, but his eyes are fixed on the road ahead. I glance at him, wanting to say something, but the words don’t come out. Instead, I just stare out the window and let my mind by consumed by one thing—Lily.By the time we pull up to Aces penthouse, stomach is in knots. I practically throw the car door open, not waiting for Damien as I rush into the building. The walk across the lobby feels like forever but I finally walk into the elevator. D
Imogene Scott As soon as we buckle Lily into the backseat, I can feel my heart squeezing in my chest. Damien and I slid into the front seat and he starts the engine. But his gaze flickers to me before pulling out of the parking lot. "It's going to be fine," he says, but I can hear the tension underneath. He’s trying to reassure me, but all I can think about is how wrong everything feels. I look back at Lily through the rearview mirror. Her tiny body is slumped slightly and her eyelids flutter as if even staying awake is too much effort.I force myself to breathe, to keep it together, but the sight of her pale face, the way her little hands rest limply in her lap, is too much for me to take in. "She's too warm," I murmur, more to myself than to Damien.My hand is hovering over her forehead again as if I could do something—anything—to make her feel better. Damien reaches over, squeezing my knee gently. His eyes briefly meeting mine. "Kids get fevers. Kids get tired. We’re just
Damien Shaw The drive home feels suffocating and hands grip the steering wheel tighter to ease the tension in my shoulders. I glance over at Imogene. She’s staring out the window. Her eyes are red from holding back tears. She hasn’t said a word since we left the hospital. She doesn’t need to—her pain is written all over her face.I hate this feeling. This helplessness. I don't give a damn about what happened with Jace anymore. Right now, none of that matters. The only thing that does is Lily. And Imogene. I look in the rearview mirror at our little girl. She’s still too pale, too fragile and her head is resting against the car seat. Seeing her like this... it cuts me deep in ways I can’t even articulate. She’s so small. Too small for this kind of fear.When we finally pull into the penthouse, Imogene unbuckles her seatbelt but doesn’t move for a moment. I reach out, placing my hand on hers. “We’ll get through this,” I say.She doesn’t respond, just nods slightly, then gets out
Imogene Scott Lily giggles as she picks at the last piece of her banana pancake. Her tiny fingers are sticky with syrup. I watch her as I rest my head against the back of the chair. But my mind is somewhere else. The bracelet. I close my eyes and tilt my head back, staring up at the ceiling as if the answer is hidden somewhere in the cracks. Did I put it there? Had I forgotten? That’s the only logical explanation. Lately, I’ve been forgetful—missing appointments, losing track of time, misplacing things. Maybe this is just another slip, another thing lost in the chaos of my mind. But it doesn’t feel right. I inhale deeply, my fingers curling into my lap. I need to see it again. “Lily, baby, I’ll be right back,” I say, pushing my chair back. She nods, too focused on her food to question me. I walk upstairs slowly, each step. When I reach my bedroom, I hesitate for a moment before stepping inside. The room is dim. I make my way to the dresser. The drawer creaks
Imogene Scott Lily swings her legs under the table, her tiny feet barely brushing the ground as she happily digs into her mint chocolate ice cream. A small smear of green is at the corner of her mouth. She hums quietly as she eats, completely lost in her own little world. I should be able to enjoy this moment. Watching her be this happy should bring me peace, but it doesn’t. My stomach twists as I stare at her even though my own ice cream is melting in the cup. This is my fault. I shouldn’t have let things get this far. I shouldn’t have let my past mistakes bleed into Lily’s life. She’s just a child, my child, and she deserves to grow up without the weight of my sins pressing down on her. She looks up suddenly, “Mommy, are you okay?” I force a smile, even though my face feels stiff. “Of course, baby.” Lily nods, satisfied with my answer, and goes back to her ice cream. “Very good, Mommy,” she says in her soft, sweet voice before taking another spoonful. I w
Imogene Scott I pull back from Damien’s embrace. He exhales heavily, brushing his fingers over my cheek before saying, "I need to get back to work. I’ll see you at home tonight."I frown. "You don’t think you should go home first? Shower, change?"He smirks, rubbing his jaw. "It’s already midday, I’ll do everything later tonight."I shake my head, wrapping my arms around him again despite the sweat and stress clinging to his skin. "I want to hug you all day even though you smell so bad.""No, I don’t," he scoffs, tightening his hold on me. "You’re just being mean."I smile against his chest, inhaling deeply before stepping back. "Where are you headed now?" he asks, brushing a stray lock of hair behind my ear."Lily’s school."His expression shifts. "Something wrong?"I open my mouth to say no—because I don’t want to worry him, because I know how he gets—but then I remember: no more secrets. That’s what we promised each other.I press my lips together and nod. "One of Lily’s clas
Damien Shaw I take a deep breath, my fingers tightening around the pen in my hand as I stare at Imogene. The way she’s looking at me—hurt, disappointed—makes something sharp twist in my chest, but I refuse to let it show. I remind myself why I stayed at the office last night, why I drowned myself in work instead of coming home. Because she needs to understand. Because she’s reckless. Because she keeps putting herself in situations that put our family in danger, and she doesn’t seem to grasp that her actions have consequences.But then there’s the guilt too, gnawing at the back of my mind. I didn’t just stay here to punish her—I stayed because I didn’t trust myself not to say something I’d regret. And now, looking at her standing in front of me, holding that ultrasound picture, my resolve wavers.God, I want to take it from her. I want to reach for it, to see them, to feel something other than this exhaustion and frustration. But if I give in too quickly, she’ll think she can get
Imogene Scott The morning air is crisp as I step out of the house, wrapping my coat a little tighter around myself. A light breeze brushes against my skin as I feel the chill settle in my lungs.I climb into my car, my hands gripping the cold steering wheel as I exhale. My mind is full of thoughts, but the one at the forefront is Damien. He didn’t come home last night. I’d stayed up, waiting, hoping the sound of his footsteps would echo through the hallway. But all I got was silence.When I finally called his office, an employee answered and confirmed what I’d already suspected. He had spent the night there, drowning himself in work just to avoid me. That’s how furious he was. My chest tightens as I pull out of the driveway, gripping the steering wheel a little harder.I plan on stopping by his office later, but first, my doctor’s appointment. Then Lily’s school.The hospital is a fifteen-minute drive, but it feels longer. My mind keeps circling back to Damien’s face last night,
Imogene’s pov I watch as Damien storms out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him with a force that rattles the walls. My hands tremble at my sides, my heart hammering against my ribs. I knew he would be upset—I expected anger, frustration—but not this kind of fury. Not the kind that makes his voice shake with disappointment, that makes his eyes burn with something dangerously close to resentment.I sit down heavily on the edge of the bed, exhaling a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. My mind races. How did he find out? Who told him? And why, after everything, does it still hurt that he’s so mad at me? He’s the only person left standing beside me in this storm, and now I feel like I’m losing him too.Subconsciously, I place my hands over my belly. The twins stir inside me, and I close my eyes. I’m due in two months. Two months until my life changes again. Two months until I’m holding them in my arms. But will I even be here for them? Or will I be behind bars, labeled “
Damien Shaw I step into my office, and the shift in the atmosphere is immediate. The air feels charged, thick with something. Eyes flicker toward me, then dart away, as if my presence is suddenly a weight they can’t bear to acknowledge. It’s been like this for days—whispers in the corridors, hushed conversations that stop the moment I step too close.They see me as a man protecting a murderer.I clench my jaw, ignoring the way my employees’ gazes follow me as I make my way to my office. The door clicks shut behind me, and I exhale slowly, my fingers pressing against my temples. The scandal is bleeding into IMU, seeping into the cracks, poisoning the foundation I spent years building. It isn’t just the company’s reputation at stake—investors are losing faith, deals are slipping through the cracks.And worst of all, there’s no solid proof that Imogene is innocent.I sit down, leaning back in my chair, the leather creaking beneath my weight. I need a plan. Something to turn this arou
Imogene Scott I grip the steering wheel, my knuckles whitening as I pull into the parking lot of the police station. My heart is hammering against my ribcage, so loud it nearly drowns out the hum of the engine. A part of me screams to turn back, to go home, to pretend I never got that text. But another part—the logical, rational part—knows that avoiding this will only make me look guilty.I take a deep breath, steadying myself before stepping out of the car. I pull my coat tighter around my body, trying to suppress the shiver crawling up my spine. The station’s glass doors slide open, and I walk in, my heels clicking against the tiled floor. The fluorescent lights overhead are too bright, making my skin prickle.A female officer greets me. “Mrs. Shaw, this way.”My stomach clenches. My voice feels lodged in my throat as I follow her down the hall. She leads me into an interrogation room, and I hesitate before stepping inside. The walls are bare, painted a dull gray, and the sing
Imogene scott The next morning I wake up early to make breakfast for Damien as a thank you for the ice cream yesterday. It’s not like I was able to sleep anyway. I slip into my flip flops and walk out of the room. Damien is still sleeping because it’s still 6:30pm. The scent of scrambled eggs hits me the moment I step off the last stair. I pause. That’s strange. It’s Saturday. Sheila shouldn’t be here this early. I pull my robe tighter around my body, shivering even though the house is warm. I walk into the kitchen to see Sheila standing at the stove, humming softly as she stirs a pan of eggs. There’s already a plate of bacon resting on the counter, and the coffee machine is also gurgling.“Sheila?” I say.She looks over her shoulder, startled. “Oh! Morning, Imogene.” I frown. “What are you doing here so early?” Sheila blinks at me, then lets out a small chuckle like I just told a joke she doesn’t quite get. “You asked me to come early today.” My stomach dips. “I did?”