Chapter sixty four

🌹Damien 🌹

The night was deep and clear, the full moon casting a silver glow over the estate. I found myself on the terrace, away from the stifling formality of the day—a quiet refuge where the noise of duty was replaced by the gentle rustle of leaves and the soft chirping of crickets. The cool night air wrapped around me, and for a rare moment, I allowed myself to breathe freely.

Aurora had joined me there. Earlier, she had excused herself from the bustle of the reception to seek solace under the open sky. When she appeared at the terrace door, I almost didn’t notice her through the soft light. But then our eyes met, and something in that glance spoke of unspoken dreams and fragile hopes. I motioned for her to sit beside me on the stone bench.

For a long while, we sat in silence, our shared quiet punctuated only by the distant sound of the city and the whisper of the wind through the trees. I felt a stirring inside—an emotion I had long kept buried beneath layers of duty and strateg