I don't kiss him back at first.My lips just won't move. I'm so shocked that this is happening, that he's kissing me and holding me close. I break the kiss before he deepens it. "Devon, no."He holds me close, not letting me take a step back. "Why not? You want this. I can practically smell your need.""This isn't right," I say. I've known him for so long. He was Aaron's friend. This is wrong, so wrong. Yet, I don't say this with conviction, and I think he senses it. He always does."We're adults," is his response. "I want you, I'm not going to stand here and fucking lie through my teeth. What's the matter? Is it that Keller fuck?"I frown and immediately say, "No," even though it is. Of course it's him, and I hate that. He was kissing that woman, the supposed mother of his child. I feel used, and I don't want to feel that way. I can tell by Devon's heated kiss that he wants me, so why not? Why should Damien be the one to call the shots? Why should I suffer when he doesn't give a fuck
I open the door to my mother's room and I see Ferdinand standing beside her.Her eyes are wet with unshed tears, and she snaps her head in my direction sharply. His eyes are narrowed and his brows are furrowed. I pause at the door momentarily before closing the door. "What are you doing here?""You seem to like disobeying me," he says. "You get it from her."I look at my mother briefly. She's stiff, and her lips are pressed together. "What did he say to you? Did he threaten you?""I told you not to leave." He's standing upright, like a soldier. "You can't keep doing as you please. Do you really think I won't follow through with what I said?""You can't do anything to her, not in here." I say this, but I'm not so sure. I don't like the energy he's exuding. I look at my mother again, but she's not trying to communicate with me at all. What's going on here?"Don't be so sure." He reaches inside his blazer and retrieves a shiny revolver. My heart sinks. He presses it to my mother's temple
Gary takes a seat in front of Damien.He gets fatter by the week, it seems. That's something Ethan would say to his face, if he were here. He left after making it clear that he wasn't in agreement with Damien regarding this brother of theirs.Damien didn't expect this from him.His father had numerous affairs over the years, but he's never fathered a child out of wedlock. This son he had with Daisy is absolutely unexpected. Perhaps he's the reason why his father chose to be careful with other women? Damien wonders why he didn't interfere. Why didn't he save his son from Ferdinand? Damien can't understand for the life of him. The man he knew would never let Ferdinand Cooper kill his son. A Keller is a Keller. He taught him these words, made him repeat them out loud for everyone to hear. It's the reason why he never abandoned Kathy, why he kept supporting the boy even though he never met him.A Keller is a Keller.Blood will always be blood.Yet he left his son to die, his firstborn son
Devon slaps the newspaper against the desk.Damien Keller is still fucking winning. How'd he manage to kill off a quarter of Sebastian's men? This isn't his war, but fuck, he's pissed. They're all a bunch of morons. Who'd go out to drink and gamble when they're on the brink of a war? Devon's been reckless, too, but he's making an effort to stay inside and ride this wave out.Speaking of riding...He closes his eyes and thinks of last night. Sometimes he can't believe that happened. He'd fantasized about it for so long, which has never happened to him.Sam barges inside the cramped space of his office, interrupting his train of thought. He's annoyed, but it must be important if he came all the way here. He's holding his own newspaper. "Did you read this shit?""Did they say anything concerning this?" Devon asks. By 'they' he means the Browns. Surely they must have communicated with them? They're sending the new agent in tomorrow, and they've invested a small fortune on her. They need t
How long will I have to keep living like this?I couldn't sleep last night. Yesterday was a terrible one, and I don't think I was in my right mind. I left the party knowing there would be grave consequences; I willingly went to bed with Devon, just to get back at Damien for lying to me this whole time; Damien has a son with that woman; Ferdinand threatened to kill my mother right in front of me. This is all too much, even for me. I've always considered myself strong enough to face anything, but not this. I need help, but there's none coming my way. None.I can't count on Devon for shit.I'll need to keep my distance from him if I want to avoid trouble. I feel dirty, and I regret how impulsively I acted. The guilt is crippling at times. I think back on it and it's like another woman took my place. It couldn't have been me. And why do I feel like I betrayed Damien when he's the one who's been lying to me this whole time?My bedroom door opens unexpectedly.Felix comes into my room witho
I step out of the corridor.Damien is barking orders at his men, telling them to find anyone in the house and restrain them. They head into the kitchen first and I hear a frightened scream from one of the maids.A man walks towards me. Damien notices this and says, "Not her." He says this, but isn't looking at me. The man sidesteps me and starts searching there. There isn't anyone in there, but I can't find my voice."This is ridiculous!" Ferdinand exclaims. "This is my apartment, what do you think you're doing?"Damien ignores him and pulls a gun out of his pocket. He points it at him. "Lower your voice.""I won't say this again," Ferdinand says, his face flushing with anger. "Leave at once. You have no business coming here and killing my men. You're breaking all the rules. The council—"Damien takes multiple steps towards him until he's standing right in front of Ferdinand. He grabs the back of his neck and presses his gun beneath his chin. Well, one of them. "The council can suck m
Daisy has a terrible feeling in her gut.She doesn't know why Amelia didn't come to fetch her; that's Ferdinand's doing, she's sure of it. Sure, her daughter hasn't been her normal self, but lately it's like she's transformed into an entirely different person. Daisy can't recognize her most days. Everything has changed, from the way she talks to the way she dresses.She needs to find a way to get Amelia away from this place. This city is going to ruin her. In a way, it already has. This is all her fault. She should've convinced her to stay and not leave with Devon; she should've guessed that he was up to no good. But what could she have said to her? Amelia's an adult, and she made the decision to leave. Besides, Daisy knew how much her daughter wanted to go to college. She knew that that dream would never come true if she worked at Donnie's forever.However, she can't see how Amelia will have a 'normal' life after this. How will she return to their small town and work at the bar again
He told me his men would be on the lookout for them, but it's been two hours and there isn't any news. I don't believe they're still in the hospital. Something must have happened. They didn't see her for some reason, and now she's with Felix. I hate not knowing what's happening. I hate that she's with that man. She probably doesn't even know the truth, that he's Ferdinand's son. I didn't get the chance to tell her.We couldn't go back. We had to get away from there quickly. After I told him about my mother, he called one of his men and gave him the order. Now, we're at the airport and he still hasn't received any news. I'm anxious, and it takes a strenuous amount of effort to keep it together. Too much has happened today, and it's just noon. I can't handle any more bad news. I just can't. I want to hear that she's safe and away from that man. This silence is killing me.He's taking me to his mansion in the middle of nowhere, I'm sure of it. I know it's a terrible decision, but because
Six months have passed.They've been peaceful and for the most part, quiet. Tremendously busy, but I'm used to that part now. Working alongside Damien is the best part about it. I get to be with him all day and make sure that he isn't exerting himself. He has a lot more work now; he had to take over Ethan's duties. Theo helps, but there are certain things only Damien can handle. When Ethan was here, he took care of it, but he's been gone for half a year and there's no one capable enough to replace him. I think that deep down, Damien doesn't want anyone to take over Ethan's job, but he'll never admit it out loud. I help him whenever I can. There's a lot I still don't understand, but I'll get there.It's only a matter of time.He doesn't ever ask me to go home when there are people coming over to meet with him. We never talked about what happened with Ash, but it changed a lot of things. I gained some respect after I killed him. I see it in the way people look at me whenever we're at so
I help him peel his blazer off.This day has been mentally exhausting for him. He rarely leaves the office early, but I'm glad he did today. I'm glad, because at least we have the whole day ahead of us. It's going to be just the two of us. Theo rarely comes here, she prefers to stay in the city. It's closer to everything else. I love it here, because it feels like we're all alone in the world. I stare out the window and all I see is the vast sky, green hills, nature. I don't even see the guards surrounding the house. They're invisible to me.It's peaceful here, and breathtakingly beautiful. It's home. I understand why Damien is so attached to this place. It's not simply because he grew up here. I feel safe, here, untouchable. The first time I was here, I felt like an intruder. Our relationship was so different back then, I can't help but marvel at how everything is so different now. I never would have guessed that we'd end up here, closer than ever, madly in love. We've come a long wa
Today's an important day.I've been on edge all morning. Damien has called for a Keller family meeting. We're all going to be there, including Ethan and Penelope.He announced that there'd be a meeting only last night during dinner, and he asked Theo to give Ethan a call. I was startled by the news and so was she. He didn't tell me what he'll say to Ethan, but we can guess what it is. He wants closure. Ethan owns a third of everything, and that matter needs to be resolved. I doubt that Damien will allow him to return to the company. I just don't see it happening. Ethan himself never mentioned it to Theo, not that he'd dare to.Theo told me that he's out of the hospital. She said he hasn't left the country yet because he wants to see Damien first. Damien, however, wanted nothing to do with him until yesterday. He's asked after him, but he didn't want to see him. He's still hurt by what Ethan did to us, his betrayal is a wound that will never quite heal for him. And if it ever does, it'
I'm afraid of opening the door.I've been standing here for a full minute with my heart in my throat. My hand is on the knob, ready. I can't bring myself to turn it, though, simply because I know that Damien's on the other side. There's a lot we need to talk about, so much in fact that I wouldn't know where to start.I hold my breath and close my eyes. I've been standing out here for too long. I remind myself that he's my husband, he's the man I love, and we'll get through this. We'd get through anything together. I've been in a far worse position before. This time, I was actually focusing on the well-being of our family.I open the door slowly.Only the bedside lamp is on. I see him right away; he's seated on the couch across his bed. He's staring out the window with a distant look in his eyes. I take a few steps towards him, my eyes on his handsome face. My heart's thumping against my chest. I'm overcome with emotion, but I put a hamper on them for now. He's a little pale, I notice
Amelia's going to hate him for this, but that's okay, because he doesn't plan on ever seeing her again.He means it this time. He's done with this shit. He had his chance, he fucked it up a hundred years ago. It's time to get over it. If there was ever a part of him that thought he'd get a chance with her, that part of him died a while back. She loves Damien Keller. He lost her a long time ago. That doesn't necessarily mean that he's content with the outcome, but he'll admit defeat. Staying here is slowly killing him.She's going to be alright. Leaving her back there was a dick move, sure, but he stands by what he said to her; when everyone finds out that she did it, there will be no revenge. He helped her along the way, but no one needs to know that. The Huntingtons won't dream of touching her, especially when the truth about Damien comes out. It would be an entirely different story with him.He glances at his watch. Five more minutes in there and he'd miss his flight. He can't miss
I've never been so glad to see him in all my life."Devon," I say, the word a gasp. "How did you—"He doesn't let me finish. "Did he hurt you? Are you hurt?"I shake my head. "No, but how did you—""I'll explain later," he assures me. "Right now, we've got to get this asshole tied to that chair. Quickly, before he wakes up. Bring that chair over there. I have rope under the bed."I grab it and Devon grabs a duffel bag from under the bed. He opens it and fishes out rope and a couple of knives. He's been lying under the bed the entire time. It's clear that he planned this thoroughly.He didn't abandon me. He said he'd help me kill Ash and here he is. I tell him, "I thought you weren't going to show up. I thought you tricked me.""I don't blame you for assuming the worst," he says, looking up at me. His eyes are glinting with mischief and something else, something I won't dare name. He points at my gun. "You know how to use that thing?"I stare at it. "Yes."He's watching me intently. "A
It's quarter to midnight.The clock is ticking and my heart is racing. I'm ready, my small gun is hidden in my underwear. I've made sure to wear an extra tight pair just for the occasion. The dress is scarlet and flowy, perfect for tonight.I'm waiting for him in the lobby. This time, I'm early. It makes me feel more in control of the situation even though that's far from the truth. I take a small sip of champagne and look back at the entrance. My heart's in my throat, making it hard for me to breathe. I have to remain cool, though. There's a lot at stake.Everything depends on this."Anything else?" the bartender asks me while pouring someone else a drink. I shake my head, I can't even speak at a time like this.I'm taking another sip of champagne when I finally spot him. There are two men walking behind him. He's saying something to them as he looks around. For me, no doubt. I fix my gaze on him and hold my breath as I wait for him to see me. He doesn't, which is fairly disappointin
"Leave," Damien says to the nurse. She scurries out of the room as soon as he mutters the word.He's in a terrible mood and he doesn't want anyone around him. He has finally moved from that awful, desolate place and he's home. He made sure that they didn't change any decorations. They lost a lot of antiques and furniture that was in their family for decades, but he's made sure that everything else remained the same. He's sure that he'll recover in no time here, he already feels better. He's not in bed, he's sitting on the sofa beside his bed. He's supposed to be resting, but he's done enough of that.He can't sleep when he's worried sick about Amelia.The fact that no one gives him any news is a bad sign as it is. They're hiding something from him, he can feel it. The last time he spoke to her, she told him that she wasn't going to turn back, that she'd go ahead with the plan. He has no idea of what her plan might be, but he knows it won't be anything he'll agree with. He wonders if p
I can't stop chewing my thumbnail.I force myself to put my hand down. I'm in agony; I don't know what to do and I'm running out of time. I'm supposed to be meeting Ash tonight. This was supposed to end it all, according to Devon, but he let Ethan go so what happens now? The only reason why I'm agreeing to everything is because of him. It isn't, but that's what Ash thinks. Am I still expected to show up? Why would he do this?I can't figure it out.I wish I had a way of contacting Devon to let him know that everything went to shit, but I don't have his number. I don't know where he's currently residing. I don't think I'll be seeing him anytime soon; tonight, maybe but not earlier. In the meantime, what do I do? I can't ask anyone's advice. My family is against me entirely. Theo probably thinks that our negotiations with Ash have come to an abrupt end, but she doesn't know half of it. I'm planning on killing him once and for all, I made a promise to myself that I would.For Damien.I h