I'm the happiest woman alive.I get out of bed and I'm practically skipping to the bathroom. Damien was in here earlier, I can smell his shower gel and his shampoo. His scent further elevates my mood. It's a gentle reminder of last night, which was absolutely perfect. I'm tingling all over at the memory of his lips on me, of his tongue in me.I can't stop staring at my ring. I don't think I'll ever get over this moment. Damien and I have been going steady for the past year, and I'll admit that I thought of marrying him once. I never mentioned it, I didn't want him to think I was putting pressure on him. This is a brand new beginning for us. We'll get married in a month–how crazy is that?—and then we can start our own little family. I've been on birth control for the past year, I didn't want to risk getting pregnant again. I wasn't ready emotionally. But after the wedding, I'll take the implant out. Again, it's a fresh start for both of us. Everything is stable now, so why not try agai
Devon wakes up with a pounding head.That punch nearly knocked him out. He could feel blood trickling down the side of his head and now the spot on the side of his head is unbearably painful. It's throbbing. The dried blood is making his skin itch. This is absolute torture. Why doesn't Damien Fucking Keller just kill him already? What's the point in keeping him alive?The motherfucker saw him at the party, talking to Amelia. It was so quick that he thought he was safe, but he should've known better. He left with her, but he must have paid someone to follow him around all night. One of the guards, maybe. Devon would never have guessed it. The guy's slick, he'll give him that.He had no choice but to surrender. At the time, he didn't know what was going on. His first thought was Ash, his second Theodora Keller. He never would've guessed that Damien was involved. His gut feeling failed him. Life failed him. The universe failed him. He didn't see this shit coming. The fucker warned him la
I push that spot of blood on his cuff to the back of my mind.It's nothing. If it were, he would've explained himself. There's nothing off about him so there's nothing to worry about. I remind myself that today is an incredibly special day and we should be celebrating our engagement. We're going out for lunch and it's all going smoothly. It's going to be a marvelous day.We've been holding hands for the past thirty minutes. I don't know where he's taking me, I didn't ask, but I'm sure I'll love it. I asked him about his meeting and he said everything went well. Again, he didn't elaborate, but who talks business when they're supposed to be celebrating? I'm prying too much. I'm making too much of that smudge of blood. It could be anything."I'll have to find a dress soon," I tell him. "Theo is confident that we'll find something tomorrow."He smiles and kisses my forehead. "Don't let her bully you into picking something you don't want. I know how impatient she can be.""I don't mind," I
Damien drops Amelia off at the apartment.He accompanies her upstairs. Their talk over lunch was tense, but necessary. Now he knows about Ethan. Something changed in his brother that night. He has the certainty that he's in some kind of trouble, he just can't figure out what it is. It's only a matter of time before he does.He also knows how she feels about Devon Tyler.He was worried about her reaction. He knew what he had to do, he had no doubts, but Amelia and that man had a bizarre...relationship. He couldn't understand it at first and it infuriated him. They're on the same page, though, and she wants him out of their lives as much as he does. Hearing her say the words was relieving. He'll admit that if she had asked him to release him, he'd release the son of a bitch. He would let him go. He'd do whatever she asked him to.He kisses her at the door. "I'll be back later.""Okay," she simply says.He gets back in the car and tells Roger to stop by The Lounge. They have to pick up t
He can't believe he's going to die in this miserable place.He has no clue of how many hours have passed, all he knows is that he's lost all hope whatsoever. He's never been this thirsty before in all his life. He can't even manage to scream for help anymore. His body is shutting down, he can feel it. It doesn't help that he hasn't hydrated properly in some days. He was drinking at the party.His hands are incredibly sore. He's been pounding at that piece of metal for a door for hours. He managed to free himself, but it didn't benefit him in any way. He's still stuck in this room. His voice is hoarse now, he can barely utter a word without feeling pain in his throat. This is it. This is the end. This is how he dies.He's gone from feeling angry to feeling like he deserves all this shit that's happening to him. He deserves an end like this. How many people has he fucked over before? He fucked those girls and gave them hope. He promised them that someday she'd work for them but he disca
There are only two weeks and a half left to go before our wedding.I don't know where the time has gone. I'm floating and sinking at the same damn time. We're not even halfway there with the preparations and Theo and Greg have had their first fight only yesterday. Something about the flower arrangements. I wasn't paying attention, I had a lot on my mind.There's something Damien wants to tell me, but I know he's afraid of ruining our wedding plans. I don't care about that, I told him. I can take the truth, no matter how harsh it is. He doesn't have anyone to confide in but me, and I want to support him in any way that I can.It's about Ethan, I'm a hundred percent sure.Ever since I told him about my suspicions, their relationship took a turn for the worse. Just last week they had an intense argument about a decision Damien made without consulting him. They had an agreement, sure, but Ethan hasn't been around much and Damien couldn't sit around and wait for him to show up. Besides, he
Damien kisses Amelia goodbye and gets straight back to work.His words scared her earlier and he vehemently wishes that he could take them back. The last thing he wants is to worry her. It'll only exacerbate her restlessness. He knows she's anxious about this situation and he doesn't blame her, this hasn't been easy on anyone. It's going to get worse, he's certain of it. And there's still a lot he doesn't know.Since he couldn't take back what he said, he did what he could to relax her. He rolled up her dress and ate his way to her heart. He had her moaning his name and writhing in his chair. Her legs shook violently and she fought desperately to muffle her moans. He tasted every inch of her and relished in the familiarity of tonguing her sweet folds. He took his sweet time and he enjoyed every minute of it. For a moment, he forgot that his own blood had stabbed him in the back, that he was slowly dying on the inside. When he was done with her, she didn't mention any of it again. She
I can't wait for Damien to get home.First and foremost, we have to continue our conversation. I want to know exactly what he meant when he said that something might happen to him. He distracted me, but I've given it another thought and I'm not going to let it slide. He wants to wait until after the wedding, but this is different. This has nothing to do with Ethan and Theo finding out. He's talking about death. He wants to marry me as quickly as possible because he thinks he might die. He didn't have to say the words out loud, I understood.And I'm fucking terrified.I'm overcome with the urge to kill Ethan myself. I'll kill him and get this done and over with. Damien will forgive me. Theo might not, but at least this will all be behind us. How dare he sabotage my happiness? How dare he betray his own family? I can't believe Damien and I are related to that prick. I sacrificed myself for my brother, and Damien would do anything to keep us safe. My mother went through hell to keep us a