Chapter One Hundred And Ten"Zaire?" Damien was giving her a very dark look with an eyebrow arched. He'd heard what she'd said, and anger rose up inside him. She was still talking to that jerk? Lana nodded her head, "yea, he just called to check up on me," she told him, "He heard about the incident and...""He heard about the incident?" Damien asked interrupting her, and Lana nodded once more. "Yes, he did." She replied with a sigh, "Come to think of it, I'm calling the cops. I was so distracted earlier that I totally forgot about it. We have to let them know so they can...""How did Ludovic know about your attack at the office?" Damien asked in a stern voice , interrupting her once more. Lana took a deep breath, incensed that he kept interrupting her when she was trying to say something important."Lana?" He prodded once more and she snapped."I don't know! Jeez, Damien!" She said, sharply, "He didn't really say anything about it. I know I must have misheard. He was just checking
Chapter One Hundred And Eleven.Over the next few days, Lana avoided Damien like the plague and he did his best to stay out of her way. She stared past him as though he was nonexistent to the extent that Damien felt he could not stay in under the same roof with her anymore.But then he waited patiently, waiting for her anger to thaw. He never hurried her or inputed anything since that day, although he wanted to apologize for the rest of his days.If apologizing till eternity will make everyhng right, Damien was willing to take it on. He'd walked into her room that day to apologize for his behaivour. She was right for being scared and trying to make sure she did not get anyone else caught in the fray. He was wrong for treating her like a weakling.However, when he'd held her by her shoulders and stared into her eyes, his gust was twisted with something he could not explain.She'd looked so small and defenseless that he'd wondered how she was able to get through what she did five ye
Chapter One Hundred And Twelve"Miss Lana?"Lana jerked as Mandy touched her forearm gently, trying to get her attention. She blinked in surprise, staring blankly at Mandy who nodded with her head towards the front of the hall, where a speech was being given.She sighed and gave Mandy an apologetic smile. She had been carried away with her thoughts that she had not noticed what was going on in her surroundings.The night had been going smoothly so far, except for her thoughts drifting away to a certain somebody and her mood threatening to plummet down to its lowest depth."What's the point of coming out for the first time in a while if you're going to be so distracted, Lana?" She admonished herself, and decided to focus on what she came here for. She shook her head and drew the black fur shawl tighter around her shoulders.She was wearing a long black dress, with straps and a sweet heart neckline. It was made of silk and the skirt flowed all the way to the ground, covering her feet. A
Chapter One Hundred And Thirteen Rina staggered back from the force with which Damien pushed her, to the shock of the onlookers. She gasped and stumbled backwards almost landing on her butt, but a table behind her broke her fall. Before she could get steady herself and call out to Damien again, he had disappeared through the crowd and out the door searching for Lana."Ugh!" She grunted loudly, stomping her heeled foot against the marble floor in anger and frustration. She bit her lip and thought about following them out. She could not believe Damien had pushed her away in public. She had hugged him, thinking he would never push her away in front of guests like this. She'd thought she would still be able to act weak and pitiful before him and everyone else to keep him trapped...She'd not expected him to push her away so roughly, that she'd not even had time to change tactics."Whatever, I came to this stupid event just so I can get you back," She muttered to herself, "so you're goi
Chapter One Hundred And Fourteen."Ow, let go of me! What do you think you're doing?!"Zaire marched through the crowd, ignoring Rina's cries of pain. Instead, he dragged her out of the building, and into the quiet garden by the side of the Hall.When they got to a spot where they could not get the attention of the guests in the hall, Zaire stopped and Rina yanked back her wrist from his hold."You bastard!" She spat out, as she massaged her sore wrists. There were red welts on the delicate skin, indicating where his fingers had dug into it.Zaire turned to her sharply at that word, and quick as lightening, he gave her a deafening slap that threw her to the ground.Rina cried out in pain on the floor, as she reached to touch her cheeks with her hand, trembling all over her body.She glared up at him with hate and fear as Zaire dusted one palm over the other, "You know, I really try not to get angry at you, Rina." He said, then stooped low to glare at her on the ground, his eyes red-ri
Chapter One Hundred And Fifteen.The silence in the Maybach, as Damien and Lana rode down the streets and towards home, was defeaning.Lana was sitting very straightbacked on her seat, willing her heartbeat to slow down, but it continued beating loudly in her ears.She dared not look sideways at Damien, who, surprisingly, was looking very calm and zen considering what had happened just a few minutes ago. She inhaled sharply and clutched the silky material of her dress, as her mind drifted back to what had happened in the garden.When she'd seen Zaire drag Rina out of the building, Lana knew something was very wrong.First of all, why were they together?She'd never thought Zaire and Rina knew each other, and why was he pulling her after him that way?Then, Zaire had slapped Rina and Lana's jaw dropped in shock, her eyes widening at the man in front of her. This was not the Zaire she knew. Zaire Ludovic, who was her friend, rarely got angry and would definitely not hit a woman but h
Chapter One Hundred And SixteenLana went very still as Damien's lips claimed hers. It was like every other thing disappeared at that moment and the only thing she could feel was his firm lips on hers, nibbling and tasting.It was electrifying and desire coursed through her veins when his tongue delved into her mouth, and Lana let out a moan, melting completely into him.Damien growled low in his throat as one hand moved from her face to her hair, while the other grabbed her waist and pulled her closer.She could feel how hard he was already as he pressed against her tummy. Lana felt her mind completely lose control of her body, as her hand wrapped around his waist and another cralwed up his body, tugging at his shirt. Their kiss deepened as their tongues meshed and dueled. Damien moved until he held her gently against the hedge and another moan escaped Lana, as his mouth started nibbling her ear and neck.However, the feeling of his palm fully cupping her breast brought her crashing
Chapter One Hundred And SeventeenWhen the car pulled into the driveway of the Romero Villa, Lana placed all her attention in unbuckling her seatbelt, so she would not look at Damien but strangely enough, the belt was stuck.She jerked at the seat belt in frustration, and Damien turned to her alerted by her movements. "Here, let me help you." He said as he took his off, and leaned towards her to help her with the seatbelt.Lana put up a hand quickly at him, her heart beating loudly once more at his closeness, "No." She said quickly, "I'm fine. I'll just do it myself."A tiny frown furrowed his brows as he reached for the buckle nonetheless, "Relax, Lana." He said to her, carefully undoing the clasp that kept her stuck to the chair, "I'm not going to bite."Lana let out a breath she did not know she was holding as she felt the belt release her but that relief was short lived as she realized that Damien was still leaning close to her.She froze, unable to take her eyes off his face ab
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Seven"Miss Lana, its okay. I can take it from here."Yvette said in a worried tone but there was no mistaking the gladness that laced it as well as she watched Lana gently remove the delicious, creamy bread from the oven.Lana gave her a grin over her shoulder as she removed the thick mittens from her hands. The sweet aroma of roasted meat, and freshly baked bread filled the kitchen and teased their noses, making her mouth water."The master would be back home soon. You go ahead and freshen up, Miss Lana." Yvette said with a conspiratorial grin at Lana.Lana cheeks flamed as she heard the hidden meaning behind Yvette's words. Its not like it was a special day or something, but Yvette was adding meaning to her cooking for Damien after such a long time.It was no big deal, really.Bored out of her wits from staying at home all day, Lana had gotten tired of watching TV. Then she resorted to growing her phone for emails and also her Instagram. Her feed was
Chapter One Hundred And Forty SixLana sat in her room poring over designs sent to her by Mandy, on her laptops. Each scroll she made, had her heart jumping for joy as she slowly forgot the bitter experience she'd had earlier that day.She had been so frazzled after listening to the recordings, that she'd gone home and cried herself to sleep. That morning, she woke up to about fifteen missed calls from Mandy the day before. "Ma'am, we made it to the preliminary round for the Queen's Glamour And Festival Awards!" Mandy had squealed excitedly into her ear that morning when she called her back. The young women sounded very excited and Lana had immediately been affected by her joyful mood.Although, she knew that they'd get selected and even possibly win the awards, her heart could not help but race in anticipation when Mandy announced the news."Mandy, that's awesome news," she said to her assistant, tears of joy filling her eyes suddenly to her surprise."Yes, ma'am. It is." Mandy af
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Five"Let me out, you hear me! Hey, I'm talking to you!" Rina yelled as she hit the metal bars of the cell doors holding her back. The cops, however, paid her no heed and went about their business like she wasn't even there."Agrhh!" Rina screamed, shaking the metal bars once more and snapping her head back. She winced in pain as she held on to her neck which had a brace over it.The doctors had warned her to be careful with moving it around, and now she'd almost dislodged it from its position again. She knew what she was doing would make no difference, but she could not sit still.It's been almost twenty four hours and yet she was still languishing in this cell. Her stomach growled with hunger and anger, and she glared at the police men.She'd not had anything to eat since she was brought from the hospital, and even then she'd not eaten anything.Both the food from the hospital and the one given to her in the cell looked like they were meant for dogs, n
Chapter One Hundred And Forty FourZaire had been following Damien all his life. He kept tabs on the Romero family as well, always looking for an opening, a leverage he could use against them.He saw when the little bastard had his first car.When he got into an ivy league. When he took over from their father.Zaire was always skulking around them, hiding in the shadows, watching every moment of Damien's life.Damien had been happy. He had loving parents, and a doting grandmother. He had his life set out for him and even got to marry a beautiful, and astounding woman in the long run.Everything that should have been his.With one tilt of his head, he downed the entire contents of the glass in one gulp and walked inside the house with it, leaving Aryan staring after him.He walked into his spacious bedroom, which seemed to be made of glass, with one part overlooking the glorious expanse of the sea.Zaire made his way to his walk in closet, divesting himself of his clothes. He walked o
Chapter One Hundred And Forty ThreeZaire stands in the balcony of his villa, overlooking the sea as he sipped from a glass of tequila.The sea wind was cold and crisp and ruffled his hair and the collar of the crisp white button down which he wore.He tucked his hand in his pocket, a calm expression on his face as he watched the sea down beneath him.It was dusk already and the dark, foamy waves of the sea crashed against the rocks situated at its bank, and spilled over the beach. During the day, he'd walked barefoot on the beach, close to the edge of the sea.The sand on the beach was fine, mixed with pieces of rocks that prickled the sole of his feet as he walked past, 0but Zaire paid no heed to it.He looked down at the beach now from his balcony, and let his blank stare gaze at the roaring waves.He took another sip of his tequila, letting the warmth of the liquid burn through his throat and spread throughout his chest. His calm and blank expression belied any of the raging turmo
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Two."There are some things we need to look into before handing the files over to the police."Damien was silent.He had his head in his hands with his eyes closed. He was not fully listening what Liam was saying, with his mind whirling with various thoughts. He was still numb from the fact that his grandmother had been killed. She had been taken away from him. He did not even get a chance to reconcile with her.For months he'd been at loggerheads with her because of Rina. He'd made her cry and frustrated. He'd repeatedly declared his love for Rina, and how he'd choose her over Romero. Damie closed his eyes as pain lodged in his throat. She must have been very heartbroken, yet she still made sure she helped him recover.Yet, she'd been taken away from him?Rage coursed through his body and he shivered with the intensity. At that moment, he swore he was going to crush Zaire's neck.Just the way he'd done to his grandmother. And he'd take extreme pleasure
Chapter One Hundred And Forty OneAs soon as the party arrived home, Lana went straight to her room and locked herself in.She had been quiet throughout the ride home, and refused to say or acknowledge a word anybody said to her."What's wrong with Miss Lana?" Diego asked, looking round at the others who stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching Lana go up.Yvette shrugged, as puzzled as Diego was.Damien and Liam, however, ignored him as well, and went into his study. Damien was brooding, his heart heavy with sadness and anger.Liam stood before him looking downcasted as well. Knowing Damien's temper, it would not be a good idea to say anything unless Damien spoke first.It had not been a good idea to let Lana listen to the recordings with them. That was the one thing Damien regretted. Although, it was supposed to come to her notice one way or the other, but Damien would have loved to keep it buried for life.He hated to see Lana sad, or heartbroken. After listening to the tapes,
Chapter One Hundred And Forty "Miss Lana, pick up already." Mandy muttered to herself, as she called Lana's number for the umpteenth time. As usual, the call rang out, leaving Mandy in despair and on the verge of pulling her hair out.She was pacing up and down the design team's office, the phone pressed to her ear, while the other employees went on with their work. It seemed like the design team was not affected by the crisis which had hit Romero since earlier that day. There was an air of joy, and the employees were working in a frenzy, with a light heart and smile on their faces.But their joy was incomplete somehow, with Lana's absence in the office.Where on earth did their head of design team go at this very crucial moment?At this memorable moment.A smile of joy and disbelief tugged at Mandy's lips, as she tried Lana's number once more. For the first time in years, MAGIC got accepted in the Queen's Glamor And Festival Awards, and it was all because of Miss Lana.She had mad
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Nine Without another word, Samuel stormed out of the office, followed by Paul and his companion.Lana heaved a sigh of relief, but she could still not ignore the pang of guilt that twisted her stomach. She'd have to call her Dad later on and explain things clearly to him.She was still a bit stunned that he'd actually left with a warning. "Oh God, hope he's not planning something behind my back." She muttered to herself, biting her lower lip in trepidation. If he was, then she deserved it, but she was not leaving Oackcrest without doing what she came here to do, anyway.And with the way things are, it seemed they'd gone back to the root of all squares. Romero was in danger!Before she could comprehend this thought any longer, Damien pulled her in to himself for a crushing hug.He pressed her to his chest, his heart racing from her nearness and his nose filled with the scent of her. He closed his eyes deeply and reveled in the feel of her still in his