Clarissa's POV

Four days. It was just four days before Damon married Anya.

FOUR DAYS.

He was doing the same as before, trying to limit any contact with me. I couldn’t believe him. When would he stop running away from me? From us?

However, I was also trying to stay away from him, at least for a little while until everything from the fire had died down. Everyone was still a little upset with me, and I didn’t want to bring any more attention to myself. Besides, Autumn had warned me that Atticus was beginning to notice that there was something happening between me and Damon. I knew Atticus, I knew what he was capable of doing when he was angry. He always protected me like his little sister and he would do the same even if it was against Damon.

I couldn’t do anything that would make him suspect us anymore. But today, I was ready to make my first move. I’d stayed away from Damon long enough. He wouldn’t see it coming when I showed him what I wanted to show him for a while now.

And that was the one thing I loved the most about my body. The tattoo of his name on my ass. I’d always dreamt of the day Damon would see it. I imagined him happy and falling in love with it. I knew there was a chance he would hate it but I was willing to at least try.

I knew that it would have a strong effect on him because I knew Damon well. He already knew that I had a tattoo but he didn’t know that the tattoo was his name. He would finally know the truth today.

According to Autumn, everyone was leaving in an hour for a dinner. It was a dinner to celebrate the wedding that was only a few days away. I would pretend to be sick. I knew that everyone would insist that I come, but Autumn would help convince everyone to let me stay at home.

I owed her plenty. Autumn was the only reason that Atticus wasn’t punching Damon right now. She was doing her best to make him believe that there was nothing going on between us. He had been keeping a close eye on us and the fact that we were staying away from each other must have convinced him that he was wrong, at least for now.

But tonight, I had plenty to do. Damon would be responsible for dropping Anya at her fake home after dinner and then he would return here. Autumn would distract everyone and make sure that they stayed longer for the dinner. She would come up with a good enough excuse, I trusted her. She was good at these things. I didn’t understand why she did so much for me without expecting anything in return.

When Damon returned home, it would just be the two of us. That would give me enough time to show him the tattoo and get a reaction from him. No one would suspect anything when they returned home, Autumn would make sure of it.

It would be the first time that Damon and I would be alone in the house together ever since things had gotten heated between us. I was looking forward to it. He had no idea what was coming to him. And I was counting on it, the fact that he wouldn’t be prepared for it would work in my favor. I loved catching Damon off-guard. I always got the best reactions when he was like that.

“Aren’t you getting ready?” Atticus asks me when he sees me going into the kitchen.

“I can’t,” I answer him as I cover my mouth. “I’ve been throwing up since this morning. Hasn’t Autumn told you?”

He frowns, “You’ve been sick since this morning and didn’t think to call a doctor?”

I didn’t like lying to him. I didn’t like lying to anyone that I cared about. But this was necessary.

“I didn’t want to spoil tonight for anyone,” I lie. “I thought I would have gotten better in time for the dinner but I was wrong.”

Atticus sighs, “Is this another one of your tricks to get out of Anya and Damon’s marriage celebrations? If you don’t want to go, you can just say that, Clarissa. We will find someone to stay home with you and keep you company. The happiness in your eyes has died down and I want to know what we can do to bring it back. I hate seeing you like this. I’m tired of sitting back and not doing anything about it. I need you to tell me what the hell is going on around here.”

I narrow my eyes, “Can you not remind me of it every chance that you get? I was a lot more supportive of your relationship with Autumn, are you forgetting that? If I’m not happy with Anya marrying Damon, I have my reasons. I wasn’t happy with your relationship with her either.”

He quirks a brow at me, “I was asking a simple question, why are you so defensive?”

I narrow my eyes, “I’m not feeling well, I told you that. I don’t need to be reminded of something that upsets me.”

He nods, “I won’t bring it up again then. I hope you feel better. Should I call for a doctor?”

“No,” I tell him. “If it gets worse, I will call for a doctor. Can you tell the others for me? I don’t want to deal with the many questions everyone would ask me when they find out I’m not going.”

He nods, “I will. Get your rest.”

I smile and hug him. He hugs me back and lets me return to my room without asking any other questions.

I was happy that he would be the one to tell the rest of my family why I wasn’t attending the dinner tonight. I knew that Damon would immediately be worried when he heard that I wasn’t feeling well. I also knew that he would want to visit me. However, he would refrain from doing so now that he knows Atticus is suspicious about our relationship.

We were both trying our best to stay out of each other’s lives while everyone was around. I’m not sure if it was easy for Damon but it was so damn hard for me. I missed him every second of every day. If I was like this before the wedding, I was afraid of what would happen if the wedding actually took place. It would be over for Damon and me. I didn’t want to stay in a world where there was no chance of us ever being together.

I saw Damon’s reaction when I mentioned marrying a man I wasn’t in love with just to prove a point to him. He was pissed at just the idea of it. My words had managed to break through his lies. He was lying to himself to make his plans to marry Anya work. And Anya. She was doing everything possible to keep us apart.

Luckily, she would be meeting them at the restaurant. She wouldn’t be here to cause a scene after learning that I wouldn’t be there. I knew that she would immediately try to stop Damon from coming home once she realized we would end up home alone together. Thankfully, Autumn would make sure that they both believe it wasn’t just me at home.

“We need to talk,” Autumn says as she barges into my room.

The urgency in her voice catches my attention immediately. Did something in our plan already fail? I hope not. Everything depended on today. I needed today to completely break through Damon’s walls.

“What’s wrong?” I ask her.

“I only just got a chance to speak to the private investigator. Everyone was so busy with the wedding that I took the opportunity to meet him,” she explains. “It turns out that Anya does not live in the house she wants us to believe she lives in. She has a completely different home and someone lives in there with her.”

My eyes widen in shock. “Why would she lie about where she’s living?”

She shrugs her shoulders, “I don’t know but there’s definitely something that isn’t adding up about this entire thing. Someone who’s hiding their true home definitely has plenty more to hide. This is serious. We were right about her all along, Clarissa. Anya is hiding so much more.”

“Did he give you directions to the place?” I ask her. “Maybe I can go there and have a look while you’re at the dinner.”

“No,” Autumn says in a stern tone. “I don’t want you going there by yourself. We don’t know what mischief Anya has been up to and we don’t know how dangerous she is. We can do it together. Besides, you need to be here when Damon returns.”

She was right. I didn’t want to waste any chances that I had with Damon. After telling me what she’d learned, Autumn refused to give me the address. I think that she doesn’t trust me. She knows I’ll do something dangerous like I was used to doing.

“We’re all leaving now,” she informs me as I walk her to the door. “I’ll try to keep everyone away for as long as possible but I need you to be alert at all times. Whatever you have planned, make sure it’s over by the time we return home. I don’t want everyone to catch you with Damon; things would blow up in our faces if that happens. I already know that Atticus would be pissed when he finds out I’ve helped you with all of this. But I’m willing to do it because you’re like a sister to me. You helped me plenty when I first entered this family; I’m happy to do the same for you.”

I smile and hug her. “I’ll be careful. I promise. I don’t want to cause any arguments between you and Atticus. If he ever finds out, I’ll make sure that he knows you’re not to blame.”

She smiles, “I’m not worried about Atticus. Even if he’s upset with me, it won’t be for long.”

I chuckle, “Of course not, he’s too in love with you to be upset with you for long.”

She laughs and waves goodbye. “Good luck tonight.”

I breathe a sigh of relief when everyone leaves and it’s just me in the house. I expected them to put up more of a fight to insist that I attend the dinner, but Atticus must have convinced them to let me stay.

I spend most of the time in the shower scrubbing my skin from head to toe. If Damon would be seeing me without any clothes, I wanted to make sure that my body was glowing. I know that was the last thing I should be thinking about, but I still wanted to look my best.

After getting dressed in jeans and a crop top, I combed through my wet hair and placed some blush on my cheeks.

I considered putting lipstick on but quickly changed my mind.

I waited an hour in the living room after Autumn texted me to let me know Damon had left to drop Anya home. I was becoming impatient. Why was he taking this long? I considered changing into something sexier, but I knew if I did, Damon would immediately know that I was up to something the moment he saw what I had on.

Maybe he already knew that I was up to something and was intentionally staying away from home. He knew that if he came home, it would just be the two of us.

If he didn’t come home in time, that would ruin everything for us. He had to come home. He had to.

I was about to call his phone when I heard a door close. My heart jumped in my chest. It was him. He was home.

It was just the two of us.

Finally.