Clarrisa's POV

I waited for Damon to return home. I kept feeling like something was not okay. When I finally saw his jeep, I was overjoyed that he’d returned. All of that changed the second that I saw Anya with him.

Why did he bring her back? Why was she dressed so fancy? Did he take her on a date? He said that they had something important to talk about, but he never mentioned that it was a date.

I tried to remain calm, but my heart was racing just as much as my mind was. My impatience was getting the better of me.

I wanted to know what they had discussed today. I wanted to know why Anya was looking so damn happy. Whenever she was delighted, it’s because she had gotten her way, and when she’d gotten her way, it usually ended in someone being upset.

Who was she planning on upsetting today?

They walk past me in the corridor, and to my surprise, Damon looks a little tense. There’s something he’s hiding from me; I could feel it.

“Where is Dante?” She asks me as she keeps walking.

“In his room,” I answer her.

They were looking for Dante, but for some reason, Damon looked uneasy.

“Should I call him?” I ask her.

“No.” She answers me with a bright smile. It was the first time I’d ever seen her smile that brightly. “We will see him in his room. There’s something important that we have to discuss with him.”

Here they go again, mentioning this important thing no one was telling me about. Whatever it was, it involved all three of them. That didn’t seem like good news to me. What could involve all three of them besides their weird relationship?

I watch as they walk up the stairs. I’m tempted to follow them, but that wouldn’t end well for me.

I ran towards Autumn, who was in the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” She says as soon as she sees the look on my face.

“I think something horrible is going to happen,” I whisper.

“Why?” she demands. “What did you see?”

“Damon left to meet Anya today. He said they had something important to discuss. He just came home with her, but she looked dressed for a special occasion. Now they’re both going to talk with Dante. I’m telling you, Autumn, something is not right.” I explain.

She might think I’m exaggerating, but this feeling in my chest couldn’t be wrong.

“It’s okay.” She tries to soothe me as she gently rubs my arm. “Let’s just wait and see what happens.”

“I need to listen to their conversation,” I tell her. “I need to hear what they are talking about.”

A door slams shut in the house, and we both jump at the sound. There is also some shouting.

“Dante!” I hear Damon shouting his name.

“What the hell is going on?” Griffin asks as he walks into the kitchen with a beer in his hand.

“We were just trying to figure out the same thing,” Autumn tells him.

The three of us walk out of the kitchen, and we’re just in time to see Damon grab Dante’s arm.

He pushes his hand away and growls. “Stay the fuck away from me. I just need to be alone right now. Away from you and away from Anya. I can’t see the both of you in front of me.”

“Dante, please.” Anya tries to console him. “This was the only way to move forward. I couldn’t keep dragging the two of you along. I had to choose one of you eventually, and Damon is the one I want. I’m sorry if I hurt you, but please try to understand that this is the best thing for all of us.”

Autumn and I look at each other in horror. What the hell just happened? Did I hear her correctly? Was she choosing Damon to be with? Was she letting go of Dante?

What caused her to change her mind? Why did she suddenly know that it was Damon that she wanted?

Please tell me this was a nightmare. Please tell me this was all a lie. I don’t want it to be true.

Atticus walks in next, “What’s all the shouting about?”

He takes one look at Damon and then at Dante before glaring at Anya.

“What mess did you make now?” He growls.

“Don’t speak to her like that,” Damon warns him.

“She suddenly decided that she wants Damon,” Griffin answers him. “She no longer wants to be with Dante. She has disposed of him because she’s gotten everything she wanted already.”

I gape at Griffin. He was sarcastic, but this wasn’t the right time for any of that.

Dante looks like his whole life is falling apart. If she was rejecting him, why didn’t it seem to bother her? Why was she so calm? There was not a single tear in her eyes. She’d just broken Dante’s heart like it was nothing to her.

“I think we all need to stay calm,” Autumn says as she tries to lighten the mood. “We can talk about this in a civil manner. When did you make this decision, Anya? What made you decide that it’s Damon that you want to be with?”

“That’s something I’ll rather speak to Damon and Dante about.” She tells her. “This shouldn’t be anyone else’s business. Damon and I agreed that this was the right thing to do.”

I can’t help but gaze at him in disbelief. Did he think of me even once when they agreed on this?

He’s avoiding me; I can tell when he’s avoiding me, and he’s doing a very bad job right now.

“I don’t want to hear more of this,” Dante growls. “I’ve had enough of it. I’m leaving. I don’t want anyone to follow me.”

No one says anything as he storms out of the house.

“This may not be the right time to mention this,” Griffin says. “But I think it’s a good thing that she finally chose. This means that Dante is now a free man. He’s finally free again. He may not realize it now, but he’s just been saved.”

Anya glares at him, and so does Damon.

“I think you should tell us the truth, Anya.” I snap. “Why are you suddenly realizing that you want Damon and not Dante?”

Anya crosses her arms and gives me a sad smile, “it wasn’t an easy decision to make , Clarissa. I’ve always loved them both, but I finally realized that I couldn’t have them for the rest of my life. I knew I had to choose. I’m sure you understand why my choice had to be Damon.”

I frown. Why would I understand why it had to be Damon?

“Today, I decided to tell Damon how I truly felt about everything. We had to tell Dante eventually, why not today? Besides, if we were going to mention getting married to everyone else, we knew that Dante had to find out before anyone else found out.”

I stopped breathing. I think Autumn did next to me as well.

No.

She didn’t just say that.

Anya didn’t just say that she was planning on marrying Damon.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I know I’ve just misheard you. I know you didn’t just mention getting married to Damon.”

The color leaves Damon’s face as he looks at Anya. He must have asked her to keep it a secret from the rest of us, judging by how he glared at her. How could he do this to me? How could he let me find out this way?

“It’s true.” She answers me. “Damon wanted to wait for a little before we made the announcement. But since Dante knows, I don’t see why everyone else can’t as well.”

I felt like I was about to faint with this news. I still wanted to believe that all of this was just a nightmare. I didn’t want to think that it was happening right now.

I can’t feel my feet as I walk toward Damon. I’m not sure what I’m planning to say or do, but I want to look him directly in his eyes. I want to hear the truth from his mouth.

I don’t stop walking until I’m inches away from him.

His eyes found mine, and we stood that way for a few seconds, gazing at each other while everyone else looked on.

“Tell me the truth,” I say with all emotion drained from my voice. “Did you agree to marry Anya?”

[Note: Sorry for the late update as I was not keeping well so couldn't update for a few days... And thank you to all my lovely readers.... I hope you enjoying don't forget to comment and follow]