Chapter 37

Chapter 37

-MILLIE-

The next time I opened my eyes, I was back at Damian’s place. I had been asleep for a day, though it felt like I’d been asleep for a whole week.

Mom, Dad, Nancy, Erick, Candice, and Andrea dropped by and checked up on me. Damian’s room became a mini garden from all the flowers they brought. Mom and Nancy stacked the fridge with food. They were all worried about me, and I had to put

a facade that I’d be fine. It dawned on me that they didn’t know what really happened inside my room.

It helped that I was physically okay. Apart from a few bruises, a laceration on the back of my head, and the fading handprint on my ankles, I was fine.

Candice put me up to date on everything that happened while I was unconscious. She said that Damian was adamant about letting me stay in the hospital. The cops arrested my assailant, but since Damian did a good number on him, they brought him straight to the hospital. Four broken ribs, dislocated arms, and his face was barely recognizable. I’ve yet to know who he was and what he wanted from me. Part of me was eager to learn his reasons for targeting me; the other was still terrified of facing the truth. Candice pointed out that Damian was handling the case on my behalf. Not even my dad knew anything as of this moment.

Mom appreciated Damian’s request that I stay here with him while the investigation was rolling. My b*dy was tired, but my mind wouldn’t let me rest. It’s the emotional and psychological effects of what happened that I’m finding it hard to cope with. I get easily startled, and I hate being alone, like tonight.

A knock on the door made me stiffen. I’d been lost in my head, staring at nothingness since everyone left.

“Hey.” Damian entered the room. I hadn’t seen him since I opened my eyes, and the relief that washed over confounding.

me was

He hired two security guards for me, but seeing him remove the boulder that I didn’t know was weighing down my shoulder.

I smiled at him. “Hey,”

He dropped his suit jacket on the foot of the bed, tossed his tie on top of it, and sat on my side. “How are you feeling?”

Stars must have been sparkling in my eyes. This was the first time I genuinely smiled since I woke up. I was happy to see everyone, but they didn’t know what happened to me like Damian did. He knew the horror this guy b the hotel.

“I’m fine,” I said, flinching when Damian reached for my hand.

He frowned. He didn’t need a lie detector to know I was lying straight in his face, but he played along. enough food in the fridge to feed us to next week. Got some craving for tonight?”

“I’m not hungry,” another lie. There was a hollow pit in my belly that not even my favorite wild rice soup co eaten bowl still sat on the bedside table. Damian’s eyes fell on it.

Nodding, Damian gathered the unfinished food and went to wash the dishes. When he returned, he had my me and a glass of water.

“I’ll be in the room next to yours,” he said once I downed all my pills.

my life since

1 didn’t want him to leave. Being alone terrified me, but I didn’t want to impose. He’d already done so much for me. “T you, Damian”

He assessed me for a beat, looking unconvinced, before leaving the room.

I tossed and turned on the bed. The mechanical sound of the digital clock sitting on the bedside table was louder than the waves crashing on the shore. It was like a countdown to my final destination. I had already given up on sleep when Damian

left

09:27 Sat, Feb 10 M.

Chapter 37

checked up on me. “Can’t sleep?”

27%-

I bite my l*p. He’d probably seen the light in my room. I tried turning the lights off, but my mind kept playing tricks on me. as though someone was watching me in the dark. This felt like kindergarten all over again, where I believe a monster lay under my bed.

I nodded. Damian closed the door behind him. No words were exchanged between us. I gave room for him on the bed. He offered me his arms, and a sigh of relief tumbled down my l*ps when his warmth enveloped me. He turned the lights off, and I dozed off as quickly as darkness blanketed the room.

The next day. I woke up cocooned in Damian’s arms. Our faces were so close, his breath fanning my forehead. Dark bags circled his eyes, and day-old stubbles dusted his jaw. His eyelids fluttered open, and like always, I was once again sucked by those intense green pools like a moth to a flame.

He blinked the sleep away from his eyes, pinning me with a stare. “Hey”

“Hey,” I broke my gaze from him, staring at his throat

“Were you watching me sleep?” a teasing hint in his gruff voice.

“I… I just want to thank you for everything you’ve done, Damian.” I wiggled free from his hold.

As gently as he could, he drew me closer and k*ssed my forehead, surprising me. “I promised I’d take care of you. I failed… twice. That will never happen again.”

“Damian…” I wanted to tell him he didn’t need to blame himself for what happened. He saved me twice. If it wasn’t for him, I would be nursing more than just bruises and scratches. But he shook his head and k*ssed my head again.

“I’ll make breakfast,” he got out of the room without allowing me to say another word.

“Detective Lean will be here in an hour.” Damian set his phone down on the dining table.

–

Seeing what Damian prepared for breakfast – scrambled eggs, toast, whole wheat pancake, and fruit smoothie gave me an appetite. But the mention of Hunter made my stomach sink. This was the first time he brought up the case.

Sweat formed in my palms, my knife and fork sl*pping from my hold. I lift my gaze from my plate of scrambled eggs and pancakes. My stomach is turning over. Talking to Hunter meant I needed to go over what happened play-by-

“I can tell him we’ll go to the station when you’re ready.” Damian said over his cup of coffee.

“Who was the guy that attacked me?” I mustered enough courage to ask.

Damian pondered on it before looking at me steadily. “He’s a member of a local gang.”

“What? A gang member?” I frowned.

Damian left the kitchen, went upstairs, and handed me a manila folder when he came back. Bile rose from my ba came face to face with my assailant. I knew it was him. I will never forget those eyes and that cut above his l*p.

It was his bio. Rome Fletcher. It also contained the basic information about him and all the crimes he’d been involve

“Drug trafficking. Drug use. Gun smuggling. Assault and attempted murder?” my hands were trembling as I set the pap down. “I… I don’t know him. How the hell did I become his target?”

This information was mind-numbing. Damian watched me intently as I processed Rome’s bio.

“Someone hired him.” He sounded so sure.

“What?”

III

09:27 Sat, Feb 10

Chapter

37

27%

“I’ll get to the bottom of this, Millicent.” His jaw was set on a hardline. He put his elbows on the table, joining his hand. The cords on his forearms were ready to explode. His expression was dangerous. “The last thing I want is to make you go back to everything he did. But if there was anything he said that could help me find out who hired him, tell me now.”

I couldn’t keep the information to myself anymore, so I told Damian what Rome said to me from the hotel and to the night. in my room. When I was done, the back of my shirt was soaked in cold sweat. Damian’s chair fell back when he pushed off from the dining table. Anger billowed like white smoke from his skin.

“You should’ve told me this the first time it happened, Millicent, he was fuming mad. “What the f uck were you thinking?”

I jumped from my seat as his voice rose. “L… I was scared he’d hurt someone else I care about.”

“Look at you now,” he gestured at me with open palms. “He assaulted you! If I didn’t come back…. If I wasn’t there…”

“Damian-” Tears gathered on my bottom lids.

“I don’t know what I’d do if anything worse happened to you. Millicent. I couldn’t forgive myself for not being able to protect you” His jaw fluttered.

I stood from my chair and threw myself at him, tears rolling down my cheeks. I hate that he’s blaming himself for what happened “It wasn’t your fault”

“No.” he held me tight and buried his face in the crook of my n*eck. His entire b*dy was shaking in anger, in regret, I’m not sure. But his emotions were slithering through my entire b*dy. I was half certain that this happened because of me. Now I’m sure that this all happened because you got tangled with me. I won’t stop until you’re safe again, you hear me? I won’t.”

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