Chapter 9

Chapter 9

-MILLI

I stood on the wooden platform, overlooking the calm water of Malyons Lake, listening to the wind sweep over the trees encompassing the lake.

I stood here all afternoon trying to clear my head. It’s not like me to give in to the pressure around me, but I’m human, too. My head was clustered with all the punches I’d taken left to right, and this mess with Damian only added to the chaos, tipping me on the edge of breaking down.

The wind had gone cold. I thrust my hands into my borrowed hoodie’s pocket and heaved a breath.

Before coming here, I went home for a proper change of clothing, but I kept Candice’s hoodie. It strangely gave me comfort. If she were here, she’d tell me how I f u cked up, probably laugh in my face. At least I am not alone.

I sighed. “What the f uck am I gonna do now?”

“You’re a hard woman to find.” I stiffened.

Hunter’s steps were hushed. 1 didn’t hear him approaching until he was only a hand stretched away from me. A different kind of chill swirled down my spine as he stood beside me. He sported a gray tee: the hem tucked into the waist of his dark jeans, his badge and gun hanging on his belt.

“Apparently not hard enough. I grimaced. Talking to him was the last thing I needed.

“You haven’t been answering your phone”

“I didn’t get a memo we were still in talking terms,” sarcasm dripped like honey from my mouth.

Hunter faced me, annoyance blazed in his eyes. He hates it when I talked back. He openly glared at me. further, I paid him no mind and kept my eyes pinned on the treeline across the lake..

“I don’t f ucking appreciate your tone, Millicent,” he growled through gritted teeth.

To annoy him

I faced him, pained and hatred glazing my eyes. Seeing him here, hearing him speak as if he still had the right to command me, slammed a sledgehammer on the walls I created around my heart.

I’ve had enough. How can Natalie and Hunter act as if they didn’t pull my heart out of my chest with their b still had the nerve to talk to me? “And I don’t appreciate you coming here, talking to me like you didn’t f uck Hunter.

His eyes sl anted, nose flaring. “If you only listened to me and didn’t run away like a petulant child, we wouldn this conversation.”

I huffed, hands clenching inside my hoodie’s pocket. “If you didn’t f uck Natalie, we wouldn’t be in this situation.

He strode forward, commanding power and dominance in each step. Eyes blown wide with fear, I sta ggered back w reached up to touch my face. Hunter’s hand froze mid-air, his gaze softening.

I thought he was gonna slap me. Memories of how he’d landed those hands on me inside the bedroom flooded my he Hunter had a different kind of need inside the bedroom, and there were times when I couldn’t physically give him wha

needed

He clenched his hands, dropping them to his side.

“1. I’m sorry” Remorse shone in his eyes. “How many times do I have to apologize, Milliceru? I was lonely, and Natalie was available and willing. She was willing to do what you couldn’t do for me, but you’re the one I love. I still want to marry you.”

My eyes thinned, l*ps curling into a grimace. The nerve of this man?

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“Love?” A humorless chuckle fell from my l*ps. “If you love me, you wouldn’t even think of touching another woman, Hunter. And what was that about the ring? You two are already engaged not even a week after I found you two f ucking. What has gotten into you? Have you ever considered what I would feel”

He looked genuinely confused, but then something dangerous crossed his face when a memory surfaced in his head. “What has gotten into me? You’re one to speak. You were all over that billionaire brat last night. One second, you were crying about how I cheated on you, the next, you spread your legs to another man-”

My palm struck his cheek. It happened so fast I gasped at my actions. The slap echoed through the lake, stopping whatever insult he was gonna spew

Hunter growled. He moved so quickly it barely even registered how he grabbed my throat in a choke hold, cutting air from entering my b*dy. “You f ucking b itch”

Gripping his wrist. I wrenched his hand from choking me. Tears sprang from my eyes. My head spun with images of Hunter hovering above me. pinning me down with his weight as he cut my air supply.

“Hu… Hunter… “I choked, staring right at the face of the monster I considered my end game. Molten anger lit up his blue eyes. There was not a trace of the man I love, but a sinister and menacing beast ready to burn me to the ground.

Laughter and light footsteps coming our direction made Hunter release me, tossing me aside like a rag doll. I limped against the wooden railings, gasping for air. A group of three women on their afternoon run sped past the platform, disappearing through the walking path

Hunter raked his inked fingers through his hair, eyes wide as saucers. “I I’m sorry.”

“Leave me alone, Hunter. My tone was final.

“Millicent-

“Leave me alone!” my voice rose. A man jogging through the footpath threw a worried glance our way.

Hunter’s l*ps pursed. “This isn’t over. You’re mine. No one can have you but me.”

His parting words left a foul taste in the air, and fear settled on my belly.

All I wanted was to get some rest and let the world move on its own accord for a few more hours. My conversation with Hunter drained my strength to next week.

I debated trudging back to the lake when I saw Damian’s truck parked in front of my parent’s place. He leaned on one of the four pillars of our porch, arms crossed over his chest. The distance between the street corner and our house was far for me to make out his expression, but I knew this couldn’t be good. Damian mimicked a hound waiting for its enemy

“Where were you?” Damian pushed off the pillar; his face was passive, voice as cold as ice.

I walked up the stone path, climbed the porch, and pulled out my keys. My hands were shaky as I slotted it into the keyhole “I was at the lake.”

“All day?” The hitch in his voice told me he’d been waiting for quite a while.

Ifaced him, biting my l*p as 1 played with the keys. I couldn’t look at him without my cheeks turning beet red. He looked so good in a shirt and jeans, the fabric threatening to rip on the seams from hugging his huge build

Sighing, I stood with my spine ramrod straight. “I needed time to process everything. That’s why I haven’t deleted the photo,” I rambled, assuming that was the reason he was here. We’ve known each other as long as I’ve known Candice, and he never went out of his way to speak to me.

When he didn’t offer any response. I pulled out my phone and turned it on. As my Instagram account unfurled on the screen. I grimaced at the number of unopened notifications and messages

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Chapter 9

“I’m really sorry, Damian,” I said solemnly. “I’ll delete it now and post a public apology.

He tilted his head to the side. “You’ll do that?”

I raked my fingers through my hair, blowing out a breath. “There’s no other way to straighten things out than to come clean. I’ll probably lose what’s left of my endorsements, but this has to be done.”

My fingers hovered on the delete option, preparing myself for the disaster I was about to face when Damian spoke. “Don’t.”

My gaze snapped at him. “Huh?”

He shook his head. “Don’t delete it.

Tongue-tied, I gaped at him, searching his face. For what? I don’t know. He caught on to my confusion. “I’m here to collect. my favor.”

A favor for a favor, his voice rang in my ears. I’m gonna collect

Snippets of last night’s even flashed in my head. Our k*ss, Damian bracketing my jaw as he savored my l*ps like I was the last tiramisu on a buffet. Tingles covered my entire b*dy. I’ve put the same amount of thought into solving my problem and remembering what happened last night. Not remembering how I climbed him like a tree was alarming and reassuring.

When I couldn’t remember anything, I ended up leaning onto the saying that what I didn’t know won’t hurt me.

“You remember,” he murmured mostly to himself.

If my heart was thrashing before, I swear it’s about to karate chop my breast bone and jump into Darmian’s feet.

“What kind of favor will he ask? Will he ask me to have S** with him? That’s highly unlikely. Because if he did, he would’ve asked that this morning, right? What if he changed his mind? What if we already did that last night?”

Ugh. I need my memories back!

“Vaguely,” I murmured, playing it cool. I shifted my weight from foot to foot, looking at the familiar street I grew up in. My stomach growling ended the pregnant pause swelling between us.

Damian’s brows twitched, a hint of a smile tugging at his l*ps..

My cheeks were on fire. I could spontaneously combust on the spot.

“I haven’t eaten, I admitted, lowering my gaze to the tips of my sneakers.

“Let’s grab some food,” Damian offered.

If we were in a different situation, I would give anything to dine with Damian. Dating him had been one of the deepest secrets written in my teenage diary. Sadly, this wasn’t one of the scenarios I pictured.

“Actually, I’d like to stay in,” I said, sidestepping to invite him. “Il order… uhm, would you like to come in? So we can talk…

He didn’t hesitate. His steps were calculated, accepting my offer, Fresh cut woods, mint, and waterfall scents smacked my senses as he entered my home. My parents’ place was not small by any means. It was a three-story house with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, living, dining, a kitchen, and a min library. But Damian’s presence took in most of the space; it made me claustrophobic.

I closed the door, locking it. Mom and Dad had taken residence at Clarke Bay and keeping the door locked was an instinct, not that I wanted to keep Damian here.

Ugh. What the hell was going on with me?

Crossing the living room, I went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water from the fridge. I sighed in relief as it dampened my throat.

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Chapter 9

“You were on the lake all day?” Damian asked, his hands stretchell wide on the kitchen island, gripping the edge.

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I ignored flashes of what Hunter did to me this afternoon, leaning on the counter behind me, nodding. “I had to figure out. what to do. My phone was off.”

My stomach growled again, Damian allowed a chuckle to sl*p past his l*ps this time. He pulled out his phone, scrolling. “You like Italian, right?”

How did he know that? I loved everything Italian. I think I was Italian in my past life “Yeah. But let me order.”

“Not a chance.” He gave no room for arguments, lifting the device to his ears, barking food orders enough to feed a family of

twelve

Twenty minutes later, Damian and I sat across from each other on the island. It’s like picking up where we left off this morning. While waiting for food, I took a quick shower. This favor he was about to ask me left a sinking feeling in my gut.

We ate silently. To be precise, Damian watched me gobble up the spaghetti bolognese and milanese chicken. After drinking a tall glass of water, I determinedly met Damian’s gaze. “Okay. Tim stuffed. What is your favor?”

Deep in his thoughts, Damina sipped his wine. His mind gears shifting overtime, I could tell.

He’s hesitating.

That’s not good..

My pulse gained speed with each second that passed by. As though he had finally made up his mind, he met my gaze with such intensity that made my chest cave. I need you to continue pretending to be my girlfriend”

B

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