Inside the elevator, Damian let go of Clara’s hand and allowed his body to rest against the wall behind him for support. The few minutes he had spent outside had been far more exhausting than the entire Twenty Shot case. He had co dangerously close to cursing everyone at the top of his lungs when they sward him with congratulatory ssages. Damian knew he had to leave quickly or sothing truly unpleasant might have followed.
"You were amazing today. I watched the entire thing. It was like you were a super lawyer in a movie." Clara’s low, hesitant voice was like cool water poured over a man dying of thirst in the middle of a desert.
’That’s right... All I need is genuine complints from people who actually care about .’ Damian inhaled deeply through his nose and exhaled slowly through his mouth.
The breath carried away the weight pressing on his chest, easing the tension that had built inside him and allowing a smile to rise freely on his face.
"Thank you... " Damian accepted her praise with a genuine smile. "But you did play a big part in my victory with all that late night exercise and research."
Damian teased, and Clara’s face flushed red with embarrassnt. At that mont the elevator bell rang and the doors slid open, revealing the dull, quiet hallway of the criminal defense division they had grown used to.
It was not lively like the other departnts, but that silence ca with a level of privacy that could not be found anywhere else in the firm.
"Do you ever feel bad about defending Twenty?" Clara asked with a bitter smile as they walked into the familiar corridors.
Damian was caught off guard by the question. Now that the case was as good as over, Clara was probably wondering if his conscience was bothering him.
’Is that why she didn’t show up at the trial?’ He could not help but wonder if Clara was feeling guilty for protecting a bad person.
They both knew Twenty was the killer, so it made sense that she would feel this way.
"A gangster beefing with another gangster got killed. If Twenty didn’t kill him, he would have killed Twenty. So why must I carry the moral weight of the actions of two gangsters? If there is soone who should feel bad, it is them. They are the ones with blood on their hands, not us." Damian explained slowly as they took the third turn to the right and began heading toward the door at the end of the hallway.
Clara neither nodded nor shook her head in disagreent. She simply listened and pondered his words in silence.
Entering his office, Damian collapsed into his comfortable chair, leaning back and crossing his legs over the table. He noticed Clara was still deep in thought about what he had said, and only then did he realize how seriously she was taking it.
Without saying a word, he opened his briefcase, pulled out a thick bundle of cash, slamd it onto the table, and slowly slid it across to Clara’s side.
That single action imdiately distracted her and stole her attention.
"What is that?" she asked, clearly confused.
"So, I spoke to my wife and she wants to et you. So I want you to visit my ho this weekend." he explained.
Clara’s eyes widened with surprise upon hearing this. She had only seen Hazel twice, once from a distance and once during a video call, yet her stunning image had never left her mind.
Her feelings toward that woman were a complicated mixture of curiosity, envy, and admiration. To think it was finally ti for her to beco a part of Damian’s life just like Candice once had been.
"I want you to do a lot of shopping, because we are also going on a vacation later on and we want you to co along with us."
As if the first news was not shocking enough, the second one struck even deeper. Clara froze in place, her heart suddenly warm and heavy at the sa ti. Every day she had remained in her ho wondering when she would finally beco important enough for Damian to seek her out outside work hours. Even though they t at the office often and fooled around regularly, she wanted him to desire her enough to look for her beyond those obligated eting hours. Unfortunately, she had slowly begun accepting the harsh reality that she would remain nothing more than an office fling.
But now everything seed to be changing in an instant. Not only was she being invited to his ho, she was also being asked to go on vacation with him and his family.
This was exactly what she had always wanted. Even if she could never beco his wife, she still wanted to be an active part of his life.
"Really?" Clara’s eyes quickly turned moist, leaving Damian stunned.
He was not entirely sure why she was reacting this way, but he had learned sothing important from dealing with his wives. Whenever they were in a sour mood, it was better to comfort first and ask questions later.
Sliding his chair back, he opened his arms.
Without hesitation, Clara ran around the desk and threw herself into them. She buried her head into his neck while he gently stroked her hair and patted her back.
Damian’s predatory instincts allowed him to sll the stench of abandonnt clinging to her. Only then did he rember that outside this office life, all Clara had was her small, empty ho that felt lonely even when they were both inside it. He could not imagine how it must feel for her to remain there alone all day.
"When you are coming over, also pack a bag. You should spend the night with us. Maybe if you like it, you can stay with us for the rest of the days leading up to our vacation trip. How about that?" he whispered softly into her ear.
She nodded silently against his neck without saying a word.
Damian did not say anything else. He simply held her tightly while wondering how he was going to explain this decision to his wives. This was not a choice he should be making alone, but he had been swept away by the mont.
He could almost imagine them standing around him right now, still invisible, wearing those familiar "you are in trouble" expressions on their faces. Yet the thought of making Clara feel alone again was even more uncomfortable.
’I guess I will be apologizing quite a bit today... God, if I can find a way to manage my love life, I am certain I can run Twenty’s cartel.’
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