I left ho early because I had a lot to handle before my business trip. There were still loose ends to tie up, schedules to finalize, and decisions that couldn’t be postponed. One of the most important things on my list was visiting my new company, a subsidiary under Hyacinth Hove that focused on jewelry design and creation. It was a project I had personally invested in, both financially and creatively, and I wanted to see firsthand how things were progressing, especially now that they were preparing to host their very first major design show.
Because of that, I left Lena very early that morning.
Two days earlier, I had called for a board eting, so every executive and departnt head was present. The eting room was quiet, save for the calm, professional voice of one of my employees as she presented a new jewelry line, its inspiration, design concept, and proposed marketing strategy. I listened without interrupting, my attention fixed on the presentation, occasionally glancing down at the notes in front of .
Then my phone vibrated.
I frowned slightly and glanced at the screen. The mont I saw the na displayed, my expression hardened. Bertha. She had never called during work hours unless it was sothing serious. She had worked with for years and understood how much I valued professionalism and boundaries during etings.
I excused myself subtly from the presentation and picked up the call.
As I listened, my eyes darkened.
I stood up so abruptly that the chair scraped softly against the floor. The sudden movent drew everyone’s attention to , and the room fell into an uneasy silence.
"My apologies," I said calmly, though my tone was firm. "I won’t be staying till the end of this eting. My PA will take over from here. I have an ergency."
Without waiting for questions, I turned to Liam, handing him the notes I had made on the previous designs and presentations.
"These are my thoughts on the collections and the marketing strategy. You know what to do," I said quietly.
He nodded imdiately. I trusted him to make the
final decisions in my absence.
I left without explaining where I was going.
On my way ho, I called Damon. The mont he picked up, I explained briefly, and without hesitation, he promised to drop everything he was doing and et at ho imdiately.
When I arrived, the sight that greeted made my chest tighten.
Lena was lying on the bed, her face pale, her lashes resting weakly against her cheeks. Bertha sat beside her, holding a bowl of soup and a spoon, trying gently to coax her to eat.
"Would you prefer not to get well?" I scolded softly. "You’re refusing to drink the soup."
Lena turned her head weakly, clearly lacking the strength to argue.
When she looked up and saw , my heart sank. She looked sick,truly sick, and pitiful in a way that made sothing twist painfully in my chest.
"Give the soup," I said.
Bertha handed it over without argunt. I sat beside Lena and carefully began feeding her. To my surprise, and Bertha’s, she didn’t protest. She quietly took each spoonful, obedient and trusting, without making a fuss.
Not long after, Damon arrived.
"Make so space," he said as he moved closer to the bed.
He checked her temperature, her pulse, listened to her breathing, and examined her thoroughly. When he finally straightened up, his expression
was calm.
"It’s nothing serious," he said. "She just caught a chill."
Bertha let out a relieved sigh.
"She’ll be fine soon," Damon continued. "Just keep her warm and make sure she takes the dication I’ll prescribe. In two days, she should be good as new."
He administered the dication, and Lena swallowed it obediently. Not long after, she drifted into sleep, her breathing evening out.
Damon crossed his arms and smirked.
"How did she even catch a chill? Don’t tell you two stayed under the shower for too long," he asked, laughing.
I ignored the teasing tone.
Not that I hadn’t been under the shower with her, but that wasn’t why she was sick. I muttered to myself before answering.
"No. That’s not why," I said. "She went to her father’s place yesterday and ca back drenched and disoriented. I made sure she took off her clothes imdiately. I didn’t think she’d still catch a chill."
Damon’s expression turned serious.
"Do you think she was attacked?"
"No," I replied after a brief pause. "I don’t think so. I think she heard sothing... sothing concerning her mother."
Damon frowned.
"Let’s go downstairs," I said quietly. "She’s sleeping. I’ll tell you everything."
He nodded, and we left the room together.
Downstairs, I told him everything, from her father’s treatnt of her, to the role her ex-fiancé played, and how I had t her in the first place. I didn’t sugarcoat anything.
"So you’re saying her family drugged her, put her in a hotel room, and you ended up sleeping with her?" Damon asked slowly, just to be sure.
When I nodded, he stared at as though I had grown two heads.
I rely smiled.
"Whatever you’re thinking, that’s not how it happened. I was drunk. I thought Liam brought her to . I didn’t know she wasn’t from him."
Damon sighed deeply.
"What are you doing, Raymond? I asked you the other day if you loved her, and you ignored . Liam told you ran out of the office today and told to check on you. Is that how soone who isn’t in love behaves?"
I stayed quiet for a long mont, thinking carefully before answering.
"I don’t think it’s love," I said finally. "But I do care about her. Like I said before, for the two years she stays with , I’ll take care of her. This... this is just one of those situations."
Damon shook his head.
"If you say so. I just hope neither of you gets hurt. This ga is a dangerous one."
He stayed a little longer before leaving.
I returned upstairs, still unsettled, and patiently watched over Lena until her body temperature returned to normal. Only then did I leave for my office. There were still things I needed to cover up and decisions that couldn’t wait.
I called Liam and asked him to send over so docunts I needed to finalize. He sent them promptly, and I buried myself in work.
My concentration was broken when the door to my office opened without a knock.
I raised a brow and looked up.Lena stood at the doorway.
"Kitten," I said slowly, "you’re becoming bold."
She didn’t respond. Instead, she walked toward silently, her eyes unreadable. Sothing about her quietness made uneasy, but nothing prepared for what she did next.
She climbed onto my lap and straddled , resting her head against my chest.
I froze.
Speechless, I lifted a hand and gently patted her back, a small smile forming despite myself.
"Truly," I murmured softly, amusent lacing my voice, "you’re really becoming bold... and I like it."
"I want my father to leave my house. The property he is staying in belongs to . In my mother’s will, she clearly stated that I have the right to decide whether he stays or leaves."
"So you want him to move out?" I asked, needing to be certain because I was surprised
"Yes," she answered without hesitation. "Since my mother died, he has never been kind to . I have tried my best to understand him, to be there for him, but it seems he doesn’t even see as his daughter. If that is the case, why should I continue seeing him as my father?" Her voice trembled, but her resolve did not waver. "If he prefers Ashley so much, then he should go live with her for all I care. But the last thing I want is for Ashley to keep staying in my house after everything they’ve done to ."
"Are you sure this is what you want?" I asked again, searching her face.
She nodded firmly. "Yes."
"If you take this path, there will be no going back," I reminded her carefully.
"I know," she replied. "It’s ti I take my revenge for everything they’ve done to . I don’t need them anymore, not when I have you." Her words made smile, though there was a weary ache in my chest at the sa ti.
"Alright," I said finally. "If this is truly what you want, I’ll have an eviction notice sent through the court tomorrow. If they refuse to leave, I’ll have them forcefully removed from the property."
I waited for her to protest, to say my approach was too extre. But she remained silent.
That silence told everything. She was done, completely done, with them and their endless sches. This ti, she wasn’t turning back and it made proud, my kitten was really growing and I continued patting her back
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