What he did not know was that the very day I learned Serena was pregnant, had
proposal.
I met Damian’s gaze and nodded without hesitation.
His face twisted in anguish as a hollow laugh escaped his lips. “Claire, are you insane? You’re my wife! We’re not even divorced yet, and you’re already wrapped up with another man? How could you do this to me?!”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I felt amused and let out a laugh, unable to hold back anymore. “You really think you’re that important, don’t you? Let me spell it out for you, Damian: we’re done.”
“You…” His eyes burned with rage. “You really think you can just walk away? Do you think I’m someone who plays fair? You’re a woman from a crumbling family, and he’s an orphan. What makes you think you have the right to bargain with me?
*Don’t forget, I have people under my thumb even here in Landale Claire, I’m giving you one last chance!”
He really thought his power and threats would be enough to make me back down
I simply looked at him, put on a smile and mocked, “Seems like your influence doesn’t stretch as far as you think.”
I twisted the serpent–shaped ring on my finger and held it up for him to see. “You recognize this, don’t you?”
It was the emblem of the most powerful mafia family in the world. That ring was reserved for the innermost members of the
1/2
Chapter 9
Shaw family.
Damian’s expression froze in disbelief.
+25 BONUS
When he investigated the mafia in Landale years ago, he heard rumors of a daughter from the Shaw family–a girl once held as a precious jewel but was long absent from public life.
Most believed she had been caught in a deadly family power struggle and perished as a tragic casualty.
The Shaw family refused to speak of her, treating her disappearance as an unspeakable scandal.
However, here she was, not only alive after surviving that near–fatal disaster years ago but reborn miraculously. Now, she
stood as the Shaw family’s cherished daughter.
“During the chaos in my family, my biological father, Quinton Shaw, entrusted me to his most trusted subordinate for
safekeeping. The purges are over now, and my father felt it was finally safe to bring me home. That’s when Justin reached
out to me.
The ring was set with a ruby that gleamed like a serpent’s eye, catching the light in sharp, icy flashes. It looked every bit like
à venomous snake coiled around her
ger, its cold, haughty gaze fixed on its prey.
“When my father found out how you’d treated me, he was furious. He
H
even wanted to make you pay himself, but I stopped
/him. I told him not to waste his energy on a man so unworthy of his anger.
“Damian, do you understand now?” My voice was calm and detached, as though he was a stranger. “I’m not afraid of your threats, but you should think carefully. If you keep acting like this, you might not leave Landale alive.”
Without sparing him another glance, I slipped my fingers through Justin’s and turned back toward the house.
No one knew when Damian left the estate. No one cared.
However, he did not leave Landale. Instead, he bought a villa near Justin’s vineyard.
Every day, he either contacted his subordinates or parked outside the e
waiting for a glimpse of me, hoping for a chance to beg for forgiveness.
with fresh flowers and extravagant jewelry, just
Stil!, his efforts were clumsy and pitiful. They did not stir even the faintest flicker of emotion in me.
I ignored him. I refused to let him derail my plans.
Nine years of being crushed into the dirt by my marriage had taught me one thing.
I could never rely on a man, not Damian, not Justin, not anyone.
Work. Social life. Joy.
I was determined to piece myself back together and paint over the cracks with beauty.
As for Damian, maybe he clung to me out of fear. Perhaps Victor had ordered him to bring me back, knowing his son could not hold on to a family empire if he could not even keep a woman.
Maybe Victor had discovered my true identity and demanded Damian win me back at any cost
Whatever the reason, his relentless pursuit had become unbearable. Hence, I called Victor directly and told him that it was impossible for me to be together with Damian again. He needed to call his son home and make him stop interfering in my life
However, even after that phone call, Damian still sat parked outside the estate every single day for an entire month just to catch a fleeting glimpse of me through the car window.
