I had just finished booking my flight and turned off my phone screen. I closed my eyes, leaned back to rest, and replied in an indifferent tone, “I was just reading the news.”
A flicker of irritation deepened between his brows when he heard what I said.
Without a word, he turned and snatched the phone from my hand, unlocking it with practiced ease.
Both of us froze for a moment. The password was my birthday.
He had typed it in so smoothly, so naturally, like he had done it a thousand times before.
His face flushed red with anger and embarrassment.
He locked the screen immediately, ignoring whoever I might have been texting. His voice was sharp.
“Don’t overthink this. I’m warning you.”
I shook my head and replied calmly, “I don’t understand what you mean. I’m not overthinking anything.”
However, saying that only seemed to make him angrier.
Just then, Serena let out a delighted giggle.
She wrapped herself around his arm and batted her lashes playfully.
“Damian, that’s the day we first met. It’s worth remembering, isn’t it?”
He brushed her hand away. His voice was laced with irritation, or maybe something else entirely. “Yeah, whatever. Let’s just go home.”
That was how we arrived at home.
As soon as the Ferrari rolled to a stop, Damian tossed the phone into my lap like it was burning his fingers.
He got out, helping the fragile-looking Serena back to the master bedroom.
“Make something Serena likes,” I heard him say to the housekeeper. Then, after a pause, he added quietly, “And a few dishes Claire likes too. Set the table for three.”
His voice was soft. It was as though he was too embarrassed to let me hear it, but I heard it anyway.
I did not know how to respond to his so-called kindness anymore.
The time we used to love each other felt like they belonged to someone else’s memory, far in the past. Was I supposed to be grateful? Should I be cold and indifferent?
I chose to say nothing. I turned around and went to the guest room to gather my things.
However, I was stunned when I opened my suitcase. Every piece of clothing inside had been shredded beyond repair.
Only a few things were intact—my passport and documents, still hidden in the suitcase’s lining.
Grateful for that much, I hid them securely on my person and prepared to leave quietly.
Before I could make it to the door, two men grabbed me and dragged me down to the basement.
They threw me inside like trash.
That was when I saw Serena standing calmly in the corner.
She looked me up and down with mocking disdain.
“You’ve got quite the tolerance, Claire,” she sneered. Her tone was filled with smug delight. “Most women would have run away by now, after being humiliated like that. But not you. You just keep… clinging onto ridiculous fantasy.”
She gave a theatrical gasp. “Oh, that’s right. Your sweet old grandmother passed away last month, didn’t she? Now that she’s gone, you’ve got no one left to run to—not even to cry to, except Damian.”
Her eyes lit up with cruel delight as she turned toward me.
“Do you remember the day you begged Damian with tears to take the private helicopter, just so you could see your grandmother one last time before she died?”
I held my breath.
She pulled out her phone and held up the screen, eyes glittering.
“He said no because he’d already promised me a sunset over the Aegean Sea that night. Romantic, right? You lost the last person who ever truly loved you, and he was busy chilling champagne for me.”
Her words echoed off the cold, concrete walls, ricocheting like bullets.
I could not take it anymore. With a sharp slap, I knocked her phone from her hands.
Serena burst into a laugh. It was sharp and high-pitched.
“Oh, Claire, did you know Damian gave me full control over this house? I even moved the ammunition cache next door.
“And now… it’s time.”
