Chapter 005: The Secret I Wasn't Meant To Hear
492 Words
I couldn’t sleep.
The villa was too quiet, too big, too full of thoughts that refused to leave my mind. Damian’s words from earlier echoed over and over in my head. That was a performance. Nothing more.
I turned on my side, careful not to make a sound. Damian was already out of bed. The space beside me was cold.
That was when I heard it.
Voices.
Low. Urgent. Coming from the study.
I sat up slowly, my heart racing. I told myself to stay put. To mind my business. But something pulled me forward, something stronger than fear.
I stepped into the hallway, barefoot, moving quietly until I reached the door. It was slightly open.
“…she doesn’t know,” a man’s voice said. Not Damian’s.
“She must never find out,” Damian replied, his voice sharp, dangerous. “If she does, the contract becomes useless.”
My breath caught.
Find out what?
“And your grandmother?” the other man asked.
“She suspects nothing,” Damian said. “But if she starts asking questions, Amelia becomes a liability.”
Liability.
The word hit me like a slap.
My chest tightened. So that’s what I was. Not a wife. Not even a partner. Just a risk to be managed.
I took a step back, my foot brushing the floor.
The door swung open.
Damian stood there, eyes dark, unreadable. For a moment, neither of us spoke. The silence was heavy, dangerous.
“How long were you standing there?” he asked.
“I… I couldn’t sleep,” I said softly. I didn’t dare admit how much I heard.
His gaze searched my face, sharp and calculating. Then he turned back to the other man. “Leave us.”
The door closed.
Damian walked toward me slowly, each step deliberate. My heart pounded so loud I was sure he could hear it.
“You should not wander this house at night,” he said.
“I heard my name,” I replied. “You called me a liability.”
Something flickered in his eyes. Anger. Frustration. Maybe regret.
“This arrangement was never meant to be emotional,” he said. “You knew that.”
“Then why does it feel like I’m the only one pretending?” I asked, before I could stop myself.
Silence.
Then, unexpectedly, someone called from down the hallway.
“Amelia?”
A woman.
She was beautiful. Confident. Familiar with the house.
Damian stiffened.
“Who is she?” I asked, my voice barely steady.
He didn’t answer immediately.
“An old acquaintance,” he finally said.
But the way the woman looked at him told a different story.
And the way Damian’s jaw tightened told me everything I needed to know.
That night, lying alone on the bed, one thought burned in my mind.
What secret was Damian hiding?
And why did it feel like I was standing right in the middle of it?
- Writer
