Chapter Four Public perception
1034 Words
Damian’s POV
The conference room buzzed with murmurs as Damian strode in, his expression dark and unreadable. Executives shifted nervously in their seats, pretending to be engrossed in the documents in front of them. Damian barely glanced their way, his mind preoccupied with the whispers circling in his personal life, not his business.
As he reached the head of the table, his assistant handed him a folder, marked with discrete tabs denoting high-priority issues. Damian opened it mechanically, but his eyes weren’t on the pages. Instead, they drifted to his phone, where yet another article about Mira’s supposed affair had surfaced.
The headline read: *"Blackwood Heiress Cozying Up to Rival, Marriage in Trouble?"*
Damian clenched his jaw, his anger building by the second. This was the fifth article Cecilia had made sure reached the media in less than three days. Each one twisted Mira’s friendship with Ethan into something sordid, something Damian himself was starting to believe. The photos Cecilia had staged only added fuel to the fire.
He tapped the screen, dismissing the article, his expression hardening. Mira’s name was becoming a liability, and Damian couldn’t afford liabilities, not in his business and not in his life.
Mira’s POV
Mira stepped into the grocery store, her head ducked low as she passed through the aisles. She could feel the weight of stares following her, judging her, dissecting her. Since Damian’s coldness had started, the whispers had grown louder, the glances sharper. Everywhere she went, it was like people were waiting for her to crumble.
She reached for a carton of milk and froze as two women across the aisle whispered loudly enough for her to hear.
“Have you seen the pictures? Honestly, what kind of wife behaves like that?”
“I know, with her husband working so hard, too. Disgusting.”
Mira swallowed hard, her vision blurring as shame burned in her chest.
She hurried out of the store without finishing her shopping, her breathing unsteady. As she climbed into her car, her phone vibrated in her bag. She pulled it out, her heart lifting slightly when she saw Ethan’s name.
“Hey,” she said, her voice shaky as she pressed the phone to her ear.
“Mira, what’s wrong?” Ethan asked immediately, his voice filled with concern.
She hesitated. “It’s... everything. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“Where are you? Let’s meet.”
Damian’s POV
Damian stood by the window of his office, the city skyline spread out before him. The envelope Cecilia had sent sat unopened on his desk. He didn’t need to look inside to know what it contained, more fuel to his suspicions, more evidence of Mira’s betrayal.
His phone buzzed. Damian picked it up without glancing at the screen.
“Damian Blackwood,” he said curtly.
“Well, hello to you, too,” Cecilia’s voice purred on the other end.
Damian exhaled sharply. “What do you want now, Cecilia?”
“To help,” she replied, her tone sugar-sweet. “You know I only have your best interests at heart.”
“Your version of ‘help’ always comes with a price,” Damian said coldly.
“Such hostility,” Cecilia said, feigning hurt. “If you must know, I’ve come across something... interesting. It seems Mira met with Ethan again today. You really ought to be careful about who she’s spending time with.”
Damian gritted his teeth. “I don’t have time for your games.”
“Then I’ll make it quick,” Cecilia said. “Check your inbox. I sent you something you might find enlightening.”
Mira’s POV
The café was quieter than usual, the hum of conversation replaced by the steady clink of plates and silverware. Mira sat across from Ethan, her hands wrapped around her coffee cup as she stared down into the dark liquid.
“I don’t know what happened,” she said, her voice low. “It’s like Damian’s a different person. He doesn’t talk to me, doesn’t look at me... It’s like he doesn’t even see me anymore.”
Ethan frowned, his hand resting lightly on the table. “Have you tried talking to him?”
“I’ve tried,” Mira said, shaking her head. “But he shuts me down every time. He’s so cold now. It’s like I’ve done something to deserve this, but I don’t know what.”
“You haven’t done anything, Mira,” Ethan said firmly. “Damian’s the one with the problem, not you. You deserve better than this.”
Mira’s lip trembled as she looked up at him. “I don’t want better, Ethan. I want him. I want my husband back.”
Ethan sighed, his expression softening. “You’re stronger than you think, Mira. And whatever’s going on, you’ll get through it. I know you will.”
She nodded weakly, her grip tightening around the cup. “Thanks, Ethan. For everything.”
“Always,” Ethan said with a small smile.
Damian’s POV
Damian’s inbox pinged, and he opened the email without hesitation. Attached were new photographs, Mira and Ethan sitting across from each other, deep in conversation. In one, Mira looked tearful, her hand reaching across the table toward Ethan’s. In another, Ethan was leaning forward, his expression intent and filled with concern.
Damian’s chest tightened as he stared at the images. Cecilia’s words echoed in his mind: *“You really ought to be careful.”*
He closed the email abruptly, his fingers curling into fists. The anger bubbling in his chest was no longer directed at Mira alone, it had expanded, consuming everything around him. Ethan’s presence, Mira’s secrets, Cecilia’s warnings... it all felt like a betrayal he couldn’t escape.
Damian rose from his chair, his movements sharp and unsteady. He reached for his phone, scrolling through his contacts until he found Mira’s name. His thumb hovered over the call button, his heart pounding with the weight of everything unsaid, everythin
g unresolved.
But he didn’t press it. Instead, he set the phone down, his mind racing with plans and accusations. If Mira had truly betrayed him, he would find out, and he wouldn’t let it go unpunished.
- Writer
