THREE
2262 Words
The Woman He Never Forgot
The moment Aurora stepped into the lobby of Blackwood Holdings, she regretted coming. The building was exactly what she remembered.
Cold, imposing, and very untouchable.
Everything about it seemed designed to remind ordinary people that they did not belong there.
The marble floor stretched beneath her feet, reflecting the massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Employees moved through the lobby in expensive suits, their heels clicking against the polished floor as they hurried toward elevators.
Aurora stood near the entrance, clutching her handbag against her chest. She suddenly felt painfully aware of everything about herself.
Her simple jeans, white blouse, and worn sneakers.
She looked nothing like the women who walked through these doors. A receptionist looked up from her desk.
“Good afternoon. How may I help you?”
Aurora forced herself to move closer. “I need to see Mr. Blackwood.”
The receptionist gave her a professional smile. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No.”
“Then I’m afraid you can’t see him.”
Aurora swallowed. “It’s important.”
“I’m sure it is, but Mr. Blackwood doesn’t accept unscheduled visitors.”
“I know.”
The receptionist’s fingers paused over her keyboard.
“You know?”
Aurora nodded. “I’ve met him before.”
Something in her voice must have given her away because the receptionist’s expression changed.
“May I have your name?”
“Aurora Hayes.”
The woman’s eyes widened slightly.
Aurora noticed.
“You know me?”
The receptionist quickly looked back at her screen.
“No, ma’am.”
Aurora frowned.
Before she could question her further, a man’s voice came from behind her.
“Miss Hayes?”
She turned.
A tall man in a dark navy suit stood several feet away. He looked to be in his late thirties, with dark hair, sharp features, and the kind of calm expression that suggested very little surprised him.
“Yes?”
He extended his hand.
“Nathan Cole.”
Aurora shook it cautiously.
“I’m Damien’s attorney.”
Her heart skipped at the sound of his name.
Damien.
Even after seven years, hearing it spoken aloud still did something strange to her chest.
Nathan studied her face. “I was asked to bring you upstairs.”
Aurora’s brows furrowed. “By Damien?”
Nathan didn’t answer immediately.
“Yes.”
She stared at him.
He knew she was coming.
A strange mixture of anger and fear moved through her.
“How did he know I was here?”
Nathan’s expression remained neutral. “Mr. Blackwood knows everything that happens inside this building.”
Of course he did.
Aurora looked toward the elevator.
For one brief second, she considered turning around. She wanted to run as far as her legs could carry but Ethan’s face flashed through her mind.
She stepped forward.
“Let’s go.”
The elevator doors closed.
Aurora stood beside Nathan, staring at the numbers above the door as they climbed.
Twenty.
Twenty-five.
Thirty.
Her heart beat faster with every floor.
She had imagined seeing Damien again countless times.
Sometimes in dreams.
Sometimes in nightmares.
In some versions, he apologized.
In others, she slapped him.
But in the reoccurring ones, he was a demon with horns who tied her hands and legs while doing evil things to her body
Once, she imagined herself walking past him without feeling anything at all.
She had never imagined standing inside his building seven years later because her brother had been accused of stealing millions from his company.
Life had a cruel sense of humor.
The elevator stopped at the forty-second floor.
The doors opened.
Nathan stepped out.
Aurora followed.
The hallway was quiet.
At the end stood a pair of black wooden doors.
Nathan stopped. “He’s inside.”
Aurora looked at him. “What did he say about me?”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“He didn’t.”
“Then why did you bring me up here?”
Nathan gave her a strange look.
“Because he knew you would come.”
Before she could ask what that meant, he knocked.
A deep voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
Aurora’s stomach twisted.
Nathan opened the door.
And there he was.
Damien Blackwood stood behind his desk with his back turned toward them, staring through the floor-to-ceiling windows at Los Angeles.
He wore a black suit.
No tie.
One hand rested casually inside his trouser pocket while the other held a glass of water.
He looked older.
Not much.
But enough.
His shoulders were broader.
His face sharper.
There was a faint scar near his left eyebrow that Aurora didn’t remember. His hair was shorter.
And his eyes…
She couldn’t see them yet.
For some reason, that frightened her more than anything else.
Nathan cleared his throat.
“Mr. Blackwood.”
Damien didn’t turn around.
“Leave us.”
Nathan looked at Aurora.
Then at Damien.
“Of course.”
The door closed.
Silence.
Aurora stood there, unable to speak.
Damien finally turned.
Their eyes met. And for one devastating second, Aurora forgot how to breathe, those eyes. She knew those eyes. They had once looked at her like she was the only woman in the world. Now they looked at her like she was a stranger.
His expression didn’t change.
There is neither shock, not anger, nor amusement, just plain. Aurora hated him for that.
She hated herself even more for caring.
“Sit.”
His voice was deeper than she remembered.
Aurora remained standing. “I didn’t come here to sit.”
One eyebrow lifted.
“Then why are you here?”
“You know why.”
“No.”
His answer came too quickly.
Aurora’s fingers tightened around her handbag.
“My brother.”
Something unreadable crossed his face. “Ethan.”
“Yes.”
Damien walked toward the desk. He stopped on the opposite side, placing both hands against the polished surface.
“Your brother has been accused of stealing eight million dollars from my company.”
“He didn’t do it.”
Damien’s gaze remained fixed on her. “That’s your belief.”
Aurora stared at him. “He’s my brother. I know him.”
“And I know what evidence currently says.” He retorted
Her jaw tightened.
“Then help him.”
“You came here expecting me to help?” He asked amused
“I came because I had no choice.”
Something shifted in his expression.
Not sympathy.
Something colder.
“Interesting.”
“What is?”
“Seven years ago, you had a choice.”
Aurora’s heart dropped.
There it was.
The past.
The thing neither of them had mentioned since she’d walked through the door.
She forced herself to breathe.
“We’re not talking about that.”
“We will eventually.”
“No.”
Damien straightened. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“I do.”
“You walked away.”
Aurora’s eyes burned. “You know why.”
“No.” His face hardened then his voice was suddenly colder. “I know what you wanted me to believe.”
She stared at him.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
Damien looked away. For the first time since she had entered the room, something moved behind his eyes. Aurora couldn’t tell whether it was anger, memory, or something else.
“Nothing.”
She shook her head. “No. Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Act like you don’t care.”
His eyes returned to hers. “You think I don’t care?”
The question was so quiet that it frightened her.
Aurora didn’t answer.
Damien walked around the desk.
He stopped several feet away from her.
“Do you have any idea what I did after you left?”
Aurora swallowed. “I don’t care.”
His jaw tightened.
“Liar.”
The word struck harder than a shout.
Aurora’s chin trembled.
“You have no right.”
“You’re right.”
He took another step.
“I lost that right seven years ago.”
Silence.
Aurora looked away.
She couldn’t let him see what his words were doing to her.
“I need Ethan released.”
Damien’s expression hardened again. “I can make that happen.”
Relief hit her so quickly that she nearly sagged.
“Thank you.”
“But…”
Her relief disappeared.
There was always a but with Damien.
“What?”
He walked back to his desk and picked up a file.
“But don’t mistake my authority for trust.”
Aurora looked at him. “What does that mean?”
“It means your brother’s case will be investigated properly.”
“Because you believe he’s innocent?”
Damien’s eyes narrowed.
“Because I don’t make decisions based on what people tell me.”
Aurora’s stomach tightened.
He hadn’t changed. He was still the man everyone had warned her about. The man who never gave anything away. The man who demanded control over every room he entered.
Damien opened a file.
“Eight million dollars were transferred through thirty-seven separate transactions.”
Aurora stepped closer.
“Thirty-seven?”
“Over six months.”
“Then how did the police connect it to Ethan?”
“Because someone made sure his credentials appeared on every transaction.”
Aurora’s stomach twisted.
“So someone framed him.”
Damien’s eyes remained cold.
“That’s one possibility.”
“One possibility?”
“Until I know who did it, I won’t call it anything.”
Aurora stared at him.
“Why would anyone frame my brother?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then why are you helping me?”
Damien closed the file.
“I didn’t say I was helping you.”
She stared at him.
“Then what are you doing?”
“Protecting my company from whoever is stealing from it.”
The answer should have relieved her.
It didn’t.
Because she knew Damien.
He never did anything without a reason.
He looked toward her.
“And if your brother is innocent, the evidence will show it.”
Aurora’s eyes narrowed.
“And if he isn’t?”
Damien’s expression didn’t change.
“Then you’ll wish the police had arrested him before I found him.”
A chill ran down her spine.
There he was.
“Damien…” she called
His eyes darkened. “It’s Mr Blackwood to you .”
She felt so small.
Before she could ask, Damien’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen. Something changed in his expression.
He answered.
“Talk.”
A voice spoke from the other end.
Aurora couldn’t hear the words.
Damien’s face grew darker.
“When?”
A pause.
“Are you sure?”
Another pause.
“Don’t touch anything.”
He ended the call.
Aurora watched him.
“What happened?”
Damien looked at her.
For the first time since she had entered the room, she saw something in his eyes that resembled confusion .
“They found another account.”
“What does that have to do with Ethan?”
Damien’s jaw clenched.
“The account isn’t in your brother’s name.”
Aurora exhaled.
“Then whose is it?”
Damien didn’t answer.
“Damien?”
He looked at her.
“It’s yours.”
Aurora froze.
“What?”
“The account is registered under your name.”
The room seemed to tilt.
“That’s impossible.” She stared at him, confused and terrified.
Damien picked up the file again.
“The account was opened seven years ago.”
Damien stretched and walked towards Aurora like a predator to his prey. Aurora wishes she had seated because her legs moved backwards involuntarily, her blood ran cold. Damien only stopped when her back had touched the wall. He bent and leaned towards her neck. Aurora felt torn of emotion, fear, seduction, anger and confusion but the voice that spoke was so strong it frightened her
“Were you stealing from me all these years?” The voice was so cold that Aurora did not know why to say
“Answer me” he screamed
“How could you say such…. I…I can never, are you serious…” she stutter but Damien cut her short
“Yes or No” His voice hardened
“No! I didn’t “
Seven years.
The same year she left Damien.
The same year she disappeared from his life.
She shook her head.
“No.”
Damien walked toward her and stopped directly in front of her.
His voice dropped.
“Someone has been moving money through an account in your name for seven years.”
Aurora stared into his eyes.
“Why?”
Damien’s expression hardened.
“That’s what we’re going to find out.”
He handed the file to her.
Aurora looked down.
Her hands began to shake. The first transaction was dated exactly seven years ago. The same day she had left Los Angeles.
She looked up at Damien.
“Who opened it?”
Damien’s eyes remained fixed on hers.
“We don’t know yet.”
He paused.
“But there’s one thing we do know.”
“What?”
His voice was almost a whisper.
“Whoever opened that account knew you would disappear.”
Aurora’s heart stopped.
For the first time in seven years, she wondered if the night she walked away from Damien had been a coincidence at all.
Maybe she hadn’t been the one who ended their story.
Maybe someone else had been writing it for them all along.
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