Jealousy Has No Rules
1594 Words
The door had barely clicked shut behind Damien before the silence in the room changed.
Not the mansion-wide silence this time.
This one felt personal.
Like the walls themselves were listening to her thoughts.
Alina stood in the center of the high-security room, staring at the locked door. Her chest was still tight from everything Damien had just said.
Everyone in this house dies… especially you.
She swallowed hard.
“Great,” she muttered to herself. “I’m officially in a rich psycho prison.”
She walked slowly toward the screen wall again, eyes scanning the files still open. Her name. Her father. That strange symbol.
Each piece raised more questions than answers.
And Damien wasn’t here to explain anything anymore.
At least for now.
Alina exhaled sharply and turned away from the screens.
“I need air,” she said quietly.
As if the room could argue with her.
She walked toward the door.
It didn’t open.
She frowned.
“Of course,” she said flatly. “Locked.”
She crossed her arms, glaring at it like it would feel guilty.
Then—
A soft beep.
The lock clicked.
Alina blinked.
“…Oh.”
The door opened slightly.
She hesitated.
“Okay… that’s either trust or a trap.”
After a moment, curiosity won.
She stepped out.
The hallway outside was even quieter than before. Guards stood at intervals, but none stopped her. They simply watched her—careful, alert, but not interfering.
That alone made her uneasy.
So she walked.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Trying not to look like someone escaping… even though that’s exactly what she was thinking.
The mansion felt bigger outside Damien’s controlled room.
Too big.
Like it could swallow her if she got lost.
She turned a corner—and stopped.
Voices.
Two men.
Talking nearby.
One of them laughed lightly.
“I swear, the boss brought her in himself. That’s new.”
Another voice responded.
“Yeah… but have you seen her? I get it.”
Alina frowned slightly.
She stepped closer without thinking.
“I’m telling you,” the first voice continued, “he’s never kept anyone this close in the main wing.”
The second man chuckled. “Maybe she’s different.”
A pause.
Then the first man added lower:
“Or maybe she’s the one thing he can’t control.”
That sentence made something in Alina’s chest tighten.
She shouldn’t have been listening.
But she was.
“And you saw how he looked at her?” the second man said. “That’s not normal.”
Alina leaned slightly closer to the corner.
The first man scoffed.
“Boss doesn’t look at people like that. Ever. I’ve been here three years.”
A pause.
Then—
“He looked… angry when she was near any of us.”
Alina froze slightly.
“…Angry?” the second man asked.
“Yeah,” the first one said. “Like we were a problem he didn’t want around her.”
Silence.
Then a low laugh.
“Sounds like jealousy.”
Alina’s eyes widened slightly.
She stepped back immediately.
“Nope,” she whispered. “I’m not doing rich-psychopath jealousy theories today.”
She turned quickly to leave—
And collided straight into something solid.
Warm.
Firm.
Familiar.
Her breath caught.
She stepped back quickly.
And looked up.
Damien.
He was standing there.
Close enough that she hadn’t even heard him approach.
His eyes dropped to her immediately.
Not soft.
Not angry.
But focused.
Dangerously focused.
“What are you doing outside the room?” he asked calmly.
Alina blinked.
“I— I needed air,” she said quickly. “Your room feels like a coffin.”
A faint pause.
Then Damien replied:
“It’s not a room. It’s containment.”
Alina frowned. “Wow. That sounds even worse.”
Silence.
Behind him, the two guards from earlier immediately went still.
Like they had just been caught breathing too loudly.
Damien didn’t look away from her.
“Go back inside,” he said.
Alina crossed her arms. “You don’t have to follow me everywhere, you know.”
A slight shift in his gaze.
“I wasn’t following you.”
“Then why are you here?”
Another pause.
Then Damien answered simply:
“You’re not supposed to be unguarded.”
Alina scoffed. “So I’m officially a guarded object now?”
Something flickered in his expression.
Not irritation.
Something sharper.
“You’re not an object.”
His tone made her pause.
It wasn’t loud.
But it carried weight.
Alina hesitated slightly.
“…Then stop treating me like I’m going to break something just by breathing.”
Damien stepped closer.
The air between them tightened instantly.
“I don’t trust my men around you,” he said quietly.
That caught her off guard.
Her brows furrowed. “Why?”
A pause.
Then—
“Because they talk too much.”
Alina blinked.
“…That’s your reason?”
Damien’s eyes held hers.
“It’s enough.”
From behind him, one of the guards suddenly cleared his throat.
“Boss, we were just—”
Damien didn’t even turn.
“Leave.”
Instant silence.
The two guards left immediately without another word.
Alina watched them go, then looked back at Damien.
“…You really scare them,” she said.
A faint pause.
Then Damien replied:
“They should be scared of mistakes. Not me.”
Alina shook her head slightly.
“That sounds unhealthy.”
That made him look at her more directly.
“You shouldn’t be out here,” he said again.
Alina sighed. “You’ve said that already.”
“I meant it.”
She tilted her head slightly.
“Why? Am I going to run away or something?”
A pause.
Longer this time.
Then Damien said quietly:
“No.”
Alina blinked. “Then what?”
His gaze darkened slightly.
“You’ll be seen.”
That confused her.
“Seen by who?”
Damien didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, his eyes shifted briefly down the hallway.
Like he was listening for something she couldn’t hear.
Then he said:
“The wrong people are inside my walls.”
Alina’s chest tightened slightly.
“…So what you’re saying is,” she said slowly, “I’m not even safe here?”
Damien looked back at her.
And for the first time, something almost like honesty softened his tone.
“You’re safer here than anywhere else.”
A pause.
“But not safe enough.”
That sentence lingered.
Heavy.
Alina swallowed slightly.
Before she could respond, a voice echoed from the far end of the hallway.
“Damien.”
A woman’s voice.
Alina turned slightly.
A woman was walking toward them.
Tall. Elegant. Confident.
Dressed like she belonged in the mansion.
But her eyes weren’t on Alina at first.
They were on Damien.
Soft.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
Alina felt something twist in her chest instantly.
The woman stopped beside them.
Then finally looked at Alina.
A slow scan.
Up and down.
Then a faint smile.
“So this is her,” the woman said.
Alina frowned slightly. “And you are?”
The woman didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she turned slightly toward Damien.
“You didn’t tell me she was this… young-looking.”
Silence.
Something shifted in Damien’s expression instantly.
Cold.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
“Lara,” he said flatly. “Leave.”
So that was her name.
Lara smiled faintly. “I just came to check security. No need to be hostile.”
Her eyes flicked back to Alina again.
And this time, it lingered.
Longer.
Measuring.
Alina didn’t like it.
At all.
“And you are?” Alina asked again, sharper this time.
Lara tilted her head slightly.
“A colleague,” she said simply.
Alina looked at Damien.
“…Colleague?”
Damien didn’t respond.
That alone was enough to make Alina’s stomach tighten.
Lara stepped slightly closer.
“You’re going to need to get used to this place,” she said casually.
Alina frowned. “I didn’t ask for advice.”
A soft laugh from Lara.
“I can see why he’s interested.”
That sentence landed wrong.
Very wrong.
Alina turned to Damien instantly.
“What does she mean by that?”
Silence.
Damien’s jaw tightened slightly.
And for the first time since Alina met him…
He looked uncomfortable.
Lara smiled slightly wider.
“Oh,” she said lightly. “He didn’t tell you.”
Alina’s heart started to beat faster.
“Tell me what?”
Lara glanced between them.
Then spoke slowly.
“Damien doesn’t just protect people.”
A pause.
“He keeps them.”
Silence fell.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Dangerous.
Alina felt something twist in her chest as she looked at Damien again.
“…That true?” she asked quietly.
Damien finally looked at her fully.
And for the first time…
He didn’t answer immediately.
That silence was all she needed.
Her breath tightened slightly.
Lara smiled softly, almost satisfied.
“Be careful,” she added lightly. “He doesn’t let go easily.”
Damien finally spoke.
“Leave.”
One word.
Harder this time.
Lara raised her hands slightly in surrender.
“Alright, alright.”
But before she walked away, she leaned slightly toward Alina.
Just enough to whisper:
“You’re not his first obsession.”
Then she left.
Silence returned instantly.
Alina stood still.
Processing.
Her chest tight.
Her thoughts louder than the hallway.
She turned slowly to Damien.
“…Is that true?” she asked again, quieter now.
Damien didn’t move.
Didn’t speak immediately.
And that hesitation…
That tiny delay…
Was enough to change everything.
- Writer
