Chapter 1
The moment those words left her mouth, every gaze in the room swung toward me.
They all expected me to lose control. Instead, my eyes stayed glued to my phone screen. On the other end of the line, a doctor was updating me on my mother's condition. I was so busy responding to messages that I didn't notice the entire room had gone deathly silent.
Seated in the place of honor, Damian Cole's eyes were clouded with darkness.
"Raven, from now on we're family. Don't worry, as your future aunt, I'll make sure we get along just fine. But you really must stop throwing yourself at Damian. After all, he is—technically speaking—your uncle."
Nora Bennett nestled herself deeper into Damian's embrace, her smile radiant as she looked at me.
The tension was so thick no one dared to breathe. After all, my years of entanglement with Damian were public knowledge.
I set down my phone and picked up my glass.
At that instant, Damian pulled Nora even closer against him. His buddies scrambled to their feet, ready to block me if necessary.
Damian's thin lips parted. "Raven, if you dare lay a single finger on Nora, just try me."
I smiled, saying nothing. I simply raised my glass and drained it in one go.
"My future aunt, I wish you and my dear uncle a lifetime of happiness together. May you be blessed with a child soon."
The room exchanged bewildered glances, frozen in place.
Damian stared at me, his gaze frigid. "Well, look at that. You've finally learned to behave."
I sneered inwardly.
Not learned to behave. Just learned to stop loving.
Without a word of rebuttal, I stood up to leave.
"Who told you that you could go? Don't forget, Raven, right now you're nothing but a bar girl. We're all customers here. Is this how you serve us?"
Damian spoke flatly, and in an instant, someone blocked the doorway.
"Damian, how can you speak to a girl like that?"
Nora wore a faint, unreadable smile, her voice dripping with mock reproach.
She had no idea that, compared to the curses we had hurled at each other in the past—wishing each other nothing but misery—that remark was utterly insignificant.
"I drank too much. I need to go throw up in the restroom."
After I got out of prison that year, Damian made sure I couldn't find work anywhere. With my mother's medical bills piling up, his bar was my only option. For three whole years, Damian forbade anyone else from touching a single finger of mine. Yet he himself found endless ways to humiliate me.
I skillfully made myself vomit, cleaning the liquor stains from my clothes.
A moment later, Damian—reeking of alcohol—cornered me against the wall. His eyes were bloodshot as he wrapped his hand tightly around my throat.
"Raven, what game are you playing now? Don't think pretending to behave will make me let you off! You'd better keep yourself in check. If you dare hurt a single hair on Nora's head, I will never forgive you! And I sure as hell won't forgive your mother!"
Satisfied only when my face flushed deep crimson, Damian finally released me and walked away.
I gasped for air. At that moment, my phone began shrieking.
"Raven! Mom... she's not going to make it!"
Jude Harrison's voice on the other end was frantic.
Without a second thought, I bolted back into the private room to grab my purse.
"Raven, I heard you're the best drinker in this whole group. How about letting me see for myself?"
Nora suddenly blocked my path, her eyes filled with anticipation.
"Maybe another time. I have an emergency right now."
My phone buzzed relentlessly. Desperate, I raised a hand to brush past her.
In the next second, Nora toppled to the floor, looking up at Damian with pure grievance on her face.
Instantly, a circle of men in black surrounded me.
"Finish every bottle on that table, and I'll let you leave."
Damian scooped Nora into his arms, his gaze icy as he looked at me.
On the table sat only the eight strongest bottles of whiskey.
I let out a cold laugh. From the very beginning, Damian had done nothing but push me. If that's how it was going to be, I had no reason to keep holding back.
Without a moment's hesitation, I seized one of the whiskey bottles from the table and smashed it hard across Damian's head.
Shrieks erupted in the room.
Blood trickled down from the corner of Damian's eye.
"Raven... now that's the woman I know!"
With those words, Damian collapsed, unconscious.
