Forbidden Desires: The Cold Billionaire

chapter twenty five

Morning arrived far too quickly and Lana hadn't truly slept.

Every time she drifted off, she found herself back in the dining room, hearing the deafening sound of Damon's fist crashing against the table. She would wake with a racing heart, her fingers instinctively reaching for her throat, remembering the first day he had almost choked the life out of her.

By dawn, she had given up trying to sleep altogether.

She sat curled up by the window with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, watching the pale morning light slowly wash over the estate.

The gardens looked peaceful.

Birds fluttered between neatly trimmed hedges, their cheerful songs floating through the open window.

It was almost impossible to believe such a beautiful place could feel so suffocating.

To anyone else, this mansion would have looked like paradise.

To her, it was a prison with golden walls.

A soft knock sounded on the door and she turned her head.

"It's John," came the familiar voice from the other side.

She stood and walked over to unlock the door.

The moment she opened it, John offered her his usual kind smile.

"Good morning, Miss Lana."

"Good morning."

He studied her for a second and saw the dark circles resting beneath her eyes, and her face looked unusually pale.

"You didn't sleep well."

It wasn't a question but she managed a weak smile.

"I've had better nights."

Concern flickered across John's face, but he didn't comment.

"Breakfast is ready."

Lana's expression immediately changed.

The thought of going downstairs tightened her chest.

She could still hear Damon's cold voice.

"Your father was a traitor."

"A despicable man."

She wasn't ready to see him again, not after last night and after the way he'd looked at her

She lowered her gaze.

"I... I don't think I'll come down."

John frowned gently.

"You should eat something."

"I'm not hungry."

"You barely ate dinner."

"I know."

"And you skipped dinner almost entirely yesterday."

She remained silent and john sighed softly.

"Are you avoiding Mr. Carson?"

Her silence answered for her.

A sad smile crossed his face.

"I thought as much."

She hugged her arms around herself.

"I just..."

Her voice became almost a whisper.

"I don't want to upset him again."

The words made John's heart ache.

She wasn't refusing breakfast because she disliked the food, she was afraid. Afraid that simply existing in the same room as Damon would provoke another outburst.

"I don't think he'd..."

John stopped himself because he couldn't promise that.

Instead, he said gently,

"I'll ask the kitchen to prepare something for you later."

Lana looked relieved.

"Thank you."

"I'll bring it myself."

She nodded gratefully.

John offered her one last reassuring smile before quietly leaving the room.

As the door closed, Lana leaned against it and released a slow breath.

She hated feeling like this, being afraid to leave her own room, no it wasn't even her own room. she almost scoffed.

Downstairs, the dining room was unusually quiet.

Damon sat alone at the head of the enormous table, calmly eating breakfast while reading through several business reports.

A cup of black coffee rested beside him and his expression remained as unreadable as ever.

The sound of footsteps made him look up. John entered alone with no Lana behind him

Damon's eyes lingered on the doorway for only a fraction of a second before returning to the report in front of him.

John noticed this and almost scoffed but he walked over and stood quietly beside the table

"Miss Lana won't be joining us."

Damon turned another page.

"I see."

John frowned and glared at him.

"She refused breakfast."

he continued but go no response.

"I believe she's frightened."

Still damon said nothing and John folded his arms.

"You frightened her."

Damon finally looked up, his expression remained perfectly calm.

"Is that so?"

John couldn't help glaring at him.

It wasn't often he allowed himself to show his frustration so openly, but after everything that had happened...he was beginning to lose his patience.

"She barely slept."

Damon calmly picked up his coffee.

"People lose sleep."

"She refused to leave her room."

He took another sip.

"That was her decision."

John sighed heavily.

"Sir..."

Damon slowly placed the cup back onto its saucer.

"I'm not discussing this."

His tone left little room for argument.

The older man remained silent for several moments before finally shaking his head.

Sometimes Damon could be unbelievably stubborn, he was just like his father in that regard, perhaps worse.

Damon returned his attention to the documents and After another minute, he spoke without looking up.

"I won't be having dinner here tonight."

John narrowed his eyes.

"I have another engagement."

That made John almost scoff. Another engagement?

Yesterday Damon had claimed exactly the same thing, only to return much earlier than expected.

"I won't wait up this time," Damon continued.

"You needn't concern yourself."

John simply nodded.

"As you wish, sir."

But inwardly, he didn't believe a word of it.

Upstairs, Lana stood by the bedroom window with her hands resting lightly on the sill.

From there, she had a perfect view of the front courtyard.

She watched several members of the household staff moving about their morning duties.

Gardeners trimmed hedges and maids crossed the courtyard carrying baskets of fresh laundry.

For a brief moment, everything looked almost normal.

Then the large front doors opened and her heartbeat instantly quickened.

Damon emerged from the house wearing a charcoal-gray suit.

Even from this distance, he carried himself with the same intimidating confidence as always.

His driver hurried forward to open the car door and Lana instinctively stepped back from the window.

Then stopped herself, he couldn't see her ...Could he?

She slowly looked outside again but Damon paused beside the car and for reasons he couldn't explain...he glanced up toward the second floor. toward her room and Their eyes met.

Lana froze and her breath caught in her throat. Even separated by the distance between them, those ocean-blue eyes seemed just as cold and just as piercing.

For one endless moment, none of them moved, Damon's expression remaining unreadable.

Lana couldn't tell what he was thinking. Could he still be angry? Was he remembering her failed escape or the argument from the previous night?She couldn't tell.

Then without a word, he looked away and ducked into the waiting car.

A second later, the vehicle pulled away from the mansion.

Lana remained standing at the window until the gates slowly opened.

The car disappeared beyond them.

Only after the gates closed again did she realize she'd been holding her breath.

A long, shaky exhale escaped her lips and she rested one hand against her chest.

"I can breathe again..."

The words slipped out before she realized she'd spoken them aloud.

The heavy weight that had settled on her shoulders since waking that morning eased ever so slightly.

At least for today, she wouldn't have to worry about accidentally running into him.

She wouldn't have to endure his cold stares or biting remarks and she could move around the house without constantly looking over her shoulder.

It wasn't freedom but it felt like the closest thing to freedom she had experienced since arriving at the Carson estate.

A small smile tugged at the corners of her lips but it disappeared almost as quickly as it came.

She still couldn't leave, she was still trapped, still paying for crimes she hadn't committed.

Her gaze drifted toward the long driveway beyond the gates.

Somewhere beyond those walls, people were living ordinary lives, going to work, meeting friends, buying groceriea, complaining about traffi and doing all the little things she had once taken for granted.

She would have given anything to trade places with them.

Instead, she was standing in an expensive bedroom inside a mansion that wasn't her home, wondering when its owner would decide she'd suffered enough or worse... Wondering if he ever would.