Chapter 4:The Truth Beyond His Reach
1417 Words
If he touched her, everything would end.
Not slowly. Not quietly.
It would shatter in one irreversible moment.
Selene felt it like a countdown in her veins, every second tightening around her chest as Damian’s hand hovered dangerously close to her abdomen.
Too close.
Close enough to feel.
Close enough to know.
“Selene,” he said again, her name quieter now, heavier, as if it carried something he hadn’t said yet.
Her heart slammed.
Don’t let him.
Her fingers shot out, catching his wrist before he could close the distance.
The contact burned.
Not gentle. Not soft.
Desperate.
“Don’t touch me,” she said.
The words came out sharp, breathless, nothing like the calm mask she had been wearing all night.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
His gaze dropped to where she held him.
Then slowly, he looked back up.
Something shifted in his expression.
Not anger.
Not yet.
Something colder.
“You’ve said that twice,” Damian murmured. “You never used to.”
Her grip tightened before she forced herself to let go.
“That was before,” she replied, stepping sideways, putting space between them. “People change.”
He watched her move like a predator tracking something wounded.
“You’re not just changed,” he said. “You’re hiding.”
Her pulse spiked.
“I’m private.”
“You’re defensive.”
“I’m uninterested.”
“You’re lying.”
The words collided between them, sharp and fast.
Selene swallowed hard, forcing herself to hold his gaze this time.
Do not look away.
Do not give him more.
“You don’t get to interrogate me,” she said. “Whatever we had is over.”
A flicker of something dangerous passed through his eyes.
“You don’t decide that alone.”
Her chest tightened.
“I already did.”
The silence that followed felt heavier than anything they had said.
Damian’s jaw flexed, his fingers brushing absently against his cufflink, twisting it once, then again.
A tell.
He was thinking.
Calculating.
That made her more afraid than his anger ever could.
“Then answer one thing,” he said finally.
Selene said nothing.
Waited.
“Why now?”
Her stomach dropped.
“Why show up here,” he continued, voice calm but edged with steel, “after disappearing without a word?”
Think.
Careful.
Controlled.
“I told you,” she said. “Work.”
“Work doesn’t make you look like you’ve seen a ghost the moment you see me.”
Her breath caught.
“That’s your ego talking.”
“And your reaction?”
His gaze dipped again.
Just for a second.
But it was enough.
Her body went tense instantly.
He noticed.
Of course he did.
“You’re watching me too closely,” she said, forcing a small, dismissive laugh.
“I’m watching you exactly as closely as I need to.”
The words sent a chill through her.
Because she believed him.
Selene turned slightly, angling her body away from him.
Shielding.
Instinctively.
Another mistake.
His eyes sharpened.
“You keep doing that,” he said.
Her throat tightened. “Doing what?”
“Hiding from me.”
“I’m standing right here.”
“Not really.”
His voice dropped lower.
“You’re here,” he added, taking a slow step closer, “but everything else about you is… guarded.”
Her pulse pounded.
“You don’t know me anymore.”
“Then let me.”
The words were unexpected.
They sounded genuine.
For a second, something inside her faltered.
A memory flickered.
His voice softer.
His hands steady.
The way he had looked at her that night like she was something he had never expected but couldn’t walk away from.
Selene’s fingers curled into her palm.
Don’t go there.
“You had your chance,” she said quietly. “You didn’t take it.”
His expression darkened.
“You didn’t give me one.”
“I shouldn’t have had to.”
The words landed heavier than she intended.
For a moment, something raw flashed across his face.
Gone almost instantly.
But not fast enough.
Selene saw it.
And that made it worse.
Because it meant there was still something there.
Something dangerous.
Something she couldn’t afford.
Damian exhaled slowly, his gaze never leaving her.
“You walked away without explaining anything,” he said. “And now you expect me to ignore it?”
“I expect you to let it go.”
“I don’t let things go.”
“I noticed.”
Silence again.
Thicker this time.
The tension coiled tighter, pulling them both into something neither of them seemed able to step away from.
“Damian.”
The voice cut in sharply.
Selene stiffened.
Not again.
He didn’t turn immediately.
Didn’t break eye contact.
Which somehow made it worse.
“Your father is asking for you,” the woman continued, stepping onto the balcony.
The same woman from earlier.
Elegant.
Composed.
Watching.
Always watching.
Her gaze flicked between them, lingering just a moment too long on Selene.
Assessing.
Calculating.
Selene straightened instinctively, her expression smoothing into something neutral.
Untouchable.
“You should go,” she said quietly.
Damian didn’t move.
“Damian,” the woman repeated, softer now, but more insistent.
His jaw tightened.
For a second, Selene thought he would ignore her.
That he would stay.
Push.
He stepped back.
The distance felt immediate.
And wrong.
“I’m not done with this,” he said.
Selene forced herself not to react.
“You are,” she replied.
His gaze hardened.
“No. I’m not.”
The woman stepped closer to him now, her presence deliberate, claiming space beside him like it belonged to her.
Selene noticed everything.
The familiarity.
The confidence.
The way she didn’t hesitate.
Something cold settled in her chest.
“Come,” the woman said softly to Damian. “We shouldn’t keep him waiting.”
A beat.
Damian looked back at Selene.
Longer this time.
Deeper.
Like he was memorizing something.
Or trying to solve it.
“This isn’t over,” he said quietly.
Selene held his gaze.
“It already is.”
Another lie.
Another one he didn’t believe.
She saw it in his eyes.
Felt it in the way the air refused to settle even as he turned away.
He left with the woman.
But he didn’t look convinced.
And that was the problem.
The balcony felt too quiet after they were gone.
Too empty.
Selene exhaled slowly, her body finally releasing the tension it had been holding.
Her hand moved instinctively to her abdomen again.
Gentler this time.
Protective.
“He can’t know,” she whispered. “Not yet.”
Maybe not ever.
Footsteps sounded behind her again.
Selene froze.
No.
Too soon.
“Selene?”
She turned quickly.
Not Damian.
A man she didn’t recognize stood in the doorway.
Tall.
Sharp.
Watching her with interest that made her uneasy.
“You look like you’ve seen trouble tonight,” he said lightly.
Selene forced a polite expression. “Just needed some air.”
He stepped closer.
Not as intense as Damian.
But observant.
Too observant.
“Air usually doesn’t make people look like they’re carrying the weight of the world.”
Her breath caught.
Careful.
“I’m fine.”
He smiled slightly.
“I doubt that.”
Something about him felt off.
Not dangerous in the same way Damian was.
But not harmless either.
His gaze drifted.
Not to her face.
Lower.
Her stomach twisted.
No.
Not again.
Not another one noticing.
“You should be careful,” he said quietly.
Selene’s pulse quickened. “About what?”
“About what you’re hiding.”
The words hit like ice.
Her body went still.
“I don’t know what you mean.”
He studied her for a long moment.
Then smiled again.
This time sharper.
“I think you do.”
A pause.
Then he stepped closer.
Too close.
“You’re not as invisible as you think you are,” he murmured.
Selene’s heart raced.
“Who are you?”
He tilted his head slightly.
“Someone who pays attention.”
Her instincts screamed.
Leave.
Now.
“I should go,” she said, turning.
But his voice stopped her.
Soft.
Dangerous.
Perfectly timed.
“If Damian finds out before you’re ready,” he said,
Selene froze.
her heart slamming violently in her chest.
“…do you think he’ll protect you…”
A pause.
A breath.
A quiet, devastating finish.
“…or claim what’s his?”
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