"Arabella… what a pleasant surprise,” Damian said, his voice carrying a tone I had never heard from him before. The Damian I once knew never spoke with such playful inflection. His face had always been carved in stone, dark and serious, a mask that revealed nothing. But now, there was something different — a dangerous spark behind that grin, a shadow of amusement that unsettled me.
I froze for a moment, my heart betraying me with a sudden, violent thump. The sound of my name on his lips after all these years was like a blade cutting through the silence. It was too intimate, too familiar, and it dragged back emotions I had buried deep, emotions I had sworn never to feel again.
“Hello, Mr. Harrison,” I replied simply, my words clipped, my tone cold. I wanted distance. I needed distance.
“
