CHAPTER 4 — HIS MANSION
805 Words
The gates opened slowly as the black car approached Damian’s mansion.
Serena stared through the window.
The property was enormous.
A long driveway led to a massive modern house surrounded by perfectly trimmed gardens.
There was a fountain in the center of the courtyard.
Security guards stood near the gates.
Serena looked at Damian.
“You live here?”
“Yes.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
She looked back at the mansion.
“It looks like a palace.”
Damian didn’t answer.
The car stopped.
A housekeeper immediately came forward.
“Welcome home, Mr. Cross.”
Damian nodded.
Then he looked at Serena.
“This is Mrs. Cross.”
The housekeeper smiled.
“Welcome, ma’am.”
Serena nodded politely.
“Thank you.”
The housekeeper took her suitcase.
“Your room is ready.”
Serena frowned.
“My room?”
“Yes.”
She looked at Damian.
“Your room?”
Damian walked inside.
“You have your room.”
“So do you.”
“Yes.”
Serena followed him.
“You’re not planning for us to share a room?”
“No.”
She stopped.
“Good.”
Damian turned around.
“You sound relieved.”
“I am.”
Something unreadable crossed his face.
Then he continued walking.
Serena followed.
Her bedroom was larger than the entire apartment she had lived in before.
There was a huge bed, a walk-in closet, a private bathroom, and a balcony overlooking the garden.
She stood in the middle of the room.
“This is too much.”
“Get used to it.”
“I don’t need all this.”
“It’s already here.”
She looked at him.
“Do you always talk like that?”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re giving orders.”
“I usually am.”
Serena rolled her eyes.
“Of course.”
Damian turned to leave.
“Dinner is at eight.”
She looked surprised.
“You’re telling me when dinner is?”
“You can eat whenever you want.”
“Then why tell me?”
“Because I’m eating at eight.”
“And?”
“I expect you to join me.”
Serena crossed her arms.
“Is that an order?”
Damian looked at her.
“Consider it an invitation.”
He left.
Serena stared after him.
“That man is impossible.”
⸻
At eight o’clock, Serena entered the dining room.
Damian was already there.
He was reading documents while eating.
Serena sat across from him.
“You work while you eat?”
“Yes.”
“That’s unhealthy.”
“I’ve survived this long.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s healthy.”
Damian looked up.
“Are you always this talkative?”
“Only around people who annoy me.”
His lips almost curved.
Serena noticed.
“Did you just smile?”
“No.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t.”
“You definitely did.”
Damian returned his attention to his documents.
Serena smiled.
For the first time since the wedding, she felt slightly less uncomfortable.
Then she noticed something.
Damian’s eyes moved toward her plate.
She hadn’t touched the food.
“You’re not eating.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“You haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
Serena frowned.
“How do you know?”
“I notice things.”
She picked up her fork.
“Happy?”
“Yes.”
She took a bite.
Damian returned to his work.
Neither noticed the housekeeper watching them from the doorway.
The billionaire CEO had married a woman for revenge.
Yet he was already paying attention to whether she had eaten.
⸻
Later that night, Serena stood on the balcony.
The city lights stretched into the distance.
Her phone buzzed.
It was a message from her mother.
HOW ARE YOU?
Serena stared at the screen.
She typed:
I’M FINE.
She wasn’t.
She was married to a man who hated her family.
Her life had changed in less than a week.
A noise came from behind her.
She turned.
Damian stood at the balcony door.
“You should sleep.”
“I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
Serena looked at the city.
“Everything changed so quickly.”
Damian said nothing.
She looked at him.
“Do you ever regret anything?”
His expression became cold.
“Yes.”
“What?”
“Trusting the wrong people.”
Serena studied him.
“Was it my family?”
Damian looked directly at her.
“Yes.”
Her heart sank.
Before she could ask anything else, Damian walked away.
Serena remained on the balcony.
She didn’t know what had happened between their families.
But she was determined to find out.
Because she couldn’t spend an entire year married to a man whose heart was filled with hatred without knowing why.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD