Chapter23
1137 Words
The morning light filtered softly through the sheer curtains, casting golden rays across the hardwood floor. Ava stirred, the warmth beside her gone. Her body ached, not just from the night they’d shared, but from the weight of what it meant.
She blinked and turned, but Damien was nowhere in sight.
The spot where he’d lain beside her was cold now.
She sat up slowly, the sheets slipping down her bare shoulders, and for a long moment, she just stared at the empty space beside her. Her fingers curled in the linen, her heart unreasonably heavy. She wasn’t supposed to feel this way and wasn't supposed to let last night mean more than what it was.
A mistake.
Her mind screamed it. Her body still hummed from it.
A knock echoed against the door before it creaked open.
Damien stepped inside, dressed sharply in his usual charcoal suit. Impossibly composed. He held two mugs of coffee, and when he saw her awake, he offered one out in silence.
She took it quietly, pulling the blanket around her chest.
For a beat, neither of them said anything. The air between them was thick, heavy with things unspoken.
Then Ava cleared her throat and looked away. “About last night,” she said, voice low but steady, “I think we should keep things strictly professional from now on.”
Damien didn’t flinch. He walked toward the edge of the bed and took a sip from his cup before placing it down on the nightstand.
His eyes met hers, cold, unreadable.
“I agree,” he said, the words clipped and precise. “What happened last night doesn’t change anything.”
Ava nodded once, but her stomach twisted.
Damien’s voice was quieter now, detached. “It was just s*x. Nothing more.”
Just s*x.
The words stung more than she expected. She hadn’t said it, but hearing him voice it so plainly felt like being slapped in the face. Ava pressed her lips together, holding back the emotion that threatened to rise.
Damien looked at her for a second longer, then turned his back and headed for the door. “I’ll be in the living room.”
As soon as he was gone, Ava let the breath escape her lungs and slid out of bed. She padded to the bathroom and turned on the shower. The water hit her skin like needles, hot, unrelenting. She tilted her head back and let it wash over her, trying to forget the way his hands had felt on her skin… and the way he looked at her before he touched her like he couldn’t help himself.
But now? He’d buried it. And maybe she should too.
After getting dressed in jeans and a loose blouse Ava grabbed her bag and headed for the door.
Damien was already waiting by it, one hand tucked into his pocket.
“I’ll drive you to the hospital,” he said.
“No,” Ava replied quickly. “It’s fine. I’ll take a cab.”
Damien’s jaw clenched. “You’re not taking a cab.”
“I’m not your….”
“I said I’ll take you,” he interrupted, eyes narrowing. “You don’t have a say in this.”
Ava stared at him, stunned by his sudden shift.
His voice dropped, cold and commanding. “Now get in the f*****g car, Ava.”
The words were low but sharp, not yelled, but they cut just the same.
She stood frozen for a moment, tension crackling in the air like a storm about to break. She could tell he was angry but not just at her. He was angry at himself, too. He was angry because of what happened. At what it meant. At the fact that maybe, just maybe he cares about her.
Ava didn’t speak. She only walked past him stiffly and headed to the elevator.
He followed, silent and cold.
But inside, neither of them felt calm at all.
The car ride was drenched in silence.
Ava sat stiffly in the passenger seat, arms folded across her chest, gaze locked on the blurred cityscape rushing by. Damien didn’t glance at her once, his jaw clenched as he gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles pale from the force. The tension between them was suffocating, like a storm cloud riding inside the car, unspoken thunder rumbling just beneath the surface.
They didn’t speak, but everything between them had changed.
When they arrived at the hospital, Ava got out without a word and made her way to Lily’s ward, heels tapping briskly against the polished floors. Damien followed a few steps behind.
As soon as Ava opened the door, the softest gasp left her lips.
Lily was awake.
Propped up slightly against the pillows, her skin no longer ghostly pale, her eyes open and bright.
“Lily…” Ava whispered.
Lily blinked, then smiled weakly as her gaze met hers. “Ava.”
Ava rushed forward, setting her bag down on the chair and gently cupping her sister’s hand. “Oh my god, you’re awake. You’re okay.” Her voice trembled as tears welled up again, this time from relief. “I was so scared.”
“I’m okay,” Lily whispered, then gave a small laugh. “I’m really hungry, though.”
Ava laughed through her tears, brushing hair from her sister’s forehead. “You’ll eat soon, I promise. I’ll talk to the nurse.”
Then Lily’s gaze shifted, past Ava.
To the tall man standing behind her in a crisp black coat, hands in his pockets, watching quietly.
Lily tilted her head a little. “Who’s this?” she asked, eyes dancing with mischief despite her weakness. “I saw him the other day... tall, handsome. Way too serious-looking.”
Ava opened her mouth, unsure what to say, heart lurching into her throat.
But before she could utter a word, Damien stepped forward.
He stood beside Ava, towering, composed, voice smooth and unreadable.
“I’m her boyfriend,” Damien said plainly. His eyes never left Lily. “How are you feeling now?”
Ava turned to him slowly, stunned.
Lily blinked, clearly caught off guard but then her lips tugged into a smile, surprised and delighted. “Well… that explains a lot.”
But Ava’s heart was hammering.
Her boyfriend?
He said it like it was a fact. Like they hadn’t drawn the line just this morning. Like he hadn’t just told her last night meant nothing.
She stared up at him, searching his face, but Damien didn’t look at her.
He kept his gaze locked on Lily as if he hadn’t just set Ava’s entire world spinning again with five quiet words.
A thousand thoughts rushed through her mind, but one question echoed louder than the rest: What was going on in his mind?
- Writer
