the secret between us
661 Words
I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking as I tucked Lucas into bed that night. His little chest rose and fell with the innocence of a child who had no idea of the storm gathering around him. Damian’s storm.
“Goodnight, baby,” I whispered, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead. He smiled in his sleep, and my heart squeezed painfully.
I turned off the lamp and stepped out of his room, my bare feet padding softly across the wooden floor. The house was silent, but silence wasn’t comforting anymore—it felt like a ticking bomb.
Because Damian knew.
I had seen it in his eyes earlier, the way his gaze lingered too long on Lucas, the subtle tightening of his jaw. He didn’t say it aloud, but I could feel it. He suspected. And Damian Vale was not the kind of man to leave suspicions unanswered.
A knock at the door jolted me out of my spiraling thoughts. My blood ran cold. Who would come this late?
I hesitated, then slowly opened it.
Damian stood there.
Tall, imposing, his presence filled the doorway like a shadow swallowing the light. His suit jacket was gone, his shirt sleeves rolled up, veins visible along his forearms. His eyes locked on mine, burning with an intensity that made my knees weaken.
“Damian,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “It’s late. What are you doing here?”
He didn’t answer. He stepped inside without permission, his cologne surrounding me instantly, intoxicating and dangerous. I backed up as he closed the door behind him.
“You’ve been avoiding me,” he said simply, his tone low but sharp, like a blade.
I swallowed. “I’ve been busy. Lucas—”
“Lucas.” His lips curved around the name, slow, deliberate. My heart lurched.
“You keep saying that name as if it explains everything.” He took a step closer, and I instinctively retreated. “But it only makes me more curious. Who is he, Calla?”
My pulse roared in my ears. I forced myself to keep my voice steady. “He’s just… he’s my son.”
Damian’s eyes narrowed. “Your son.”
“Yes.” I lifted my chin, though my body trembled. “That’s all you need to know.”
His jaw clenched, and for a moment, I thought he might let it go. But Damian Vale never let go of anything.
“He has my eyes.”
The words sliced through me, leaving me breathless.
I turned away, gripping the edge of the couch so tightly my knuckles turned white. “You’re imagining things.”
“No.” His voice was steady, unyielding. “I’ve spent years looking in the mirror, Calla. I know my own reflection. And when I looked at him today, it was like staring into the past.”
Tears pricked my eyes, but I blinked them back. I couldn’t let him see me break. “Damian, please. Don’t do this.”
His footsteps echoed as he came closer. Suddenly, his hand was on my arm, turning me to face him. His touch burned, sending sparks racing under my skin, even though I hated myself for feeling it.
“Tell me the truth,” he demanded. His face was so close now, his breath warm against my cheek. “Is he mine?”
My lips parted, but no words came out. The silence was deafening.
And then—
“Mama?”
The small, sleepy voice cut through the tension like lightning. My heart stopped.
Lucas stood at the top of the stairs, rubbing his eyes with tiny fists, his teddy bear dangling from his hand.
Damian’s gaze snapped upward, landing on the boy. The room shifted, the air thickening with realization.
I froze, my body trembling as if the ground had vanished beneath me.
And in that unbearable silence, Damian whispered the words I feared most:
“He is mine.”
- Writer
