Contract of Hate

📖 CHAPTER 3 – First Clash

The first morning felt worse than the night.

Lila barely slept. Every sound in that huge house felt unfamiliar, like it didn’t belong to her life. When she finally came downstairs, she already had one goal in mind—avoid him.

But of course, life didn’t agree.

Damian was already in the dining room.

Neatly dressed. Calm. Eating like nothing in the world could disturb him.

Lila stopped at the entrance and sighed. “Of course you’re here.”

He didn’t look up. “It’s my house.”

She rolled her eyes and walked past him to the other side of the table, sitting down with attitude.

A maid placed food in front of her immediately.

Lila stared at it. “I didn’t ask for this.”

Damian finally looked at her. “Eat.”

That one word annoyed her.

“I’m not your employee,” she snapped.

A small silence followed.

Then Damian spoke again, calm as ever. “In this house, you follow basic rules.”

Lila laughed lightly. “Basic rules? Or your rules?”

His gaze stayed fixed on her. “Same thing.”

That did it.

She pushed her chair slightly back. “You really think you can control everything, don’t you?”

Damian stood up slowly, adjusting his sleeve. He walked closer to her side of the table, stopping just a short distance away.

“I don’t think,” he said quietly. “I know.”

Lila looked up at him, refusing to back down even though her chest felt tight.

“You don’t scare me,” she said.

A brief pause.

Then Damian leaned slightly closer, voice lower.

“I’m not trying to scare you.”

That answer made her uncomfortable for reasons she didn’t understand.

She stood up quickly. “Good. Because I’m not staying here to obey you.”

Damian straightened. “Then why are you here?”

That question hit deeper than expected.

Lila froze for a second.

Because she didn’t have a choice.

But she didn’t want to admit that.

Instead, she grabbed her phone. “You’ll see how long I stay quiet.”

She turned to leave.

But Damian’s voice stopped her again.

“One more thing,” he said.

She looked back slowly.

His expression was still cold… but sharper now.

“Don’t touch anything important in this house.”

Lila frowned. “And what exactly is important?”

For a moment, something unreadable passed in his eyes.

Then he said:

“Everything you think is unimportant.”

That sentence stayed in the air long after she left the room.

And for the first time…

Lila felt it.

This wasn’t just about control.

There was something Damian was hiding.

Something she wasn’t supposed to discover.