Silence and Shadows
430 Words
The first thing Damien noticed when he stepped into the mansion was the silence.
Not the usual kind of silence that came with luxury halls and empty corridors. No—this was a different silence. Heavy. Hollow. Wrong.
He set his bag down, loosening his tie with slow, controlled movements. His eyes scanned the foyer. No familiar footsteps. No soft voice greeting him. No stolen glances from the one person he knew would be here.
Selene.
“Elisa.”
His voice carried through the stillness, sharp and commanding. Within seconds, Elisa appeared at the edge of the hallway, her posture stiff, hands folded nervously in front of her.
“Sir.”
Damien’s jaw clenched. “Where is she?”
Elisa hesitated, lowering her eyes. “Selene… she left.”
The words rang in his head like an echo. Left.
His expression didn’t shift, but his hand curled into a fist at his side. “When.”
“Two days ago,” Elisa whispered, voice barely steady. “After… after Lady Veylor came.”
For a moment, Damien didn’t move. Then slowly, he turned away, pacing toward the grand staircase. His mother. Of course. He could already imagine the venom in her words, the way she would have looked down on Selene, dissecting her with insults and that cold, ruthless smile.
And Selene… soft, naïve, stubborn Selene… she had believed it.
He pushed open the door to her small room. Empty. The bed was neatly made, the curtains drawn, but it felt stripped of life. Her scent lingered faintly, mocking him. He scanned the space—her notebook was gone. The one thing she always carried close.
She hadn’t planned on coming back.
Damien leaned against the doorframe, running a hand through his hair. His eyes burned with something colder than rage.
“She walked away.” His voice was low, dangerous.
Elisa shifted uneasily behind him. “Sir… she didn’t tell anyone where she was going.”
He didn’t answer. His gaze was fixed on the empty room, on the absence that cut sharper than any blade. For years, Damien had never lost anything that belonged to him. Never.
Selene thought she could disappear. That she could escape the shadow of his world.
But Damien knew better.
No one left him.
Not in business.
Not in power.
Not in love.
Selene might think she was free tonight. But her freedom was only an illusion.
Because no matter where she ran, she carried a piece of him with her.
And Damien Veylor always, always came back for what was his.
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- Writer
