The Way He Said My Name

Chapter 4: The things he couldn't say

Ariana didn't sleep much that night.

Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the photograph.

Two families standing together.

Her family.

Damien's family.

And Damien's voice repeating the same words in her head.

I've known who you are since before you walked into this building.

It made no sense.

She had never met Damien before.

At least, she was almost certain she hadn't.

Yet the way he looked at her suggested otherwise.

There was recognition in his eyes.

Not curiosity.

Not attraction.

Recognition.

Ariana rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

"Who are you, Damien Laurent?"

Her phone buzzed.

She reached for it.

A message from her mother.

Don't trust everyone you meet.

Ariana frowned.

She typed a reply.

What does that mean?

The message showed as delivered.

No response.

Ariana called.

Her mother didn't answer.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

A strange feeling settled in her stomach.

Her mother had always been careful about the past.

Whenever Ariana asked about her childhood, she changed the subject.

Whenever Ariana asked about her father, she said they would talk about it someday.

Someday had never come.

Now Ariana wondered if Damien knew something her mother had deliberately kept from her.

She placed the phone beside her.

Tomorrow, she would get answers.

Or at least, she would try.

---

The following morning, Ariana arrived at Laurent Holdings earlier than usual.

She didn't go to her desk.

She went directly to Damien's office.

His assistant looked up.

"Mr. Laurent isn't here yet."

"Do you know when he'll arrive?"

"In about twenty minutes."

Ariana nodded.

"I'll wait."

The assistant looked surprised.

"You don't have to."

"I know."

Ariana turned away.

Twenty minutes later, the private elevator doors opened.

Damien stepped out.

He stopped when he saw Ariana waiting.

"You came early."

"We need to talk."

His expression became guarded.

"About yesterday?"

"About everything."

He walked toward his office.

"Come in."

Ariana followed.

The door closed behind them.

She stood in front of his desk instead of sitting.

"Tell me."

Damien removed his watch and placed it on the desk.

"Tell you what?"

"Don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Pretend you don't understand."

He looked at her.

Ariana took a breath.

"You knew my family."

"Yes."

"How?"

"Our families knew each other."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the truth."

"Then why have I never heard of yours?"

Damien was silent.

Ariana's frustration grew.

"My mother never talks about your family. Your family apparently knows mine. You recognized me before we officially met. And yesterday you told me you've known who I am for years."

Damien looked toward the window.

"Some things are better left in the past."

"That's convenient."

His eyes returned to hers.

"What do you want from me?"

"The truth."

"You aren't ready for it."

Ariana laughed bitterly.

"You don't get to decide what I'm ready for."

Damien's jaw tightened.

"You don't know what you're asking."

"Then tell me."

He said nothing.

Ariana stepped closer.

"Why did you look at me like that the first time you saw me?"

Damien's expression changed.

"Like what?"

"Like you already knew me."

He looked away.

"I did."

Her heart skipped.

"From where?"

He didn't answer.

"Damien."

"Ariana."

The way he said her name silenced her.

Again.

That voice.

That strange tenderness.

She swallowed.

"Stop saying my name like that."

He froze.

"Like what?"

"Like..."

She struggled to find the words.

"Like it means something."

His eyes softened.

"It does."

Ariana's heart pounded.

"What does it mean?"

Damien stepped closer.

Close enough that she could feel the warmth coming from him.

"It means I remember."

"Remember what?"

"You."

Ariana stared at him.

"I don't remember you."

"I know."

There was something painful in his voice.

She searched his face.

"Then tell me."

He looked as though he wanted to.

But fear stopped him.

Finally, he stepped away.

"I can't."

Ariana's frustration exploded.

"You keep saying that!"

She grabbed her bag.

"Fine. If you won't tell me, I'll find out myself."

Damien's expression hardened.

"Don't."

She stopped.

"Why?"

"Because there are people who don't want you asking questions."

Ariana stared at him.

"Are you threatening me?"

"No."

"Then what are you doing?"

"Warning you."

"About whom?"

Damien didn't answer.

Ariana walked toward the door.

Before she could open it, Damien spoke.

"Your father."

She stopped.

Her entire body went still.

"What about my father?"

Damien's voice was quiet.

"You should ask your mother what really happened to him."

Ariana turned slowly.

"What do you know about my father?"

Damien looked at her.

"More than I should."

---

Ariana left his office with more questions than she had entered with.

She barely made it to her desk before Sophia called.

"You're quiet."

"I'm working."

"You've been working for thirty seconds."

Ariana sighed.

"Something's wrong."

Sophia's voice immediately changed.

"What happened?"

"I think Damien knows my family."

"What?"

Ariana lowered her voice.

"He knew who I was before I met him."

"How?"

"I don't know."

She glanced toward Damien's office.

"He said our families knew each other."

Sophia was silent.

"That's weird."

"I know."

"Are you sure he isn't just interested in you?"

Ariana frowned.

"No. This is different."

"What did he say?"

Ariana hesitated.

"He told me to ask my mother what really happened to my father."

Silence.

"Your father?"

"Yes."

Sophia's voice became softer.

"Ariana, are you okay?"

"I don't know."

She stared at her computer screen without seeing it.

"My mother has always avoided talking about him. I thought it was because it hurt."

"And now?"

"Now I'm wondering if there's something she doesn't want me to know."

Before Sophia could answer, someone approached Ariana's desk.

A man in a dark suit.

"Ms. Ariana?"

"Yes?"

"I'm from Mr. Laurent's office."

He handed her an envelope.

Ariana looked at it.

"What's this?"

"Mr. Laurent asked me to give it to you."

He walked away.

Ariana opened the envelope.

Inside was a single sheet of paper.

There was an address.

And beneath it, three words.

Ask your mother.

Ariana's blood ran cold.

---

Across the building, Damien stood at the window.

Marcus entered without knocking.

"You gave her the address?"

Damien didn't turn around.

"Yes."

Marcus closed the door.

"You know what you're doing, right?"

"No."

Marcus frowned.

"That's not what I expected."

Damien finally turned.

"I've spent years trying to protect her from this."

"And now?"

"Now she deserves the truth."

Marcus studied him.

"Does she know?"

"Not yet."

"Does she remember you?"

Damien looked down.

"No."

Marcus sighed.

"Maybe that's better."

Damien's expression hardened.

"Don't say that."

"You know what happened the last time the families got involved."

"I know."

"If she finds out everything, she may hate you."

Damien's voice was barely above a whisper.

"She already has every reason to."

Marcus stared at him.

"You love her."

Damien said nothing.

"You've loved her for years."

Still nothing.

Marcus shook his head.

"You should have stayed away."

"I tried."

"And?"

Damien looked toward the glass wall separating his office from the rest of the floor.

Through it, he could see Ariana sitting at her desk.

She was reading the paper he'd given her.

Her expression was confused.

Afraid.

Damien's chest tightened.

"I couldn't."

---

That evening, Ariana stood outside her mother's house.

She had spent the entire drive wondering whether she should turn around.

She didn't.

She knocked.

Her mother opened the door.

The moment she saw Ariana's face, she knew something was wrong.

"What happened?"

Ariana stepped inside.

"Who is Damien Laurent?"

Her mother's face went pale.

Ariana noticed.

"Mom?"

Her mother closed the door.

"Where did you hear that name?"

"Answer me."

Her mother looked away.

"Ariana, you shouldn't be involved with that family."

"Why?"

"Stay away from him."

"Why?"

"Because nothing good ever came from that family."

Ariana's heart raced.

"You know them."

Her mother didn't answer.

"You know Damien."

Still nothing.

Ariana stepped closer.

"Did Dad know them?"

Her mother's eyes filled with tears.

"Your father knew Damien's father."

Ariana stopped breathing.

"What happened?"

Her mother shook her head.

"I can't."

"You said that years ago."

"I was trying to protect you."

"From what?"

Her mother looked directly at her.

"From the truth."

Ariana felt tears sting her eyes.

"What truth?"

Her mother whispered,

"Your father didn't die because of an accident."

The room went completely silent.

Ariana stared at her.

"What?"

Her mother's voice broke.

"He was killed."

Ariana stepped backward.

"No."

"And the Laurent family knows why."

Her mother's words echoed through the room.

Ariana suddenly understood why Damien had looked at her the way he did.

Why he knew her name.

Why he had been afraid to tell her the truth.

She wiped the tears from her face.

"Does Damien know?"

Her mother looked away.

"Yes."

Ariana's heart shattered.

She thought about the way he had said her name.

The way he had looked at her.

The way he had warned her.

For the first time, she wondered whether Damien had entered her life because he wanted her...

Or because he knew something about the death of her father.

And she was determined to find out.