Damaged Love

Chapter Four

Elare was back at one of Victoria's father's mansions in town. She sat quietly in the spacious sitting room, watching Victoria from across the room. Victoria was on a Zoom call with some of her friends, her voice cheerful and animated. It had been 48 hours since Elare returned from the hospital, and during that time, Victoria had made sure to shield her from anything that could trigger her trauma. Her phone had been taken away, and the satellite TVs in the house were disabled. Elare knew it was for her own good, but it only made her more anxious. If the news was being hidden, that meant one thing—Adam was still missing. A serial killer on the run. The thought alone made her slam her palm hard against the table.

Victoria, startled by the noise, ended her call quickly. "Okay, since everything is ready, see you guys in two days," she said into her phone before ending the call. She walked over and sat beside Elare.

"What's wrong?" she asked, noticing Elare wince as she rubbed her sore hand.

Elare forced a smile and nodded. "I'm okay."

"Well, for a fact, I know you're not. And that's fine," Victoria said softly, placing her hand gently over Elare's on the table. "I know you haven’t been sleeping unless you take the pills. You need to stop being so hard on yourself."

Elare sighed and covered her eyes with her other hand. "I don't know, Vic. Maybe it's fear or... I just don't know."

"I spoke to your therapist yesterday," Victoria continued gently, "and she agrees that a change of environment will do you good. I already talked to my friends—we’re all going to Hawaii."

Elare sat up a bit. "I’m really fine, Victoria. You don’t need to—"

"No, no, no," Victoria cut in quickly. "I’m not taking that from you. You’re going, and that’s final. Besides, you’re not inconveniencing anyone. We already had the vacation planned. Damien hasn’t even had a moment to relax. This will be good for everyone."

Seeing Elare wasn’t arguing anymore, Victoria smiled and turned to leave, then stopped and looked back. "Besides, when was the last time you went on vacation?"

Elare shook her head slightly. It had been years—since her third year in university. Even when Victoria hosted a graduation trip to Paris, Elare had declined. The others had teased her for being a "vibe killer," but Victoria never judged her. She remembered how Adam had promised they’d take a vacation together when he got his next leave. But that promise had dissolved into nothing now.

Victoria returned to her phone, calling her assistant to start shopping for both of them. She listed out things they would need for the trip with excitement. Meanwhile, Elare made her way back to her room. It was almost time for her therapy session. Not that the sessions had helped much. She hadn't been honest. She didn’t tell the therapist she relied on pills to sleep. If she did, she’d have to explain the nightmares—the ones about her childhood and the recent incident.

Still, the idea of a vacation didn’t sound so bad.

Later that evening, Elare and Victoria were playing a game of ludo on the floor of the sitting room when Victoria’s phone buzzed. She read the message and smiled like a schoolgirl.

"What?" Elare asked, laughing.

Victoria blushed, glanced around the empty room as if someone might be watching, then leaned in. "I got some delicate lace lingerie, massage oil, and some play pet accessories."

Elare burst out laughing, catching Victoria off guard. She blushed deeper. "Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh, but who would’ve thought Mr. Damien Lancaster was into that kind of stuff?"

Victoria looked slightly embarrassed. "You can’t tell anyone about this."

Elare raised a brow. "Wait—have you two ever... you know?"

Victoria sighed. "We’ve never had sex."

Elare’s eyes widened. "No way."

"I know. The farthest we ever went was... well, he gave me head once. That’s all."

Elare looked completely shocked. "So how have you been coping? You’ve been together for months. That had to be frustrating."

Victoria gave a sly smile. "At first, it was just toys. But girl, it wasn’t easy. Then one day... his PA walked in on me while I was touching myself in Damien’s office."

Elare gasped and started laughing. "No f*****g way!"

Victoria rolled her eyes but was grinning.

"You slutty b***h," Elare teased.

"It wasn’t entirely my fault. Damien was supposed to touch me, and he was—until he got a call and just walked out like nothing happened. Who does that?"

"You think he’s gay?" Elare asked, genuinely curious.

Victoria scoffed. "No, I don’t think so. At one point, I suspected, but Jeremy told me I was wrong."

"Jeremy?"

"Damien’s PA. We’ve been hooking up ever since. And oh my God, he makes me feel so good. But if I’m really going to settle with Damien, I need to know what he’s made of."

She winked at Elare, and they both burst out laughing.

Later, Elare packed her things into a small travel bag. She tossed her toothbrush in last and glanced at her phone. No text from her boss. Victoria had returned it to her earlier that morning, and the first thing she had done was check if Adam had been found. But there was still nothing. The police hadn’t located him.

She flopped onto the bed beside her packed bag, holding the phone loosely. Just then, Victoria walked in, noticed the phone on the floor, and raised a brow.

"The car’s here. Meet me downstairs in five," she said, handing the phone back.

Elare's heart raced. What if Adam kidnapped them on the way to the airport? But when she got outside and saw the escort cars in front and behind them, she breathed easier. They were safe.

And for the first time in weeks, she felt like maybe—just maybe—this vacation might bring her some peace.