Forbidden Night with the CEO

Chapter Ten.

The dinner finally came to an end.

Damien said goodbye to the guests, and then he walked Ava toward the entrance.

"I'll take you home."

Ava shook her head. "You don't have to. I can get a taxi."

"I know."

He opened the car door for her.

"But it's late."

Ava didn't argue.

She got inside, and Damien walked around to the driver's side.

The drive started quietly.

Ava stared out of the window, watching the city lights pass by. She could feel Damien's eyes on her every now and then.

And then he spoke.

"How long have you lived in the city?"

"A few years."

"Do you live alone?"

Ava hesitated.

"Yes."

Damien nodded.

He was quiet for a moment before asking another question.

"Have we really never met before?"

Ava's heart dropped.

She turned toward him.

"No."

"You seem very sure."

"Because it's true."

Damien tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

"Then why do you feel so familiar?"

Ava didn't know how to answer that.

She forced a small smile.

"Maybe you just have one of those faces people remember."

Damien gave a quiet laugh.

"Maybe."

And then silence filled the car again.

Ava looked out the window, relieved that he didn't ask anything else.

But she knew his questions weren't going to stop.

When they finally reached her apartment, Damien parked by the entrance.

"Good night, Miss Carter."

"Good night, Mr. Blackwood."

Ava stepped out and walked toward the building.

Damien watched until she disappeared through the doors.

He remained in the car long after Ava disappeared inside the building.

He rested his head against the seat and stared through the windshield.

Something wasn't right.

He had asked Ava the same question more than once, yet he still couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding something.

And then the memory came back.

A dimly lit room.

Soft music playing somewhere in the background.

A glass in his hand.

Damien closed his eyes.

He could hear a woman's voice, soft and close to him.

"Damien..."

His eyes opened quickly.

He remembered turning toward her.

He remembered the warmth of her body beside his.

But her face was still missing from the memory.

He rubbed his forehead, frustrated.

"Who were you?"

The question came out as a whisper.

Another image flashed through his mind.

A woman's hand resting against his chest.

A delicate bracelet around her wrist.

Damien's breathing became heavier.

And then he remembered something else.

He had asked her name.

But the memory faded before he could hear the answer.

Damien opened his eyes and stared into the darkness.

The night had happened months ago, and he had never thought about it since.

Now, every time he looked at Ava, something inside him told him there was a connection.

He started the car and drove away.

But one thought stayed with him.

Ava closed the door behind her and leaned against it.

She let out a long breath. She simply stood there, trying to calm herself.

Damien's questions kept running through her mind.

Have we really never met before?

And then her phone rang.

It was Karen.

Ava answered.

"Hello?"

"You're home?"

"Yes."

"So, how was the dinner?"

Ava walked into the living room and dropped her handbag on the sofa.

"It was fine."

Karen was quiet for a moment.

"That doesn't sound like fine."

Ava sighed.

"Damien kept asking me if we'd met before."

Karen's voice became serious.

"What did you tell him?"

"The truth."

Karen paused.

"You told him you never met him?"

Ava closed her eyes.

"Yes."

"And then?"

"He didn't believe me completely."

Karen sighed.

"Ava, you can't keep hiding this forever."

"I know."

"You need to tell him about the baby."

Ava sat down slowly.

"I'm not ready."

"Why?"

Ava looked down at her hands.

"Because I don't know what he'll do.

What if he thinks I'm lying? What if he thinks I planned everything?"

Karen was silent.

Ava swallowed hard.

"I just need more time."

"You can't keep running from him."

"I know," Ava whispered.

And then she placed a hand over her stomach.

"I just need to figure out how to tell him."

Damien arrived home later that night, but sleep was the last thing on his mind.

He loosened his tie and dropped his keys on the table. The apartment was quiet, but his thoughts were anything but.

He kept seeing Ava's face.

And then he remembered the strange feeling that had followed him since the dinner.

Damien walked to his study and opened his laptop.

He searched through some old photographs from the charity event months ago. He wasn't even sure what he was looking for.

One picture caught his attention.

It showed the hotel ballroom, with several guests standing around and talking.

Damien stared at it.

And then he noticed a woman standing near him.

Her face was turned slightly away from the camera, so he couldn't see her clearly.

He zoomed in.

Something about her looked familiar.

Damien leaned closer to the screen.

Then he noticed the bracelet on her wrist.

His eyes widened.

He had seen that bracelet before.

And then the memory returned.

A woman's hand in his.

The same bracelet.

The same night.

Damien stood up slowly.

"No..."

He looked at the photograph ,and his heart began pounding.

The woman in the picture was the same woman from that night.