CHAPTER FIVE
1384 Words
Daisy’s POV
“I can’t do this,” Damien said, pulling away so fast I almost stumbled.
I stood there, stunned, heart pounding.
“Damien—”
His phone’s screen lit up. He looked at the screen. “It’s Eric.”
He answered. “Yeah… I’ll bring her back now. It was a false alarm.”
He didn’t look at me as he walked out of the room.
The drive back was silent. Damien’s jaw was tight. I stared out the window. Neither of us said a word.
When we got to the Moretti estate, he stepped out and opened the door for me without speaking. I got out.
He walked ahead without waiting. I followed.
Inside, Eric was waiting in the foyer.
“You okay?” he asked me, voice low.
“I’m fine,” I answered quickly.
Damien didn’t stop walking. “She’s safe. I’ve done my part.”
“Thank you,” Eric replied.
Damien disappeared up the stairs.
Eric turned to me. “Do you want to talk?”
“Not really.”
He nodded. “You should rest. We’ll have to show up at the Romano banquet tomorrow. It’s as expected.”
“I figured,” I said coldly.
“We’ll be sharing the suite again,” he added. “But I’ll take the guest room.”
“Thanks,” I said and entered my room.
The new day, Eric and I got ready in silence. I wore the dress Damien had sent to my room. Eric wore a black suit. His tie matched the royal blue of my dress. We looked the part.
“Ready?” he asked.
“As I’ll ever be.”
At the Romano banquet, we held hands for the cameras and made sure everyone saw us staring at each other across the table. No one could tell anything was wrong.
Eric leaned closer. “You okay? You're smiling tightly,”
“I’m fine,” I said, my eyes moving to Danien’s.
Later that night, back in the suite, I sat on the edge of the bed while Eric poured himself a drink.
“You want one?” he asked.
“No,” I replied.
He took a sip. “Daisy, something happened between you and my father, didn’t it?”
I froze. “Why would you think that?”
“You’re both acting weird. He won’t look at me. You won’t look at him. And this doesn't look like your usual jab or whatever.”
I stood. “Nothing happened.”
Eric laughed harshly. “He doesn’t look at people like that for no reason. You can tell me anything, Daisy.”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
He put down the glass. “Fine. I’m going to bed.”
“Guest rooms on the left,” I said.
He didn’t argue.
The days passed like that. Eric and I barely spoke outside public settings. Damien kept his distance, but when our eyes met, the tension was still there. It still hadn’t gone away.
At one of the smaller gatherings, Eric leaned in during a toast.
“We have to keep up appearances,” he whispered.
I forced a smile as he lifted my hand to his lips. My skin went cold. I saw Damien watching again from the back of the room.
Afterwards, Eric and I stepped out into the hallway.
“This is getting harder,” I said.
He looked tired. “I know.”
“How long do we have to keep this up?”
“Until Damien says otherwise. He's the boss here.”
“Of course,” I muttered.
He frowned. “You hate him now?”
I looked away. “I don’t know what I feel.”
“Daisy…” He paused. “Whatever he did—”
“I said I don’t want to talk about it.”
He nodded in understanding. “Fine.”
We stood in silence for a while. Then I went to my room and shut the door.
The next evening, we were expected at a closed-door council meeting between Moretti and Romano's allies. Eric and I walked in together. Damien was already seated at the head of the table.
He didn’t look at me.
Eric sat beside him. I took the seat next to Eric.
“Let’s begin,” Damien said.
The meeting went on for over an hour. Talk of alliances, shipment routes, protection deals, dirty politics. I felt nauseous.
At some point, Damien spoke my name. “Daisy, you’ll be expected to attend the Romano Gala next week. Alone.”
“Alone?” I asked.
He nodded. “Eric will be in Sicily.”
Eric looked confused. “Since when?”
“Since now,” Damien said.
I clenched my jaw. “And why would I attend alone? And why are you telling me what I should do?”
“Because the Roman bloodline will expect a face,” Damien replied. “And right now, that face is yours.”
I looked him dead in the eyes. “You just want to control everything.”
He didn’t flinch. “I want to protect everything.”
“Same thing, right?”
He stood. “Meeting’s over.”
Eric stood too. “Dad, can we talk—”
“Later,” Damien cut him off and walked out.
Back at the suite, Eric paced. “He’s doing this on purpose.”
“I know,” I said.
“He doesn’t trust me anymore.”
“Or me.”
Eric stopped walking. “You still haven’t told me what happened that night.”
I faced him. “It was nothing. We just argued. That’s it.”
He didn’t look convinced. “Okay.”
There was a knock at the door, and Eric opened it.
One of Damien’s men stood outside. “He wants to see Daisy. Alone,” he added for emphasis.
Eric looked at me in suspicion. I didn’t speak.
“He’s in the study,” the man added.
Eric stepped aside. “Go ahead.”
I walked out without saying anything.
Damien stood at the window in his study, his back to me.
“You asked for me,” I said.
“I wanted to make something clear,” he replied without turning. “Whatever happened the other night can’t happen again.”
“Fine.”
He turned then. “I mean it.”
“I said fine.”
He stepped closer. “I need your head in this game. Not in your feelings.”
“I’m not in my feelings.”
“Then why are you shaking?”
I looked down. My hands were trembling.
I crossed my arms. “You don’t get to talk to me like this.”
He stared at me, breathing hard.
His phone buzzed.
He checked the screen.
His expression shifted immediately.
I noticed. “What is it?”
He didn’t answer.
“Damien,” I pressed. “What happened?”
Eric looked up from where he was sitting across the room. “Is something wrong?”
Damien turned the phone to face me. Just one line of text.
“If you can’t protect her, we will bury her. Tick tock.”
I stared at the message. My stomach turned.
Eric stood. “What the hell is that?”
Damien’s voice was flat. “A warning.”
“From whom?” I asked.
He took the phone back, already dialling. “Someone who wants you gone.”
Eric looked between us. “Gone as in—?”
“Yes,” Damien said. “Dead.”
I couldn’t speak.
Damien ended the call without saying a word and slipped the phone back into his pocket.
“They know where you are.”
I took a step back. “How?”
Damien’s jaw clenched. “That’s what I’m about to find out.”
Then his phone buzzed again.
Another message.
He opened it. His eyes narrowed.
“Get your things,” he said to me. “We are leaving now!”
“Why?” I asked.
He showed me the screen.
It was a photo of me, standing on the balcony just ten minutes ago.
Eric cursed. “They’re watching us?”
Damien’s voice was cold and calm.
“They’re already here.”
- Writer
