Chapter 28
1225 Words
David's POV
Her scream didn’t come.
Instead, Mara stiffened in my arms, trembling, her breath hitting my chest in quick, shaky bursts. I tightened my hold around her shoulders, anchoring her.
“Mara,” I murmured, lowering my voice. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?”
She shook her head, still pressed against me.
“I’m… I’m fine. I didn’t see who it was, he was following me.”
I glanced sharply toward the dark corner the shadow had disappeared into.
They were gone.
I exhaled and gently brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face.
“Hey… look at me.”
She hesitated, then lifted her eyes. Vulnerable. Rattled.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” I said quietly. “I shouldn’t have brought you to a place like this at night.”
Her fingers trembled. The fear was still on her skin.
Come,” I said gently, placing a hand at the small of her back. “Let’s get out of here. You shouldn’t be walking alone at this hour.”
She nodded slowly.
We walked out of the quiet street together.
Her hands were still trembling.
When we reached her car, I didn’t give her time to think.
“I’m driving,” I said, opening the driver’s door.
Her brows drew together. “David, I can…”
“No,” I cut in softly. “You’re shaking. You can barely hold your phone. Let me.”
For a moment, she wanted to refuse.
But she didn’t.
Not with the memory of footsteps still crawling down her spine.
She handed me her keys.
I drove us back to the Lawson Mansion, the night sky sinking behind us, the streetlights flickering like warnings neither of us heeded.
When we reached the front steps, I turned to her.
“You go first,” I said quietly. “I’ll come in later. I know how this house is. If we walk in together like this… they’ll talk.”
She looked at me for a long moment, worry, gratitude, maybe something else, but she nodded and stepped out.
I watched her until she was safely inside.
Then I opened my door
“David.”
The voice cut through the night.
Elias.
He stood by the fountain, sleeves rolled up, shadows turning his expression unreadable. The kind of stillness that wasn’t calm at all.
He walked toward me slowly.
“We need to talk.”
I held his stare, then shrugged. “Now? It’s late.”
“Now,” he repeated.
I could’ve refused.
But he looked like a man holding something he couldn’t swallow.
Interesting.
I followed him to the covered sitting area near the garden.
We sat opposite each other.
The silence stretched—heavy, deliberate.
Finally he spoke.
“Why did you post that picture of you and Mara?”
Ah.
So he saw it.
Of course I wanted the picture to get to him.
I leaned back, letting a slow, amused smile spread.
“So you found out,” I said, clapping. “You really dug for it. Must’ve taken a lot of effort.”
His jaw tightened.
“David. Answer the question.”
I laughed under my breath.
“You’re talking to me like I’m some outsider causing your family problems.”
“You are causing problems.”
“Oh?” I raised a brow. “For who? You?”
His eyes flickered.
Got you.
I let the silence linger a little longer, let him feel the weight of it.
“You know,” I said calmly, “I’m surprised you didn’t confront me the moment the scandal dropped. I expected a lecture from you sooner.”
“What was your aim for purposely posting that?” he asked, voice steady but sharp.
“You don’t need to know.” I corrected softly. “Just… watch and see what unfolds.”
He didn’t react.
Not visibly.
But the tick in his jaw gave him away.
“So,” I added lightly, “why the sudden interest in something that shouldn’t matter to you?”
“It matters.”
“Why?”
He leaned forward, eyes locked onto mine.
“Because you know exactly what a scandal like that does to this family,” he said quietly. “And you know the damage it could do to the company.”
I laughed a little.
“I really didn't think you'd….”
He cut me off.
“You are engaged to Andrea. Until your wedding is done, keep away from scandals and keep away from Mara. This family won’t tolerate anymore troubles coming from you. I personally won’t tolerate that.”
The mocking smile on my face faltered immediately.
How dare he speak to me like that.
“And why should I stay away from her?” I asked, holding my temper. “Because you said so?”
“Because it’s necessary,” he replied.
“Necessary for who?” I tilted my head. “Andrea? The family? You?"
His silence told me everything.
“This is not a game,” he said sharply. “You’re getting married. I don’t care if you and Mara had a past, none of that should affect a wedding that’s only a few weeks away.”
I frowned.
Hearing about the wedding already irritates me, and I will make sure it never happens. All I needed was Mara by my side, and once she chooses me, we’d leave this family behind. The rumors would fade eventually. They always did.
“And who said I want the wedding?” I replied.
His jaw tightened at my words. I could see the anger building up on his face.
Perfect.
This alone would keep him thinking about what I mean for days.
“You’re engaged,” he said, voice hardening. “Your path is set. Your future is already tied to someone else. Do you understand the damage if people start believing you’re still in love with your sister-in-law? Take this as a final warning. I won’t sit here again lecturing you like a child.”
He stood up to leave.
I raised a brow. “In love?”
He halted mid-step and turned back toward me.
I rose as well, facing him, lowering my voice to something quiet and dangerous.
“And all this talk,” I murmured, “all this urgency about my wedding, about appearances, about avoiding Mara, about how it all looks…”
A slow smile touched my lips.
“…isn’t actually about the company, is it?”
I studied him—like a puzzle whose edges I’d already pieced together.
“You’re telling me I can’t be seen with her because ‘people will talk,’” I said. “That I need to stay away from her to protect my wedding, protect your family image.”
I tilted my head.
“You’re telling me she’s forbidden.”
The silence stretched, and then I stepped closer, just enough to press the real point into him.
“And you think,” I said softly, “you aren’t forbidden from having feelings for your brother’s wife?”
His eyes met mine—steady, sharp, unreadable.
But I saw it.
The flicker he tried to bury.
The truth he didn’t want anyone, especially me to recognize.
And that was enough.
- Writer
