Aww that Apt
news of the weave walked away unhurt. The possibility that her Alesund was
stating enough
wing wounds she had spent years
Wat he wh
on of that there was ce
Jange has been part of her and Jane’s lives when they had no one. She was someone they
Nugh to come Kay
A he had to be the one to tell her that the relationship had started with a lie a truth
that cutant years of memores Maya had beleved were genuine
in
Damen er he gave the weight of those words setting heavily over him.
“The will be he
Pool Ken sad could make her even stron
Camer boxed at him
The not saving it wont hurt
Move has SuPot the
Kenned “But you know better than anyone what
recce to decide what she does with the truth.”
Ker gave he shower we assung cate
I’s been a ven one ex Get some est Damen
Ken emoved his hand and Damer nocted before ring to his feet He turned to face the
oiter men and met his eve
Thank you. You dont have to do any of this His scenty was unmistakable 1 don’t know
how can ever repay you but if you ever need anything you only have to ask
Kan shook his head
You don’t hate Harger when you found out she had used you and your company to hide her
identity You may not have known anything about what was happening, but in my eyes, you
stil did us a tremendous favor by keeping our daughter safe”
He gave Damien a meaningful look
If anything I owe you far more than you owe me. This is the least I could do
Ken then held out his hand
“And now that my daughter is finally ready to take over, I think it’s time for the younger generation to take things from here.”
His outstretched hand remained between them.
“Consider this the official beginning of our alliance.”
Damien glanced down at Ken’s outstretched hand before taking it firmly.
“Alliance,” he repeated.
They shook hands, sealing an understanding that had begun under far less pleasant
circumstances.
Damien gave him a small nod before releasing his grip.
“I’ll take my leave. Have a good evening, sir.”
He turned toward the door, but had barely taken a few steps when Ken called after him.
“Wait.”
Damien stopped and turned around.
Ken walked back behind his desk, opened a drawer, and pulled out a hard drive. He held it out
to Damien.
“Here. Take it. Everything I found is on there. The footage, the documents, the phone calls, the messages, and all the bank transactions.”
He paused, his demeanor turning noticeably colder.
“Under normal circumstances, there’s more than enough evidence there to put Viktor behind bars. But in this case, I think prison would be far too forgiving.”
Damien accepted the drive and dipped his head slightly.
“Thank you.”
He turned and headed for the door.
His hand was already wrapped around the doorknob when he stopped again.
“Mr. Takahashi.”
“Anything else?” Ken asked.
425 Pants
Damien turned fully to face him, meeting his eyes with unmistakable sincerity.
“Nick may have a reputation, but he’s sincere about Harper. I hope you’ll give him a chance.”
Ken stared at him before suddenly bursting into genuine laughter.
“You’re vouching for your best friend, Blackwood?”
A faint smile tugged at Damien’s lips.
“Good night, Mr. Takahashi.”
With that, he left the study, gently closing the door behind him.
The soft click of the latch seemed to shut away everything they had discussed inside. The faint smile was already gone from Damien’s face as he headed toward the stairs.
The manor had grown quiet, everyone seemingly retired for the night.
But Damien was nowhere near ready to rest. The weight of everything he had learned followed him upstairs, the silence doing little to quiet his mind.
He had to tell Maya.
What he didn’t know was how the hell he was supposed to begin..
How was he supposed to tell the woman he loved that there was a possibility her parents could have survived? That Viktor had known far more about her family than any of them had ever realized? And that Janice, someone she and Jaime had trusted enough to consider family, had originally entered their lives because Viktor had paid her to watch them?
Tonight certainly wasn’t the time.
She had already been through enough for one day, and dropping everything he had just learned on her now would only add to it.
But he couldn’t keep it from her either.
Sooner rather than later, Maya needed to know the truth.
Damien glanced down at the hard drive in his hand. His grip tightened around it before he slipped it into his back pocket and continued toward the bedrooms.
The hall was just as quiet as the rest of the manor. Not a sound came from behind any of the closed doors as Damien passed them.
When he finally reached their bedroom, he quietly turned the handle and eased the door open.
375
Chapter 15% Al That Caution
He immediately noticed that the room was still brightly lit.
Then he saw Maya.
She was curled up on the couch with her knees drawn toward her chest, but at some point, sleep must have overtaken her. She had slumped awkwardly onto her side, her head resting against the cushions, her legs still tucked close to her body.
She must have fallen asleep waiting for him.
He stepped inside and gently closed the door behind him, careful not to make a sound.
Crossing the room, he bent down and carefully slipped one arm beneath Maya’s knees and the other around her back before lifting her into his arms.
She barely stirred.
Damien carried her to the bed and gently lowered her onto the mattress.
As he pulled the covers over her, Maya shifted.
“Mmm… Damien?”
Her voice was thick with sleep. Her eyes fluttered open just enough to find him through her
drowsiness.
Damien leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.
“Yes, love. It’s me. Go back to sleep. I’m just going to change.”
“Mmm… okay.”
Her eyes slipped closed again.
Maya turned onto her side, burrowing comfortably into the pillow, and within seconds, her breathing settled back into a slow, even rhythm.
Damien remained beside her, unable to look away.
Even asleep, she was breathtaking. There was something so peaceful and innocent about her face that it made his chest ache, especially knowing how much she had been forced to endure over the past seven years because of the carefully fabricated lies surrounding the tragedy that had changed her life.
And all those times he had wanted to take her out, to proudly show the entire world that she was his woman and he was her man, he had held himself back because he thought keeping
her away from Viktor’s attention was the safest way to protect her.
45
NEW AU Thot caution
What a fucking joke.
All that caution. All that restraint.
And Viktor had known exactly who she was all along, long before Damien himself had even known her.
Damien’s hands slowly curled into fists at his sides as anger burned through him all over again.
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