Aurora’s heart was racing as they arrived back at the mansion. The entire drive had felt like a blur her thoughts jumping between what she’d seen with her mother and the strange emotions Damian was making her feel. She wasn’t sure what to make of any of it, but it was hard to ignore the pull she felt toward him.
As they walked inside, she could hear the quiet chatter of the maids and Madam Catherine in the hallway. They all paused as they noticed Aurora rushing ahead, nearly running toward Damian’s bedroom. She didn’t even bother to check if anyone was watching her.
Damian, of course, was right behind her. He didn’t speak, but his footsteps echoed loudly in the quiet hallway. It wasn’t until Aurora reached the bedroom door that she realized just how strange this whole situation had become. She hadn’t planned to act like this, but she couldn’t stop herself.
She pushed the door open and ran inside, her breath coming fast. As soon as she entered, she didn’t hesitate. She went straight for the bed, lying down and staring up at the ceiling. She needed space, needed to think. But in that moment, all she could feel was the overwhelming pressure of everything that had happened that day.
Damian stood in the doorway for a second, just watching her. His presence filled the room, making it feel suddenly smaller. He wasn’t saying anything, just observing her, but his silence made everything more intense.
Aurora closed her eyes, trying to block him out, but the moment he stepped inside and closed the door behind him, she couldn’t escape him. She felt his eyes on her. His gaze was heavy, almost like it was searching for something.
“Are you okay?” Damian’s voice was quiet but steady, as if he was trying not to disturb the fragile peace in the room.
Aurora didn’t answer at first. She just lay there, staring at the ceiling. The bed was so comfortable, and yet her mind was far from calm. She could hear Damian’s footsteps as he walked toward her, and before she knew it, he was kneeling beside the bed, his face just inches away from hers.
“Damian, what are you doing?” she asked, her voice trembling. She didn’t know why she was so nervous. She didn’t know why she was suddenly feeling so vulnerable. It was just him. Just Damian. But somehow, everything felt different now.
Damian didn’t move away. Instead, he looked at her for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then, he crouched down even closer, until he was at eye level with her.
“Teach me how to love,” he said, his voice soft but serious.
Aurora’s eyes snapped open. She blinked a few times, trying to process what he had just said. “What?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper. She couldn’t have heard him correctly.
Damian smiled slightly, but it wasn’t his usual smirk. There was something else in his eyes now-something that made her feel a little less sure of herself.
“I said… teach me how to love,” he repeated, his voice steady but carrying an unexpected weight.
Aurora just stared at him, not sure what to say. She had never seen Damian like this before. He was always confident, always in control. But now, here he was, asking her to teach him something that she couldn’t even begin to understand herself.
She sat up slowly, her hands gripping the edge of the bed as she tried to find the right words. “Damian, what’s wrong with you?”
He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked down at the floor for a moment, as if he was gathering his thoughts. When he spoke again, his voice was lower, more vulnerable than she had ever heard it.
“I don’t know if this is love or if I’m just being stupid,” he admitted, his eyes never leaving hers. “I know sex. I know owning maids. But… owning you feels different. And I don’t know how to explain it.”
Aurora’s heart skipped a beat at his words. She had heard him talk about owning people before, but to hear him speak like this… it felt almost… raw. Real. And it caught her off guard.
“Damian,” she started, her voice shaking. “You can’t just… ask me to teach you how to love. That’s not something I can just explain.”
Damian leaned in a little closer, his eyes searching hers. “I know, but I don’t know what else to do. I’ve never felt like this before. And I’m not even sure it’s love. But it’s something… something more than just wanting you. More than just wanting to have you in my bed. It feels… different with you.”
Aurora felt her heart racing, her thoughts a mess of confusion and disbelief. She couldn’t understand why he was saying all of this. She had always seen Damian as someone who was above feelings, someone who was all about control and power. And yet, here he was, admitting that he didn’t know what was going on in his own heart.
She shook her head, not sure if she was ready to believe him. “I don’t know what you want from me, Damian.”
Damian smiled again, this time a little more genuinely. “I don’t want anything from you, Aurora. At least, not in the way you think. I just… I need help understanding what this is. What I’m feeling.”
Aurora stared at him for a long time, trying to figure out if he was being sincere or if this was just some game to him. But something in his eyes told her that he wasn’t lying. There was no smugness, no arrogance in his expression. Just… uncertainty.
“I don’t know if I can teach you,” she said slowly, her voice quieter now. “I don’t even know how to love myself.”
Damian’s face softened at her words. “Maybe we can figure it out together,” he said, his voice so calm, so sure that it made Aurora’s heart flutter unexpectedly.
She was silent for a long time, her mind racing. The idea of being with Damian, of trying to figure out this… love thing together, was something she never thought would happen. She had always thought of Damian as someone who was untouchable, someone who was too caught up in his own world to care about anything as messy as love. But now, seeing him like this, with so much vulnerability in his eyes, it was hard to keep pushing him away.
“Damian…” she started, but her voice trailed off. She didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know how to respond.
Damian watched her, waiting for her to say something, anything. But after a moment, he sighed, as if he had already expected this kind of response. He leaned back, his eyes still on her.
“I don’t know what this is either,” he said quietly. “But I want to figure it out with you. Even if it means I’m just being stupid.”
Aurora looked at him for a long time, her heart still pounding in her chest. She wasn’t sure where this was going or what it meant, but for the first time, she felt like Damian was being real with her. And maybe that was the most surprising thing of all.
After a long pause, she finally spoke.
“You’re just surprising me, Damian,” she whispered.
And for the first time, he smiled at her, not because he was trying to be charming, but because it felt like a real smile. A smile that meant something.
“I guess that’s what I do,” he said softly. “Surprise people.”
Aurora didn’t know what to say after that, so she just lay back down on the bed, her thoughts swirling. Maybe, just maybe, Damian wasn’t as impossible to understand as she had always thought. Maybe, just maybe, he was as lost as she was.
And maybe, just maybe, they could figure it out together.