Hailey
Damien had broken the news to me-Mom and Coby would arrive today. Possibly within half an hour. So, first thing in the morning, I shifted back to my room. Even though the comforting warmth of Damien’s room, Damien’s body, was too hard to let go.
But no matter how much I tried to push it aside, something gnawed at me. Clawed at me.
Because I’d heard something last night.
I didn’t know if it was a hallucination. A dream. Or something else entirely. But I knew what I heard.
“I love you, Hailey. And I’m sorry I will have to break you apart.”
Those words. That voice. His voice.
And yet, they were so unlike him that I almost didn’t believe it. Damien had been the same this morning. No change. No hesitation. No reaction that hinted at something unusual. And how could someone sound so casual after saying something like that?
Wasn’t that impossible?
Hell, it was.
“Ugh, what the hell is wrong with me?!” I groaned, throwing the comb onto my bed in frustration.
Because this was driving me insane for two reasons.
One- Those words wouldn’t leave my head. They played in a loop, over and over, like a song I couldn’t shut off.
Two- Mom and Coby were coming home. And as awful as it sounded, I wasn’t happy about it.
It wasn’t that I didn’t love them. But with Mom in the house, Damien and I wouldn’t have this freedom. The screeching sound of cars pulling into the driveway broke my thoughts.
I rushed to my balcony, gripping the railing as I watched Mom and Coby step out of the car. The moment the doors shut, the servants hurried forward, gathering their bags. And for a moment-just a moment- my sadness faded.
Because Mom was glowing. She looked so happy. Radiant. And so did Coby. For a second, I wondered if they’d booked another sibling for me and Damien during that honeymoon. Then I shook my head. Yeah, unlikely. Damien and I were already a handful. Especially with what we were doing behind their backs.
I took a deep breath, straightened my dress, and walked downstairs to greet them. The moment I stepped into the foyer, my eyes found Damien. He was lounging on the couch, scrolling through his phone, completely unbothered by the fact that our parents had just arrived home.
Of course.
Before I could glare at him, the front door swung open, and Mom’s eyes lit up the second she saw me.
“Hey, my cutie pie!” She rushed forward, pulling me into a tight hug. A smile spread across my lips as I melted into her embrace.
“Hey,” I whispered. “Hope you had fun on your honeymoon.” A chuckle slipped past my lips as she pulled away.
Her cheeks turned pink. “Hailey!” She gave me an incredulous look.
I raised my hands in mock innocence. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
Before Mom could respond, Coby walked up and wrapped me in a hug. “Hey, little princess.”
I grinned. “Hey, Coby. How have you been?”
“Good. And you?”
“Same,” I replied. “Hope Mom took good care of you.”
His grin turned mischievous as he glanced at her. “Oh, trust me, she took very good care of me.”
Mom turned beet red. I choked back a laugh. She opened her mouth, probably to scold him, but before she could, Coby’s eyes scanned the room. And landed on Damien. Who was still sitting on the couch. Still scrolling through his phone. Still pretending he hadn’t heard every word.
God. Why did he have to be like this?
“Well, if you’d bother to come and greet your dad, Mr. Damien, I’d appreciate it.” Coby’s voice was firm, but there was a slight edge of humor to it as he looked toward Damien.
I expected Damien to shoot back some cold response, but instead, he turned his gaze toward Coby and Mom, his expression shifting.
“Dad, you two just came back from your honeymoon. Probably spent the best days of your lives,” he said, amusement dancing in his eyes. “Don’t expect me to greet you like you’ve conquered the world, when you might’ve just added to my responsibilities with all that… babymaking stuff. So, you two certainly owe me an explanation. We need to have a talk about that. I am not sharing my inheritance if that’s what Madison’s plan is.”
A laugh bubbled up in my throat, and I pressed my lips together to keep it in. Coby, however, was flabbergasted-he didn’t seem to expect it.
Mom, on the other hand, being far too used to Damien’s cold demeanor, didn’t catch his joke and quickly hurried to clear it up. “Oh no, honey, we have no intention of planning a child, trust me,” she said, “You and Hailey are already enough for us.”
I couldn’t hold back the laugh this time, and it slipped out freely. Damien scratched his nose to cover his own chuckle while Coby looked at my mom as if she were the most innocent thing he’d ever seen.
“You are cute, Madison.”
Coby kissed her on the cheek, making me laugh harder.
Mom glanced at me cluelessly, and that was it-I lost it.
“Mom, he’s just joking.”
Her eyes blinked, trying to catch up, before her cheeks flushed red again. I chuckled. “It’s okay, Mom,” I said, tapping her shoulder. “It happens to everyone.”
“Sorry, Madison,” Damien said with a soft chuckle as he stood up and casually walked to the breakfast table, taking his seat and immediately barking an order to the maid for black coffee.
“Come on, let’s have breakfast first,” Coby said, trying to ease Mom’s embarrassment. As they sat down, Damien pushed out the chair next to his and gave me a look. The message was clear: I was sitting next to him.
A small smirk tugged at his lips as I reluctantly slid into the chair beside him. He pulled it closer with a satisfying click, and I quickly glanced at Mom and Coby to see if they noticed.
But no-thankfully, they were lost in their own conversation.
I let out a heavy sigh, but it quickly turned into a gasp as his hand landed on my thigh. Mom and Coby, still distracted, glanced at me, their concern immediately apparent.
“Are you okay, honey?” Mom asked, her brow furrowed.
“What happened, sweetie?” Coby’s voice was gentle, worry creeping into it.
I quickly recovered, shrugging it off with a laugh. “Nothing… Just a little hiccup.”
It took them both a second, but they relaxed, their attention drifting back to their own discussion.
I turned slowly toward Damien, my voice low and filled with quiet frustration. “Damien,” I began, glancing at him from the corner of my eye, “What are you doing?”
“What do you think I’m doing?” he replied, his voice a smooth tease as he squeezed my thigh, his fingers moving just a little higher.
I slapped my hand down under the table to grab his, my fingers tightening around his wrist in an attempt to stop him. I shot him a glare that spoke louder than words: Don’t fucking do it.
His smirk widened, clearly enjoying the tension he was creating. He knew damn well if he wanted to, he could overpower me, but he wasn’t interested in that just yet. He wanted to savor my torment.
“Move your hand away, Damien.” I glared at him, my voice barely controlled.
“I won’t, Bunny.”
“What the-”
“Did you two bond well?” Coby’s sudden question nearly choked me.
I glanced at Coby and then at my mom.
Bond well?
I had no idea what to make of that. Because if what we had been doing could be called bonding, then I’d say-we surely bonded way too well.
“Well, that I can…” I struggled to find the words. “Um, I don’t-”
“Oh, we bonded way too well,” Damien interrupted with a chuckle. His tone made my stomach drop-it sounded like he was deliberately giving something away.
“Oh really?” Mom didn’t take it the way Damien intended, but Coby? His expression was unreadable. He didn’t smile like Mom. Instead, he glanced between me and Damien, his face stiff, trying to hold his composure.
God, Damien was about to get us both fucked.
“Yes, Madison,” Damien grinned, “We don’t hate each other anymore. Isn’t that great news?”
“That’s a really good news!” Mom clapped her hands together, oblivious. “Although I don’t believe that you two hated each other. It was just simple disliking, happens to all step-siblings.”
Oh, Mom, trust me-this? What Damien and I have? Doesn’t happen to all step-siblings.
I struggled to keep my smile in place, but Coby’s hesitant voice broke through. “Well, that’s good that you two are getting… along.” He raised a piece of toast to his mouth, chewing slowly, his eyes still darting between us.
And just like that, the conversation drifted away. They finished their breakfast, and soon enough, they excused themselves to freshen up. Now, it was just Damien and me left in the hall.
His large, warm hand still rested on my thigh, and the weight of it was too much.
Before I could give him a piece of my mind for what he’d done, Damien leaned closer, his breath hot against my ear, making my skin tingle. Some of the servants looked our way, but they quickly turned their attention elsewhere.
“My room, right now.”
The command in his voice sent a shiver down my spine, and my pulse raced.