We ended up talking late into the night. It was after eleven when we finally called it a day and headed home.
But the surprises weren’t over yet.
As I reached my apartment building, there he was.
Vincent.
Leaning against the wall like some tortured romantic lead. The second he saw me, he took a step forward, but one of Damian’s massive bodyguards blocked him immediately.
He looked genuinely offended. “They’re for me?”
I spread my arms, my face saying: Isn’t it obvious?
“Damian send them?” he asked again and sighed. “Tell them to move. We need to talk.”
His voice was calmer now, but the condescension was still there. Like talking to me was some grand favor he was graciously granting.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” I said coldly. “I’ve said everything I needed to say. The day I lef was the end of us. I’m not avoiding you or playing hard to get. I’m living my new life. And my greatest hope is that you’re nowhere in it.”
“I don’t know why you’re here, and honestly, I don’t care. But let me say it one more time – I’m never coming back to you.”
My bluntness clearly pissed him off. But surprisingly, instead of blowing up like he usually would, he kept his voice steady.
“Because you’re still mad?” he asked softly.
Without waiting for my answer, he continued, drawing his own conclusions.
“You must be mad because I got Sable pregnant, because I caused you to miscarry, because I blocked your brother’s ambulance that night.”
I didn’t deny any of it. Because he wasn’t wrong. At one point, yes, I was furious. But rather than call it anger, I’d call it disappointment. And after he failed me over and over again, I finally decided I’d had enough. I gave up.
He looked at me like a man who’d just made the hardest decision of his life. “I admit everything. I was wrong, I’ll make it up to you. Just tell me how long will it take for you to forgive me?”
I shook my head slowly. “I’m not angry anymore.”
For a brief second, his eyes lit up, like he thought there was still hope.
But then I drove the final nail in. “You’re not worth my anger.”
The words hit him like a punch in the gut. His face twisted as if he’d just swallowed glass.
“You say you’ll make up for it.” My voice sharpened. “So tell me – what kind of compensation brings back my dead child? Or my brother?”
He had no answer
I sighed, giving him one last chance. “Go home, Vincent. The best ending for us is to become complete strangers,”
5:39 pm DDDX.
But Vincent wasn’t ready to walk away.
Instead of leaving, he parked himself outside my office like a damn stalker – breakfast, lunch
—
and dinner showing up on time like clockwork. The bodyguards kept him at bay while he shouted obscenities at everyone within earshot.
One afternoon, I was walking into the office when I heard him yelling again. “You think Damian’s really gonna stand by you? All he’s done is hire these oversized rent–a–cops! The internet’s tearing you apart – your reputation’s toast! And where is he? Sitting on his damn throne, doing nothing.”
I stopped, spun around and faced him calmly. “And what exactly have you done, Vincent?”
“If you come back with me,” he said quickly, “I’ll make all this disappear. Your name will be clean overnight.”
That was the moment the final piece clicked.
“So you knew Sable was behind this?” I said.
He stayed silent, which was answer enough.
–
—
I let out a bitter laugh. The story had broken weeks ago and he who could’ve shut it down faster than anyone
let it spread. He stood by while the world tore my name apart, waiting for me to get desperate. Using it as leverage to pull me back to him. And maybe, if he succeeded, he’d use it to keep me under his thumb.
For the first time, I saw him for exactly what he was: small. Manipulative. Pathetic.
“You’re disgusting, Vincent.” My voice trembled, not with fear or sadness–but with pure revulsion.
5:39 pm DDD 257
Chapter 18
