Chapter 20
Back in Hirland, a storm was raging.
Callie stood in front of the towering Kane Group as rain streamed down her cheeks, mixed
with her bitter tears.
Moments ago, security had dragged her out and fired her from the last job she had managed to secure. Her phone buzzed relentlessly with venomous messages from unknown numbers.
“Whore! Since you seduced Kieran and betrayed the Kanes, karma’s finally getting back at you,
huh?”
“Your sex tape is all over the internet, yet you’ve got the gall to show yourself!”
She tapped on the trending topics with trembling hands and was bombarded with blaring headlines that made her eyes sting.
“Breaking News! Callie Frost and Kieran Slate Caught on Hotel Surveillance Footage; Former CEO of Kane Group Cheated on for Years!”
“Exposed! Callie Frost Fakes Pregnancy for Marital Fraud, Steals Kane Group Secrets With Kieran Slate!”
In the video, she and Kieran could be clearly seen kissing in a hotel hallway. Her soft giggles rang clear. “Once Damien marries me, the whole Kane family will be ours.”
Callie slammed her phone shut and dug her nails into her palms in fury. “You’re fucking ruthless, Damien…”
She should have known that with Damien’s usual methods, he’d never let her slip away unpunished. Still, she never imagined that he would destroy her by humiliating her before the whole world.
She dialed Kieran’s number, only to receive a cold, mechanical response. “Sorry, the number you’ve dialed is not in service…”
Kieran had vanished too. Now, she was left to rot alone.
At the Kane residence, Damien stood outside his father, Sebastian’s, study. He listened to the crash of shattered glass and Sebastian’s furious roar. “You ingrate! How could you burn the Kane family to the ground just for a woman?”
Damien expressionlessly opened the door and saw Sebastian sitting slumped in a chair with an ashen face. “Dad…”
“How dare you call me that?” Sebastian grabbed the newspaper and hurled it at him. “Look! Open your eyes and take a good look! Everyone in Novara is now laughing at us! That bitch Callie wrecked our stock price, and as if that wasn’t enough, you sold her sex tape to the press!
In response, Damien let out a cold laugh. “She deserved it.”
“Deserved it?” Sebastian shot to his feet and pointed a trembling finger at him. “What about you? Don’t you think you deserve it too? Juliet gave you eight years of her love, but what did you take her as?”
The words hit Damien like a lightning bolt.
Laughing in fury, Sebastian continued, “To think you regretted it and flew all the way to Dunmoor for her… Well, it’s too late! The Marlowes will never give you a chance! Henry announced that if you ever show up near Juliet again, he’ll make sure you can’t survive in Novara!”
Before Damien could reply, Sebastian’s face twisted in agony. He clutched at his chest and collapsed onto the floor with a dull thud.
“D-Dad!”
The wail of the ambulance siren tore through the night, and everything happened in just a split second.
On the way to the hospital, Sebastian was pronounced dead from a sudden heart attack. The Kanes’ last pillar had fallen.
A month later, in one of Novara’s poorest districts, Damien curled up on the floor of a shabby apartment. He stared blankly at the news alerts continuously popping up on his phone.
“Kane Group Officially Changes Hands as Slate Group Takes Control!”
“Disgraced Heir of the Kanes Wanders Streets as Empire Crumbles!”
He expressionlessly locked the screen and reached for his swollen left leg, which bore a jagged wound from being beaten by a gang the night before. They had said things like, “Well, well, why if it isn’t Mr. Kane?” and “Back then, you bullied Ms. Marlowe for Callie. Now look at you, groveling like a stray dog.”
Damien recognized them as the street punks he had fought with when Juliet was cornered in an alley back then. Sure enough, karma acted fast.
Muttering a curse under his breath, he forced himself to his feet and dragged his injured leg out the door.
Chapter 20
He was going to Dunmoor. He had to see Juliet one last time.
3/4
Outside Juliet’s studio, snow fell heavily.
Damien stood across the street and watched her familiar silhouette through the glass window.
She was thinner than before, with her hair casually pinned up. The butterfly tattoo behind her ear seemed to flicker under the lights.
She was working on a sketch with her head down, but she would look up every now and then to smile and chat with the man beside her. It was Nate, the man Henry had spoken so highly of.
Damien felt as though his heart had been seized by an invisible hand. He once had every bit of Juliet’s love, yet he had trampled on it.
Snow in Dunmoor poured in thick sheets.
Wrapping her coat tight around her, Juliet crossed the street briskly with her head held down. Her breath escaped her lips and quickly dissipated into the frigid air.
She had stepped out of the studio while hugging several design files close to her chest. Her fingers were red from the cold.
Suddenly, a familiar figure blocked her path. She froze and looked up to see Damien. He looked even more haggard than before. His jawline was sharp, his eyes were bloodshot, and his black coat was covered with snow. He looked like a ghost that had clawed out of hell.
“Julie.” His voice sounded hoarse like he hadn’t spoken for days.
Juliet’s fingers curled tightly around the design files, crushing the edges into a wrinkled mess. When she spoke, her voice was colder than the drifting snow. “Move.”
Damien stayed still and stared at her as if he meant to burn her into his bones. He murmured, “…I’m sorry.
”
For a moment, Juliet said nothing. Then, she started laughing until tears brimmed in her eyes.
“Damien, do you really think that all it takes is just ‘I’m sorry,’ and I’ll forgive you? Do you still think I’m the same fool who’d wait an eternity to get your attention?” Her voice was so soft that it was almost drowned out by the storm.
Damien swallowed hard and raised his hand as if to touch her, but her words froze him. “I just … wanted to see you.”
“You’ve seen me. You can leave now.” She stepped back to put some distance between them.
Chapter 20
She brushed past him to step forward, but the moment she was about to pass by him, he grabbed her wrist.
“Let go!” She frowned, trying everything she could to wrench free.
“Julie… I-I have nothing left,” he muttered in a trembling voice.
Juliet froze and turned her head to look at him, but her gaze was distant as if she were staring at a stranger. “So what? Now that you’ve lost everything, you finally remembered me and came crawling back?”
