Chapter 5

After Mia hurried away to deal with an emergency at work, Serena found herself wandering through the shopping mall with Damien trailing a few steps behind. She hated how calm he looked, as though following her from one store to another was the easiest job in the world.

She slowed her pace when they reached a small coffee shop tucked between two luxury boutiques. The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee drifted through the air, tempting shoppers inside.

"I need coffee," she announced. Damien gave a small nod and followed her in.

The shop was busy, but Serena's attention landed on a handsome young man sitting alone near the window. He looked up just as she walked in, and the smile that spread across his face told her he had already noticed her.

An idea slipped into her mind. She walked over to his table without a second thought.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked with a warm smile.

The man quickly shook his head.

"Not anymore." Serena laughed softly before taking the empty chair across from him.

"I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Not at all. I was just wishing someone beautiful would save me from drinking coffee alone." She rested her chin on her hand, pretending to be charmed.

"That's quite a line."

"It worked, didn't it?"

"Maybe." From the corner of her eye, she noticed Damien standing near the counter, watching the room instead of her. His face remained as unreadable as ever, and that only encouraged her.

The conversation flowed easily for a few minutes until the man leaned forward with an easy smile.

"I don't usually do this, but I'd really like to see you again. Can I have your number?" Serena opened her handbag, taking her time as she reached for her phone.

Before she could find it, a familiar figure stepped between them.

"She's leaving." The stranger looked up, clearly annoyed.

"We're in the middle of a conversation." Damien met his gaze without the slightest change in expression.

"Not anymore." Something in his calm voice made the man hesitate. He glanced at Damien, then toward the entrance, and finally forced a polite smile.

"Maybe another time." Without another word, he stood and walked away. Serena stared after him before turning sharply to Damien.

"What was that supposed to mean?"

"It means we're leaving." She folded her arms across her chest.

"I was talking to him."

"He wasn't interested in talking." Her eyebrows drew together.

"And how exactly would you know that?" She asked.

"He looked over your shoulder every few seconds."

"So?"

"So either he was nervous..." Damien said as he started walking toward the exit, "...or he was waiting for someone."

Serena replayed the conversation in her head as she followed him outside. Now that she thought about it, the man had glanced behind her several times, almost as if he had been expecting someone to walk through the door.

The realization settled uneasily in her chest. Damien hadn't interrupted because he was jealous.

He had seen something she hadn't. That only irritated her more.

The moment they stepped back into the mall, Damien's phone vibrated. He answered the call and turned slightly away, speaking quietly with someone from his security team.

Serena watched him for a second before a slow smile crept across her face.

"Let's see you keep up now," she murmured. She slipped into the crowd, weaving between shoppers until she disappeared through another exit leading to the parking lot.

The warm afternoon breeze brushed against her face as she hurried toward her car, pleased with herself.

She had barely taken a dozen steps when a familiar voice drifted behind her.

"Having fun?" She froze. Slowly, she turned around. Damien stood a few feet away with his arms folded across his chest, looking as calm as he had all day.

Her mouth fell open.

"You put a tracker on me."

"No."

"Then how did you find me so fast?" Instead of answering, he lifted something in his hand.

Her phone. Serena instinctively reached into her handbag before letting out a quiet groan.

"You left it in the coffee store." She closed her eyes for a brief second.

"You lasted three minutes," Damien said. She snatched the phone from his hand with as much dignity as she could manage before brushing past him.

"I don't like you." A tiny pause followed.

"I know." For some reason, that answer annoyed her even more.

……

The drive home was unusually quiet.

Serena rested her elbow against the window and watched the city slide past, but every now and then, her eyes drifted toward the man sitting beside the driver.

Damien hadn't spoken since they left the mall.

He sat with the same straight posture he always carried, his attention fixed on the road ahead as though he never allowed himself the luxury of relaxing.

She found herself studying him without meaning to.

A thin scar traced the edge of his jaw, disappearing beneath the collar of his black shirt. There were faint bruises across his knuckles, old enough to have faded but fresh enough to suggest they hadn't been there long. Even the dark circles beneath his eyes seemed impossible to ignore now, making her wonder when he had last slept through an entire night.

For someone who always looked so calm, he carried the quiet weight of someone who had fought more battles than he ever spoke about.

The thought lingered in her mind. Who had he been before he became a bodyguard?

Had he always looked this guarded, or had life taught him to hide every emotion behind that unreadable face?

The questions gathered one after another, settling in the silence between them.

She almost asked.

The words reached the tip of her tongue before she swallowed them back. Damien didn't seem like a man who welcomed personal questions, and she wasn't ready to admit she was curious enough to ask.

Instead, she turned toward the window and watched the afternoon sun stretch across the passing streets.

When the car finally pulled into the Whitmore estate, Damien stepped out first and opened her door as though nothing unusual had happened that day.

Serena accepted his hand without thinking, then quickly let go the moment her feet touched the ground.

He didn't seem to notice. Or maybe he did and simply chose not to react. As she walked toward the mansion, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

Damien Cole was the most stubborn, frustrating, impossible man she had ever met.

He answered every tease with calm silence, every challenge with quiet confidence, and every attempt to rattle him only seemed to make him more composed.

Most people would have given up by now. Serena Whitmore wasn't most people.

If Damien insisted on surrounding himself with walls of ice, then she would enjoy every second of trying to break through them.

Whether it took days, weeks, or months, she wasn't backing down.