Chapter 3

“Nothing,” Damian let out matter-of-factly.

Knowing him, I was half sure that this detachment was nothing but a facade… He wasn’t as composed as he thought he was, and I might not know a lot about reading the room, but even I could manage when I put my mind to it.

“And the truth?” I raised an eyebrow at him challengingly.

“You’ve become better at reading people, princess,” he didn’t hesitate to compliment me.

I blushed and preened under his praise and soft blue eyes.

“You’re deflecting,” I had some difficulty answering him without stammering on the words.

“True,” he nodded gravely. He then heaved a sigh before voicing out his request, “How about you promise me you won’t get angry?”

“Huh?” I was dumbfounded.

Surely, it couldn’t be that bad, could it?

What had he done?

“I can’t promise you that,” I shook my head negatively.

“I understand,” was all he offered at that point before silence settled on us once more.

I sipped my hot cocoa, and maoned in delight.

“Keep the hot cocoa coming, and I won’t get angry…” was how I compromised.

“I can work with that,” his small smile took my breath away.

Why had I refused to marry him again? The man was literally any woman’s dream come true, and I was no exception… Why did I have to be stubborn again?

Three years ago, I didn’t know Liam. I hadn’t even met him yet. I wasn’t in love with anyone either, but I was enamored with Damian. The same could not be said about him though. He never showed me an ounce of care outside what one would do for their best friend… and I refused to be a pawn in my own marriage. I refused to have a merger for a marriage.

I wanted romance. True, pure, unadulterated love… Was that too much to ask?

“I knew,” he declared gravely.

“Knew what?” I tilted my head to the side, even as I licked some cocoa off my top lip.

“I knew that he was cheating on you.”

That statement of his took my breath away as well, but not for the same reason… hell, if anything, I wished he wouldn’t speak.

Why did I have to be such a curious cookie?

Heavens have mercy, how long had I been blind to Liam’s faults?

“I also knew he had every intention of meeting that woman while you were away… I just made it so you’d find them in bed together.”

A tear escaped my left eye. Then, a second ran down my right cheek… and soon, I was crying my heart out once more.

“Is this your idea of revenge?” I let out in between sobs and hiccups.

“Revenge?” He tilted his head to the side quizzically, even as he rose to his feet and pulled me into his embrace. “What’s wrong, princess? He isn’t worth your tears, you know?”

“If not revenge, then why would you do that to me?” I growled at him, even as I cried harder.

“I’d much rather you get angry at me than cry over that spineless man,” he heaved a sigh, hugging me tighter as he did.

“You’re heartless, Damian,” I growled once more, even as I put some distance between us, shaking my head in disapproval at him.

“Perhaps,” he agreed readily. “Perhaps I am heartless and ruthless, but not to you. Never to you.”

“Really now? Explain why you’d hurt me so then!” I all but yelled at him.

Gone were the tears… and all there was now was the burning anger.

“Hurting you was never my intention, but you needed to open your eyes to his faults, to his betrayal.”

“Who are you to orchestrate that though? Who do you think you are?” I demanded.

“Would you have rather married the coward before finding out?” He retorted coldly, scoffing.

“You’re insufferable…” I hit him with my open palm on his chest, and he let me, allowing me to vent out my anger on him without budging.

And I hated that he didn’t react and that his embrace didn’t let up… Damian Stokes was something else alright.

“Why? Because I know you so well?”

And he did have a mouth on him that made me see red too.

“Right,” I scoffed, rolling my eyes, before wiping my tears away. “You don’t know me half as well as you think you do…”

“You love your coffee strong with one sugar, but when it comes to tea you’d rather have it unsweetened. Hot cocoa is your favorite beverage, even if many consider it a comfort dessert. You prefer lilies over roses. Your favorite perfume is Dahlia Divin of Givenchy. You’ve grown fond of a bearded man for some reason, but I know that you used to favor clean-shaved men. Should I go on?”

“Fine, you used to know me…” I sighed, refusing to agree with everything he said, for that was totally spot-on.

“And that’s how I knew that you wouldn’t backtrack unless the truth hit you in the face…”

The words brought back the memory of Liam hitting me across the face, and I stiffened at once.

“He hit me,” I uttered the words in a little bit of a daze.

“And he’ll pay for that,” Damian vowed solemnly while catching my chin in a gentle hold, making me look into his eyes.

I could understand how many women fell for this man… He wasn’t as cold as the rumors, even if he could be heartless indeed.

I clicked my tongue at him and myself both, refusing to be yet another one of his fallen victims, before telling him with a small cryptic smile, “Revenge is best served cold, you know?”

“What do you have in mind?” He smiled back, the smile chilly, cold, and almost wicked.

“First things first, what are the funds at my disposal like?”

“I will back you up with everything I have. And needless to say that Cross Industries will too.” He stated to which I simply nodded, having expected nothing less to be completely honest. Then, he added something that could have made me stumble, if not for his arms around me, “I’ve already acquired the company where you work.”

I gaped, in utter and complete disbelief for a moment there.

“Close that mouth, lest you want to catch flies,” he let out in teasing.

Recovering, I stuck my tongue out at him, before telling him in earnest, “Send word that the new CEO is meant to arrive tomorrow.”

“On it,” he said even as he grabbed his phone. “Who will that be?”

“You,” I drawled in a duh tone of voice.

“Lovely,” he agreed readily, as if he had no care in the world.

“I want you to watch with your own eyes how I can and will ruin everyone who hurts me.”

Through that statement, I was trying to tell him that I was no longer the spoiled brat who always relied on him… even if he did make the revenge possible in his own way, I had more than grown enough to be able to handle the likes of Liam freaking Summers on my own.

“Is this meant to be a warning, princess?” He raised an eyebrow at me.

“Maybe,” I shrugged.

“I would never hurt you.”

Again, he sounded sincere… and yet, I just couldn’t bring myself to believe his words.

“So they all say.”

He grunted before typing on his phone a few words.

Let the games begin.