14:48 – Jenn:What!?
14:49 – Daisy:Yes, we spent half the night there alone.
14:49 – Jenn:OMG!! That’s so cool! You have to tell me everything.
14:50 – Daisy:Yes!
14:50 – Jenn:You know I’ll still kick his ass if he pulls any more shit.
14:51 – Daisy:I know… love you!
14:51 – Jenn:Love you too!
I had barely set my phone aside when it vibrated again.
14:53 – Damian:What are you doing?
14:53 – Daisy:Working.
14:54 – Damian:Much to do?
14:55 – Daisy:Quite a bit. What about the hearing?
14:56 – Damian:I’ll pick you up at 6 p.m. We’re going out to dinner and then to the NYX.
The candlelight on the restaurant table flickered against the polished curve of my wineglass. Outside, rain tapped softly against the windows, a muted rhythm beneath the low hum of music drifting through the room. I looked across at Damian. His eyes never left me—steady and intent—as he lifted his glass, took a slow sip, then set it carefully back down.
“Will you tell me what came out of the meeting with the lawyers?”
“Mason’s lawyers want $850,000,” he said. “But that bastard won’t get a dime from me. If it goes to court, we play the hotel footage and he eats the charge. If the press gets it, he’s finished.”
“Would you testify?”
I hesitated, then slowly shook my head. “Only if there’s no other way. I want it behind me.”
“I’ll stand by you—whatever you decide.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, heat stirring in my chest.
A waitress arrived with bread and an appetizer platter. I spread a thin layer of truffle pâté across a slice and took a small bite.
“It was clever of you to use the recordings against him. I doubt Mason will risk court. You approach everything with such strategy,” I said, sipping my wine.
Damian only shrugged. “That’s why I’ve come this far.”
“I’ve wondered how you became who you are now—so much control, strength, power. Was it always like this? Did it come from growing up with the Millers?”
He speared a shrimp, chewed thoughtfully, then set down his fork. “The Millers taught me that discipline, hard work, and perseverance can get you almost anywhere. But that wasn’t all. They also made me understand that sometimes you have to be ruthless, unyielding, if you want to reach your goals.”
He said it like fact—then looked away, as if the cost still had teeth.
“That sounds like a heavy weight to carry as a child.”
“It made me stronger.”
“Do you remember much of your life before them?”
“Only fragments. I remember once, when I was very young, I spilled a beer mug. My father lost it. He beat me so hard I couldn’t sit for a week. Another time, maybe when I was four or five, he lifted me out of the car, set me on a bench by the highway, and told me to wait there until they came back. My mother didn’t even step out of the car. She didn’t say goodbye. I never saw them again.”
