“It’s lovely to meet Damian’s friends,” she purred, silk hiding the barb:What does he want with you?
Damian nodded, and she slid into business talk—projects worth millions tossed off like nothing. I stayed quiet. Each laugh, each polished remark, shrank me smaller.
Damian gestured toward the group opposite. “They were at the gala too. They want to hear about the woman with such incredible talent.”
So I told them. I tried to sound steady, to hide the cracks splitting inside me. They listened politely, but behind their eyes was disbelief.How could someone like her matter?
I searched Damian, but he was absorbed in another conversation. Loneliness swept through me, sharper than the bass rattling the room.
“Excuse me for a moment.” My knees wobbled as I walked to the bathroom. Inside, I leaned against the sink, breathing hard. What was I thinking? That I belonged here? That I was special?
Thedoor creaked. Perfume hit before I saw her. Luisa. Her smile was gone, her eyes cut to shards. She stepped beside me at the mirror as if I didn’t exist.
“Daisy, right? You’re here with Damian? His new employee?”
“We’re together,” I said. The words slipped out before I could stop them. A mistake. The second they left, regret slammed me. We weren’t really a couple, not in the way that mattered.
“In your dreams,” she smiled, venom under the sugar.
The sting landed harder than I wanted to admit. My chest tightened, but I forced composure.
“I don’t care what you believe,” I said coolly, stepping to leave.
She blocked me, quick and deliberate. “He fucked me in his office a few days ago,” she whispered. “And he wants to again.”
My eyes sharpened. “I don’t believe you.”
Luisa laughed softly, shaking her head like I was a child lost in fairytales. “Check for yourself. Left drawer. Black foil. I made him use a condom. He wanted it bare.”
The words slid under my skin like ice. “You’re lying.” My throat tightened, breath strangled.
“Naive,” she breathed, so close I could taste her perfume. “Men like Damian need real women, not lapdogs who think one lucky night makes them special.”
Something cracked in me. Tears burned, but I refused to let them fall. Her smile widened, satisfied.
“He’ll use you. Just like all the others.”
Pain seared my palms where my nails dug deep. “Get out of my way,” I hissed, shoving past her.
Outside, the air felt suffocating. Each breath dragged me deeper into the spiral. What if she was right? What if I was nothing but a toy he’d throw away?
By the time I reached the lounge, Ference was waiting, steady as stone.
“Mr. Miller is in his office,” he said.
I nodded mutely and drifted to the bar, Ference shadowing me.
Damian would never belong only to me.
I would never be enough.
I would never fit his world.
Luisa’s poison coiled tighter. The pain was unbearable, raw.
I downed the drink in front of me, the burn tearing down my throat. It felt good. Real.
I ordered two more. Ference lingered, watching, concern etched in his silence.
