Chapter 95 He is coming
DAMIEN
“Sure, sir. I’ll call you later,”.Marco said through the phone.
The call ended with a soft click.
For a moment I just sat there, staring blankly at the glowing screen before letting the phone fall onto my desk with a dull thud.
The silence of my office swallowed the sound.
I leaned back in my chair, exhaling a long breath that seemed to drag the exhaustion straight out of my bones.
It was late, far too late to still be working but somehow the mountain of paperwork on my desk had convinced me that sleep was optional tonight. My temples throbbed faintly, and the numbers on the contracts in front of me had started to blur together. Fatigue settled over me like a heavy coat.
“Enough,” I muttered to myself quietly.
Tomorrow could deal with the rest.
I rose from my chair, gathering the scattered files and aligning them neatly before sliding them into their folders. My movements were automatic, practiced—the routine of a man who had spent far too many nights alone in his office.
Just as I slipped the last paper into place, something broke the stillness.
Soft footsteps.
Barely audible.
My head snapped up instantly.
The sound came from somewhere down the hallway outside my office.
I stilled completely, listening.
Another faint step.
Then silence.
My eyes narrowed. The Blackwood mansion was massive, but at this hour the house should have been completely quiet. Most of the staff had long retired to their quarters, and the night guards were posted outside the estate grounds.
No one should be wandering the hallways.
A strange tension crept up my spine.
What if it’s a robber… or worse?
Someone stupid enough to break into the Blackwood mansion would regret it within minutes, but that didn’t stop my instincts from sharpening.
I moved toward the door slowly, careful not to make a sound.
Opening it just enough to slip into the hallway, I stepped out and closed it silently behind me.
The corridor stretched ahead, dimly lit by the soft golden lights fixed into the walls.
I listened again.
Nothing.
Still… something had definitely been there.
My footsteps were quiet as I moved down the hall, scanning both directions as I went. The silence deepened with every step.
Then another sound reached my ears.
A muffled one.
A soft, broken noise.
My chest tightened.
A sob.
I followed the sound quickly now, my pace quickening as it led me toward the staircase that descended to the living room.
When I reached the bottom step, I froze.
All the blood in my body seemed to drain from my face at once.
There, beside one of the couches—
Jasmine.
My tesoro.
She was curled up on the floor, her knees drawn tightly to her chest as if she were trying to make herself as small as possible. Her arms wrapped around her legs in a desperate hold, her head buried into her knees.
Her shoulders shook violently.
Each sob that tore through her small frame sounded like something ripping inside my chest.
For a moment I couldn’t breathe.
She wore one of my black shirts, the hem falling almost to her thighs, the sleeves hanging loose over her hands. The fabric swallowed her delicate frame completely.
Fluffy socks covered her feet, and beneath the oversized shirt I could see the faint outline of tights hugging her legs.
Despite the pain twisting through me at the sight, a small, helpless part of my mind registered how tiny she looked inside my clothes.
How fragile.
But mostly—
How broken.
She was trying to cry quietly.
Trying to make herself invisible.
And that shattered something inside me.
I walked toward her slowly.
Each step felt heavier than the last as her sobs echoed through the room. When I reached her, I knelt down in front of her. She didn’t even notice.
Her small hands were wrapped so tightly around her legs that her knuckles had turned white.
My chest clenched painfully.
“Tesoro…” I whispered, she kept crying softly.
Unable to take it anymore, I gently pried her arms loose and pulled her hands away. The moment her face lifted, my heart broke completely.
Her cheeks were flushed and tear-streaked.
Her nose was red, her lashes were clumped together from unshed tears still clinging to them.
Her eyes… God, her eyes.
They were swollen, exhausted.
Like she had been crying for hours.
I cupped her face carefully, wiping the dampness beneath her eyes with my thumbs.
“Hey… hey,” I murmured softly.
She didn’t respond.
She sniffled weakly, more tears slipping down her cheeks and landing against my fingers.
My throat tightened.
Seeing the woman I loved cry like this—
It destroyed me.
“Who did this to you?” I whispered, anger creeping quietly into my voice. “Tell me, tesoro. Please.”
But she only trembled.
Without thinking, I pulled her into my arms.
Her small body collapsed against my chest instantly, as if she had been waiting for someone to catch her.
I lifted her easily, settling onto the couch with her in my lap. One of my arms supported her back while the other wrapped securely around her waist.
Her legs draped over my side as I held her close.
I tightened my hold instinctively. As if I could shield her from whatever nightmare had driven her here.
“Love,” I whispered into her hair, rubbing slow circles across her back. “Talk to me.”
Her body shook again.
“I promise I’ll help you,” I continued quietly. “I swear I will. But you have to tell me what’s wrong.”
My voice cracked slightly.
“Seeing you like this… it’s killing me, Jasmine.”
She kept mumbling something under her breath.
At first I couldn’t understand it.
But slowly the words became clearer.
“H-he’s coming…”
My body stiffened.
“What?”
She shook her head weakly, tears spilling down again.
“H-he’s going to come back… and take me…” she whispered brokenly.
Her hands grabbed my shirt desperately, clutching the fabric near my collar.
“I don’t want to go,” she sobbed. “Damien please… don’t let him take me.”
My heart stopped.
Who the hell was she talking about?