Hidden Feelings

Hidden Feelings
POV: Isla

My heart was still pounding with fear from the threat of Selene’s words, but then I noticed something else—

Damian’s shirt sleeve was soaked again, blood spreading fast from the bandage which had torn loose during the drama with Selene.

“Damian,” I gasped, turning him to face me. “You’re bleeding.”

He didn’t flinch or look down at it, as if it were an inconvenience rather than pain. My hands were already pulling him down into the bed.

“Sit down,” my voice was sharp, but it wasn’t a command. For once he didn’t argue or disagree, he lowered himself onto the edge of the bed. And his eyes never left me for a second.

I grabbed the first aid kit from the bedside, my heart pounding like a loud drum as I sat beside him. My fingers shook as I reached for the bandage and slowly opened it.

His blood smeared warm across my fingertips, and my chest tightened so hard I thought it might break. “You’re really bleeding a lot….” I whispered, more to myself than him.

But he said nothing, just watching me with those dark grey eyes. I forced myself to focus, using the antiseptic and cotton pad to treat the wound. I pressed the fresh gauze gently against his wound, wincing when he hissed softly through his teeth.

“Sorry,” I murmured, and I looked up to see his eyes still stuck on me. My hand lingered against his skin longer than it needed to, making sure that the wound was properly cleaned before pulling away.

I swallowed hard, forcing my attention back to the neat, careful movements of wrapping the bandage even though his eyes were causing me not to concentrate.

He didn't even blink or look away for even a second, as if he was trying to read me. To drag the words from my chest without me speaking them. Silence stretched heavy and thick between us, broken only by my ragged breaths. 

“What did you mean by what you said?”

His voice cut through the room. My eyes met his to see that he was still staring at me, despite the exhaustion written across his face. “The words you said,” he pressed, softer this time. “About loving me.”

The confession replayed in my head over and over again. Part of me wanted to repeat it, to admit to him and tell him that every word I said about my feelings was true.

But then my father’s face flashed in my mind. The stranger’s warning and the vow I made to myself to destroy Damian Cross.

I swallowed hard, the words stuck in my throat as I forced my eyes to look away from his. I pressed tighter on the bandage so I wouldn’t have to see his eyes as I spoke.

“I….I didn’t mean it,” I whispered.

I steadied my voice, trying to make the bitter lie taste sweet on my tongue.“I only said it to get rid of Selene. She was being jealous and pathetic, and I knew those words would shut her up….that’s all it was.”

For a moment, an instant flicker of something shifted in his face—sadness, hurt. But he covered it up fast as he leaned back, the mask slamming into place.

“Good.” His voice cut through me like steel, “because you can’t afford to feel anything for me, Isla. Not love or hope about this fake relationship of ours.”

“If you do, it’ll destroy you. And I won’t be the one to pick up your pieces.”

The words should have shattered me, maybe they did. But I refused to let him see me hurting from what he said as I straightened, forcing a brittle laugh past the lump in my throat.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I shot back,  “I won’t make the mistake of falling in love with you. I don’t want any part of this world of yours, Damian….”

“…..The blood. The shadows that follow you everywhere. You warned me, remember? I listened and I’ve learnt my lesson.”

His jaw tightened, a cold and merciless expression on his face coming into light. “Whatever this is between us,” I continued, every word cutting me deep as I spoke.”

“It’s just pleasure. Just stolen moments and nothing more. It doesn’t mean anything to me.”

He leaned forward, his eyes dark as a storm. “Good,” he said again, his voice lower and more dangerous this time.“Because if it ever meant something, I’d ruin you. And you don’t deserve that.”

I swallowed the lump that threatened to form in my throat, my heart screaming the opposite of every word that came out from my lips.“I can’t wait,”

I forced the words out, though my voice threatened to crack. “For this fake marriage to be over so that I’ll get my freedom and never have to see your face again.”

Something in him snapped because his eyes immediately flashed with something raw—anger, pain, maybe both—but he covered it up before I could understand it.

“You’re done here,” he growled, nodding toward my hands still on his arm. “The wound is bandaged. I don’t need you.”

“Damian….”

“Leave.” 

His tone was commanding and final.

“But you need to rest. If you don’t….”

“I said leave!” 

His scream thundered through the room, shattering what little hope was left of me. I jerked back, the force of it slamming into me harder than Selene’s slap ever had. 

But I forced myself to nod as I turned towards the door before he could see the tears threatening to spill. The door shut behind me with a quiet click, and I pressed my back against it.

Why had he gotten so angry? Why had my words about my freedom made his mask slip for just a moment? I walked down the hall, my hands still shaking at the thought of his scream.

My mind is still refusing to let go of the image of Damian’s face twisted in something he hadn’t meant to show me.

Could it be?

Could Damian Cross—

The monster I vowed to destroy—already falling in love with me?