Chapter 61

Chapter 61
Ava’s POV

There was something strange about the silence that morning—too thick, too heavy—like the walls of Damien’s mansion were holding their breath. Even the staff moved differently, whispering in corners, walking as if afraid to disturb something fragile.

Maybe it was because Damien hadn’t spoken to me properly since last night. Maybe it was because he seized my phone and left me feeling like a caged bird. Or maybe it was simply because I woke up with that uneasy feeling again, the one that whispered, “You do not belong here.’’

I tightened my grip on the tray I carried as I walked down the hallway, reminding myself why I was here, why I agreed to this ridiculous contract in the first place. Ninety-nine days. Just ninety-nine days and I’d disappear from Damien’s world forever.

If only my heart would cooperate.

I forced myself to breathe and push down the anxiety swirling inside me. “It’s fine,” I muttered under my breath as I approached the dining room. “Just serve breakfast. Just get through today.”

But the moment I stepped into the room, I froze.

Damien wasn’t alone.

Sitting opposite him, legs elegantly crossed, wearing a fitted white dress that screamed money and confidence, was a woman I had only ever seen in magazines and on fashion billboards.

Vanessa Hayes.

Damien’s ex-fiancée.

My throat tightened painfully. She smiled sweetly at Damien, brushing her fingers through her glossy auburn curls as she laughed at something he said. A laugh too polished, too rehearsed. The kind meant to impress.

The kind meant to claim.

Damien looked irritated, or maybe just tired, but it didn’t matter—he hadn’t asked her to leave.

“Good morning,” Vanessa said first, her voice smooth like warm honey. When her eyes landed on me, something sharp flickered beneath her perfect smile. “And you must be the help.”

My fingers twitched on the tray, but I forced a polite smile. “Good morning,” I said quietly and walked toward Damien.

His eyes softened the moment he saw me. “Ava.”

Just my name. But the way he said it—gentle, almost relieved—sent warmth rushing into places I didn’t want it to reach.

Vanessa noticed.

She didn’t like it.

Her smile thinned. “Damien, darling, aren’t you going to introduce us?”

The word darling clung to the air like poison.

Damien’s jaw tightened. “Vanessa, this is Ava. She—”

“I know who she is.” Vanessa waved a manicured hand lazily. “Your little… arrangement.”

Blood rushed to my ears. I almost dropped the tray.

Damien’s tone sharpened. “Vanessa.”

“What?” she said, widening her eyes innocently. “I’m just acknowledging what everyone already knows.”

Heat crawled up my neck. I placed the tray gently on the table, careful not to spill anything, careful not to show just how badly her words pierced me.

Vanessa rose from her seat, her heels clicking softly on the marble floor as she walked toward me. She smelled like expensive perfume—the type you couldn’t even afford to sample unless your salary had several zeros attached.

Up close, she was even more breathtaking. Perfect. Untouched by life’s hardship. The kind of woman someone like Damien was expected to marry.

The kind of woman I would never be.

“So,” Vanessa murmured, stopping just inches from me. Her eyes swept over me deliberately—my simple hairstyle, my plain clothes, my trembling hands. “This is the replacement.”

Replacement.

My stomach dropped.

“Enough.” Damien’s voice echoed across the room, commanding and stern. “Vanessa, sit down. Now.”

She didn’t. She tilted her head, still inspecting me like I was something she found on the bottom of her shoe.

“You know,” she said softly, her lips curling into a mocking smile, “you’re quite… brave.”

I blinked. “Brave?”

“Yes.” Her gaze glittered with cruelty. “To step into a role you’re unfit for.”

My chest tightened. I looked at Damien instinctively, waiting—hoping—for him to shut her down. To defend me. To say something.

But he didn’t.

And that silence cut deeper than anything Vanessa could ever say.

Her smile widened, satisfied. “Lovely to meet you, Ava.”

She returned to her seat with the effortless grace of someone who believed the world existed for her comfort. Damien’s eyes flicked to me again, apologetic but conflicted, as if he didn’t know how to handle the storm she brought with her.

And that—her presence, his silence—shook something inside me.

“Damien,” I whispered. “I didn’t know you were expecting a guest.”

“I wasn’t,” he replied.

Vanessa laughed. “Oh please. Don’t make the girl feel worse. I’m always welcome here.”

I gripped the edge of the table. “Do you… want me to leave you both alone?”

Before Damien could speak, Vanessa did. “Yes.”

Damien glared at her. “Ava, stay—”

But his voice was drowned out by the loud, invisible truth ringing in the room:

She belonged here.

I didn’t.

Still, I nodded stiffly and forced myself to stand by the wall, giving them space even though it suffocated me.

Vanessa placed a hand on Damien’s wrist. “I missed you,” she said softly, her voice dripping with emotion. “You look thinner. Have you been taking your supplements? You never listen to anyone.”

Damien pulled his hand away, but not fast enough. The contact stabbed at something in my chest.

“I’m fine,” he muttered. “And we’re not doing this, Vanessa.”

“Oh but we are.” Her eyes sparkled. “You know we have unfinished business.”

I stared at the floor, each word a blade carving into my insecurity. Unfinished business. Ex-fiancée. History. Love.

All things I did not have with him.

Damien ran a hand over his jaw, clearly uncomfortable. But discomfort wasn’t enough. Not enough to tell her to leave. Not enough to tell her that the past had no place in this house anymore.

Not enough to protect me.

“Ava,” Vanessa called again, her voice teasing. “Be a dear and get me a glass of water.”

Her eyes met mine. Challenging me. Daring me to react. To show even a flicker of emotion so she could twist it into weakness.

I swallowed hard and nodded. “Of course.”

Every step I took away from them felt like peeling off a layer of myself. When I returned with the water, Vanessa accepted it without even looking at me.

“You see, Damien?” she said, sipping gracefully. “Some things never change. You still pick them innocent and desperate.”

My grip tightened around the glass tray.

Damien slammed his palm on the table. “I said enough!”

Vanessa’s smile didn’t fade. If anything, it grew sharper.

“Yes,” she murmured, placing the glass down. “Enough… for now.”

She stood and smoothed her dress. “I’ll be back tomorrow. We have much to talk about.”

Then she turned to me, her voice lowering. “And don’t worry, Ava. I won’t bite.”
She leaned closer, whispering in my ear—
“Not unless you give me a reason.”

Cold shivers ran down my spine.

She walked out with the confidence of someone certain she had already won.

And as the doors closed behind her, I realized the uneasy silence from this morning wasn’t in my head.

It was a warning.

And I hadn’t understood it until now.

Vanessa Hayes was back.

And she wasn’t leaving without destroying something—

Maybe Damien.

Maybe us.

Maybe… me.