108

108

Damien stared at Jessica for a second in complete disbelief. He would never have thought that Sophia’s friend would dare to do something like this and she never struck him to that she could be someone like this.

His expression hardened immediately.

“What the hell are you doing?” He questioned her, with a frown.

Jessica looked at him and took a small step forward.

“I wanted to talk to you.” She said, her voice sounding as soft as usual.

Damien frowned. “At night? In my room?” He voiced angrily.

She swallowed and then gave a strange smile.

“I thought maybe I could give you something Sophia never has.” Jessica said and winked seductively.

The meaning behind her words landed instantly. Damien’s face changed completely.

For a brief second, he simply looked at her like he genuinely couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

Then his voice turned cold. “Stop.”

Jessica’s eyes fluttered and then Damien stood up immediately.

“What exactly do you think you’re doing?” He voiced, beginning to get more irritated.

Jessica looked nervous now but still tried to continue. 

“I just thought maybe you would want…”

“Enough!” His voice came out sharp and commanding.

Jessica froze at that. She knew Damien was the cold Lord and this was her first time experiencing it.

Damien himself stared at her with obvious anger.

“Get out.” He shouted furiously.

She looked startled when she realized how far this had gone.

“Mr. Sterling, I…”

“I said get the hell out of my room.”

The force in his voice made her step back immediately. Unfortunately for her, one of the security guards happened to be nearby after hearing the raised voice.

The guard opened the door cautiously.

“Sir?”

“Escort her out.” He ordered the security guard without taking his eyes off Jessica.

Jessica’s face turned pale.

“Please wait…” she said with pleading eyes.

The guard immediately stepped in respectfully and motioned for her to leave. Jessica looked completely shaken now, but before they could move far, another bedroom door opened.

Sophia stepped into the hallway. Her expression looked sleepy and confused.

“What happened?” She asked, looking really curious.

Her eyes moved around, then froze as she saw Jessica standing outside Damien’s room dressed in clothing Sophia definitely did not remember her wearing earlier and being escorted out.

Sophia stared at her and her mind didn’t process it immediately.

Her eyes slowly widened.

“Jessica?”

Jessica looked up instantly while Sophia looked between her and Damien’s open door. Her confusion quickly turned into disbelief.

“Wait.” She said as she walked forward.

The security guard stopped on her response and she raised a hand.

“Wait.”

Sophia looked directly at Jessica this time.

“What happened?” She asked, her voice sounding softer like she was still processing things.

Jessica looked down immediately and Sophia frowned harder.

“Why were you in Damien’s room?” She questioned her, baffled at that.

Jessica stayed silent, then Sophia looked at her outfit again. Her stomach dropped slightly.

“And why are you dressed like this for goodness sake?” She voiced sharply.

Jessica suddenly covered her face, then she started crying like something had hurt her.

Sophia froze, shocked to see that coming from her. Why else would she be crying when asked what she was doing in his room in the first place and even when she thought she was sleeping.

Jessica shook her head repeatedly.

“I…”

She tried speaking but couldn’t finish. Her shoulders shook while Sophia stood there staring at her.

Sophia stood frozen in the hallway while Jessica was crying. Damien was standing inside his room with a face she rarely saw in a long while. He was looking cold, sharp and angry.

Sophia looked from one person to the other and swallowed hard.

“Jessica…”

Jessica still refused to look at her and that cause Sophia’s chest to feel like it was being squeezed. She already had a terrible feeling about what had happened but she wanted to hear it. She needed to hear it.

Before she could speak again, Damien stepped out of his room. His eyes landed on Jessica and his expression remained hard.

“She came into my room, Sophia. Can you imagine that! She came in and offered herself to me.”

Sophia’s breathing paused. Her fingers slowly curled at her sides.

Damien then looked back at Jessica and his jaw tightened.

“You come into someone’s house, pretend to be their friend and try to seduce their husband?” His voice became colder. “That’s disgusting.”

Jessica looked up immediately. Her face had changed. She had looked embarrassed, but now, she had a hard expression on. Her crying had stopped too.

She pulled her arm away from the guard and the guard immediately stepped back.

Jessica laughed; one that baffled everyone. Then she looked at Damien.

“I don’t know why you’re acting like some saint. You rejected me. That’s fine. But don’t act like this marriage is perfect.”

Sophia stared at her in disbelief and Jessica gave a bitter smile.

“You two can have yourselves.” She laughed lightly. “I’m leaving right now anyway.”

Then she turned around and started walking quickly towards the guest room. Sophia stood there speechless.

A few moments later, they heard movement inside the room. She stared blankly ahead as her thoughts felt scattered, her throat hurt too.

The friend she thought she had made, the person she painted with, laughed with, invited into her home as well. Someone she had defended.

All along, it seemed like there was another reason behind it all.

“Was that why Jessica became close so quickly?” She thought to herself.

Her eyes slowly filled up with tears.

She blinked rapidly and Damien noticed that immediately. His expression softened when he understood what was happening. Without saying anything, he walked closer and gently pulled her into his arms.

Sophia didn’t resist it and Damien rested a hand against her back.

“It’s a good thing she showed her true colors quickly.”

Sophia closed her eyes in pain. She nodded slowly, but could still feel hurt.

~

The next morning, Sophia got ready for work quietly. She barely spoke during breakfast even. By the time she arrived at the office, she felt drained.

She stepped inside, then immediately noticed something strange.

People looked at her weirdly and she could hear whispers.
Quick glances.
Someone suddenly looked away.
Another person lowered their phone.
Sophia slowed her steps.
Her brows pulled together.
She looked around carefully.
Why was everyone acting like that?
And suddenly—
A strange feeling settled in her chest.
Something wasn’t right.