Chapter 6 The Refuge
Lara pov
I woke with so much energy I hadn't felt a long time ago and also very warm.
I noticed I wasn't shivering any longer, like the way I felt the cold that almost took away my life from the past few days.
Everywhere was soft, the bed I was lying on was soft like I was sleeping on a cloud and the blanket wrapped around me smelled like lavender I couldn’t explain.
For a moment—I forgot everything.
Then I started remembering everything.
Lucas. Lisa. Clarie. The Ward family. The way I was thrown out with nothing, the way my father's house got sold out, the way I collapsed on the street in the freezing cold, wanting to just die, to leave everything.
And those eyes.
Dark green eyes staring at me in the lamplight.
My eyes opened and I gasped, sitting up too quickly. I grabbed the mattress to steady myself.
"Easy," a deep voice said. "You've been out for three days. Take it easy."
I turned my head and noticed him.
The man from the hotel. The stranger I'd given myself to in a moment of drugged weakness. The man whose face had haunted my dreams.
He sat in a chair beside the bed, dressed in gray jeans and black sweatshirt. His blonde hair was a mess, stubble on his jaw. He looked extremely tired,like he’d just been sitting there for a longer time.
"You," I whispered, my voice broke.
He nodded slowly. "Me."
We stared at each other and I felt exposed under his gaze. I looked down and realized I was wearing soft pajamas that weren't mine. I looked at him to say a word.
Then, he responded quickly.
"I didn't ,"Dr. Chen changed you. My doctor. She's been checking on you."
For how long? I asked.
"Three days," he confirmed. "You were in bad shape when I found you.
Hypothermia, dehydration, malnutrition.
Another hour and you might not have made it."
The words hit me like a slap. I'd been dying. Actually dying.
"Where am I?" I asked, looking around properly for the first time.
It was enormously bigger than the master bedroom at the Ward mansion. The room is painted with a cream colour which made it more attractive, high ceilings and a massive window.
I felt really comfortable and safe.
"My home," he said simply. "I found you collapsed outside the gate."
"Your home," I repeated. "I don't understand."
He leaned forward. "My name is Damien Otto."
Damien Otto.
The name sounded familiar but I couldn’t replace it.
"I worked with your father," he continued. "Years ago. I was an intern at Montgomery Industries."
My breath caught. "You knew my father?"
Yes, “he was my mentor,” Damien said."He gave me a chance when no one else did. When I started Otto Industries, he was the one to invested first in my industries.
Tears rolled down my eyes at the mention of my father. God, I missed him.
"I'm sorry for your loss," Damien said quietly. "Richard was a good man. The best I've ever known."
I nodded.
Damien reached to his pocket and held something out.
My mother's necklace.
The diamond pendant caught the light. I could see the engraving: "To my Lara, my brightest star. Love, Mom."
"You left this behind," Damien said softly. "I've been looking for you."
My hand trembled as I took it.
"That night at the hotel," I whispered. "I was drugged. Lucas's sister, she—"
"I know," Damien interrupted me. "I could tell something was wrong."
Shame burned through me. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"
"Stop," he said firmly. "You have nothing to apologize for."
The weight of everything suddenly crashed over me.
I broke.
Theb I remembered everything from deep inside me, I placed my mother's necklace to my chest.
I felt the bed dip as Damien sat beside me.
He didn't touch me, didn't shush me. He just sat there.
"He destroyed me," I finally gasped.
"Lucas. He took everything. My father's company, his house, all the properties. He sold them while I trusted him. While I signed papers without reading them because I believed he loved me."
"You weren't stupid," Damien said calmly.
"You were trusting. There's a difference."
"He threw me out," I continued. "Him and his family. They drugged me at that gala so he could be with Lisa. Then they took pictures, made it look like I was having an affair. Posted them everywhere. Called me a whore at dinner in front of everyone."
Damien's hands clenched.
"His mother told me to leave. Lucas said I couldn't take anything. Just threw me out into the cold like I was trash." My voice cracked. "And when I went to my father's house, it was sold. Everything was gone. Everything my father built—Lucas took it all."
"I'm so sorry, Lara," Damien said.
"I had nowhere to go," I whispered. "No money. No family. I just wanted to die. I was so cold and so tired and I just wanted it to be over."
"But you didn't die," Damien said. "You survived."
I looked at him. "Why? Why did you help me? You don't even know me."
"I know enough," he said simply. "I know your father was a great man. I know you deserved better. And I know that no one should have to sleep on the street alone."
"I can't pay you back,"I don't have money,I said desperately. "I don't have anything. No—"
"I'm not asking for payment," Damien interrupted. "I'm offering you a place to stay. No strings attached. Just until you get back on your feet."
I focused on his face. I didn't know if this was true and I wanted to see hidden motive.But, none at all.
Because men always wanted something.
"Why?" I asked again. "Why would you do this for me?"
Damien was quiet, then said simply, "Because someone should have helped you a long time ago."
Hmmmmm… “Okay,” I whispered.
"Just for a little while," I added. "Just until I figure things out."
"As long as you need," he said, as he stood up.
"Let me show your room."
"This isn't my room?"
"This is the master suite. I had a guest suite prepared for you."
He then led me to the room.
"This is yours," he said, opening it.
I stepped inside and my breath caught.
Everything was so beautiful. Huge. A king-sized bed with a cream duvet, a sitting area, a walk-in closet, French doors opening to a private balcony.
"The bathroom is through there," Damien said. "I stocked it with toiletries. And there are clothes in the closet—just basics until you can get your own things."
"Why are you helping me?" I asked again, barely a whisper.
Damien came to stand beside me.
"Because you deserve help," he said. "Because your father was good to me when no one else was. Because I see how much you're hurting and I want to help ease that pain, even just a little."
I turned to look at him.
He was handsome. The strength in his jaw. The kindness in his eyes. The quiet confidence. He looked like a man who kept his promises.
"Thank you," I said softly.
Damien nodded. "Get some rest. Dr. Chen will come this evening. If you need anything, press the button by the bed."
He started to leave, then paused.
"Lara?"
"Yes?"
"You're safe here," he said firmly. "No one will hurt you. Not while you're under my roof."
Then he stepped out.
I stood there, trying to process everything.
Damien Otto. My father's former intern. The man from the hotel. My rescuer.
I walked to the bed and sat down, my mother's necklace clutched in my hand.
Then I felt it. The slight flutter low in my belly.
The baby.
My hand moved instinctively to my stomach.
I'd almost forgotten,that I wasn't alone.
That there was a tiny life growing inside me.
Lucas's baby.
The thought made me feel sick.But honestly, I wasn't going to give Lucas, I would protect it with everything I had left.
"We're safe now, little pumpkin," I whispered, my hand on my stomach. "At least for tonight."
I lay back on the bed, really exhausted.
For the first time in months, I felt something that almost resembled peace.
I didn't know what tomorrow would bring. Didn't know how long Damien's kindness would last. Didn't know if I could ever rebuild what Lucas had destroyed.
But tonight, I was safe. I was alive.
And sometimes, that was eno
ugh.
I closed my eyes, my mother's necklace pressed against my heart and my hand protective over the life growing inside me.
Tomorrow, I'd figure out how to survive.
Tonight, I'd just let myself rest.