Chapter 14

"Are you sure about this? Are you sure you want to give up on Samantha?" Daniel asked.

It was Saturday, so his brother was on the island. They had agreed that every Saturday, Daniel would bring them food and other necessities.

Yes, everything had been planned. Damon had planned everything, with the help of his brother. Even his friends knew his plan. They were the reason he had "lost" his yacht.

He had begged them to help him get rid of the yacht so he would have a reason not to take Samantha home.

Yes, he had tricked her.

He frowned at his brother's question. "Who said that I'm giving her up?" he asked.

"But you're going to send her home," his younger brother said, frowning.

He stopped taking food out of the yacht and faced his brother, who was waiting for his answer. There was confusion on Daniel's face.

"I'm just sending her home. That doesn't mean I'm giving up on her. There are hundreds of ways for me to get close to her. Especially now that I know her parents," he answered Daniel with confidence. "I also realized that if I keep her here, she might end up hating me more, and that's the last thing I want to happen."

"Hasn't it already happened? She hates you so much," Daniel said, shaking his head.

"She hates me. But she doesn't loathe me. There's a big difference," he answered.

"As I see it, she's almost there. Loathing you, I mean. Especially once she finds out that you planned all this. She might never forgive you."

"She won't find out if no one tells her. And why the hell are you being so negative?" he asked his brother with a frown.

He had noticed that all of Daniel's answers had been pure objections.

"Because it's the truth, Damon. Any woman would hate you for what you're doing," Daniel said, sighing. "And why are you even doing it? Do you even love her?"

Damon couldn't answer his brother's question.

Daniel sighed again. "If you're not sure how you feel about Samantha, you'd better stop all this now, while you still can. If you continue, you might ruin her life," Daniel said, seriousness in his voice.

His fists clenched, and his eyes narrowed. The look he gave his brother was very sharp. "I won't ruin her life," he answered firmly. "And if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that I don't want to lose her."

"You won't lose her because first of all, she was never yours."

His fists clenched again. His jaw was already throbbing, his teeth grinding.

"Shut the fuck up, Daniel. Or I might forget that you're my brother and break your face," he answered in a seriously angry tone.

Daniel smiled, shaking his head. "Fine. Do what you want. No matter what I say, you still won't listen. You always do what you want." Daniel's brother sighed. "If Mom were still alive and knew you were doing this, she would have scolded you already and smacked you in the face," Daniel said, smiling.

Damon averted his gaze from his brother. "Nah, she always understood me the most, so I'm sure she'd understand why I'm doing this."

His mother had been his confidant when she was still alive. She had always supported him and truly understood him. She had always listened to him. It was what he missed most about his mother.

Daniel rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, where's Samantha?"

"She's still sleeping. She'll wake up soon," Damon replied. Then he disembarked the yacht, carrying some of his brother's belongings while Daniel took the rest.

When they had finished what they were doing, Daniel bid him goodbye. But before Daniel could begin to sail the yacht away, he looked back at him and spoke.

"Send my regards to Samantha," he said with a grin.

He knew that Daniel was teasing him—his brother knew how possessive he was—so he just raised his middle finger, which made Daniel laugh.

***

When Samantha opened her eyes, a familiar room greeted her.

She was in the room she had been sleeping in while she and Damon were at his beach house.

She put her palm to her forehead and closed her eyes.

She sighed.

She remembered everything. She remembered how Damon had called her name over and over again. She remembered how he had gently touched her cheek and wiped her tears away. And his touch still lingered on her skin. Even the way he had looked at her still haunted her memories. His look had been full of concern.

When he took her back to the beach house, she had locked herself in her room. She did not come out, not even when Damon called her down to eat. Fortunately, he did not force her.

Samantha opened her eyes again, then sat up on her bed. She was still wearing the same clothes she had been wearing yesterday. Her eyes were still a bit swollen from crying.

She lifted the sheets from her body and winced when she saw how dirty her feet were. She sighed again before finally getting off the bed.

Barefoot, she grabbed clothes and towels before walking into the bathroom to take a shower. She immediately began undressing.

She turned on the shower and felt suddenly refreshed the moment the water flowed over her body. She felt like she had not bathed in several years.

After her shower, she quickly got dressed. She didn't bother to dry her hair. She just combed it, put on some slippers, and then left the room.

She looked around when she got to the living room. Damon was not there. She peeked into the kitchen and found him busy cooking. His back was to her, so he didn't notice her. She didn't call out to him, deciding to just leave the house. She wanted to go for a walk on the beach.

She walked towards the shore and only stopped when the seawater wet her feet. She fixed her eyes on the sea. It was calm, and the waves were not so strong. She just stood there, not taking her eyes off the vast ocean. She let the cold, strong wind blow her hair, giving her a sense of peace. She loved the feeling of the cold wind on her skin.

She couldn't help but close her eyes as she enjoyed the breeze.

"Samantha." The familiar voice made her open her eyes.

She turned around and saw Damon, who was frowning while staring at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked, a puzzled look on his face as he approached her until the two of them stood side by side.

She looked back at the ocean. "Just getting some air," she answered.

Damon did not speak again. Like her, he just stared at the vast ocean.

She looked at him. She could not read any emotion on Damon's face, so she was surprised when he suddenly spoke.

"Two weeks," Damon said abruptly. He turned to her, causing their eyes to meet.

He looked so serious. Even his eyes were hard, emotionless. She wondered what he'd meant.

Her forehead furrowed.

"We'll only be here for two more weeks. After that, we can go home," he continued.

Her eyes widened at what Damon had said.

Had she heard that right? Were they really going home? Was Damon finally taking her home?

Damon seemed to read her mind. "You heard that right, Samantha. I'll take you home in two weeks. Isn't that what you want?" he asked in a cold voice. He had a sarcastic smirk on his lips.

Her eyes were still narrowed. She couldn't believe what Damon had said. It wouldn't completely sink into her brain. It felt like just the other day that he was telling her firmly he would not let her go home. And now he was telling her that the two of them would be home in a matter of weeks?

Damon's grin widened as he stared at her.

"What? You don't want to go home anymore?" he asked, his sarcastic grin still on his face.

"No!" she answered immediately. "I want to go home."

Damon looked back at the sea while she continued to stare at him. She had a lot of questions to ask. She wanted to know so many things. She wanted to know why he had suddenly changed his mind. What had made him want to let her go home? What had made him change his mind? Was it because of what had happened yesterday? Did he suddenly feel sorry for her because she had been crying? Did his heart soften when he saw her tears? Or maybe he was already bored of her.

Wait, why are you asking so many questions, Samantha? Just be thankful that you can go home! her conscious mind scolded her.

She sighed and looked back at the ocean.

Her mind was right. Instead of asking questions, she should just be thankful that Damon had finally decided to go home. That he had finally decided to let her go.

She should be happy. She would see her parents again. She would be able to be with the man she truly loved again. She would be with Alfred again. And as for Damon? Once they got home, she would stay far away from him She, herself, would find a way to prevent their paths from crossing again.

Not a word escaped their lips. They were both silent as they stared at the ocean and listened to the sounds the waves made. When Damon finally stood up, she followed him with her eyes.

"Come on. Let's have breakfast," Damon said without even looking at her.

She looked again at the vast ocean and breathed in the fresh air before following Damon.

Damon was already a few feet away from her, but he was not walking fast, so she was able to catch up with him. Soon they were walking side by side.

She had no plan to start another conversation, but then she suddenly remembered something. She stopped walking and faced Damon, who also stopped walking.

Damon frowned as he turned to look at her.

"The video. Have you deleted it already?" she asked.

Damon looked confused. He didn't seem to understand what she'd said.

"The video!" she repeated.

Damon's frown only intensified.

"What video?" he asked, a confused look on his face.

What? Had he forgotten about the video? But that was impossible! Maybe he was playing tricks on her again.

"Don't start with me, Damon," she said. She was starting to get pissed.

But Damon just stared at her innocently. "But I don't know what you're talking about. What video?" he asked, acting as if he was trying to remember something. "Oh! I remember now!" he said and then grinned mischievously at her. "You mean the video of you pleasuring yourself with your fingers?" Her cheeks flushed. She could see the malice in Damon's eyes, and she wanted to pluck them out and cut off his grinning lips. "If that's the video you're referring to, well, I haven't deleted it yet," he answered her question, still grinning.

Samantha stared at Damon in disbelief. "You asshole…"

"But don't worry. I'll delete it. That is, if you behave and keep doing everything I tell you to."

Oh, God. It looked like he was planning something again, and whatever it was, she was sure it would only benefit him.

"If you want me to delete it, come to my room tonight. 7 pm, sharp," he said. Then he turned and continued walking, leaving her staring at him with her mouth hanging open.

Goodness! She was pretty sure she already knew ​​what he wanted her to do.