Chapter 21 Sweet/Bitter love
~~Charlotte's POV~~
The woman before me was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen; she had long red hair and a slender body, her eyes were green, and she had freckles scattered across her face, accentuating her looks.
She was dressed in a pair of fitted pants and a black sweater; she had on a pair of black heels and a belt around her waist.
“She is an old friend, one of my soldiers.”
Her brows arched. “An old friend? I thought I was more than that.” She walked the remaining steps of the stairs as she approved of us.
She thought they were more than that? Was she Damien's ex?
“What are you doing here, Ezera?” Damien's tone was cold and unwelcoming.
She playfully placed her hand against her chest. “I'm hurt. I thought your home was mine as well?”
Damien shrugged his shoulders, and he had an annoyed frown on his face. “I asked you a question, Ezera.”
Ezera pressed her lips together and walked past me as she headed to Damien.
“Stop,” he commanded, and she obeyed immediately.
“Yes, boss?”
Damien walked past her and headed towards me. As he drew closer, he slipped his hand into mine and stood beside me. “You must give my wife the same respect you give to me. Greet her now.”
“But…she's not one of us,” she protested.
I could sense her disdain, but I didn't care.
“Actually I was initiated today.”
Her smile fell. “Oh…., Hello then,” she spoke, her eyes rolling as her gaze moved to Damien.
“Bow,” Damien's voice echoed.
I gripped tightly onto Damien's hand. “It's okay; she doesn't have to.”
“You are my wife, Charlotte, and you deserve to be respected. Bow now, Ezera.”
Ezera hesitated, and hatred gathered in her eyes. She slowly bowed her head. “It's an honor to meet you, Charlotte.”
Damien's arm wrapped around my neck as he pulled me closer. “Why are you here?”
“I heard from Dawson that you have a meeting with Gennaro tomorrow. I know you'll need a lady to accompany you seeing that it's at a gala, and I decided to come.”
"There's no need for my wife to come with me," Damien said curtly.
Ezera’s shoulder dropped, her lips parted slightly, “But I always go with you.”
“My wife was not in the picture, Ezera.” Damien sighed in annoyance, “My wife is exhausted; I need to get her up to rest.” He slipped his hand into mine and began to lead me upstairs. “Oh…” he froze. “Dawson is dead.”
Ezera blinked. “What?! How?”
“I killed him,” Damien responded in a cold tone.
The atmosphere felt tense. “He's your strongest soldier.” Ezera let out a confused gasp. “How could you do that?”
“He disrespected my wife. Nobody does that.”
Ezera's gaze turned cold, and I noticed her hands trembled. “You killed Dawson because of her?” Her voice dropped low.
Damien didn't respond; instead, he led me upstairs and into our bedroom. It was bigger than the one back at the suite.
He slid off his coat and tossed it on the bed. I watched him undo the watch around his wrist and toss it on the bed as well.
“Is she your ex?” I asked in a low tone; for the first time since Damien and I married, I felt jealousy.
He shook his head. “Of course not.” His brows pinched together as he began to walk towards me, his hands slowly undoing his shirt. “Ezera is just another one of my soldiers.”
I grabbed the sides of my coat tightly, and my knuckles turned white. “She seems to be in love with you.”
“She is.” Damien finally took his shirt and tossed it against the bed.
My gaze flickered to his body and then back up to meet his eyes. “It's not that hot; why are you taking off your clothes?”
He drew so close that I had to tilt my head up to look at him. “Do you have a problem with it?”
“It's distracting,” I swallowed.
“You are distracting even with your clothes on…” My fingers brushed my cheeks. His touch elicited a soft gasp from my lips.
“Let’s get back to the conversation,” I said, struggling to maintain my composure.
His hands pinned against my hips as he pressed me tightly against himself. “Is my wife jealous?”
“No…” His brow raised as I spoke, “Fine…yes.”
“You know you are the only woman in my stone-cold heart.”
I placed my hand against his chest. “Your heart isn't stone cold, Damien.”
His hand rested on my chin and tilted it up before he placed a soft kiss on my lips. “I promise I'll never look at another woman other than you,” he whispered.
I smiled against his lips.
A few minutes later I stepped out of the bedroom to enjoy the scenery. Damien had gone into the bathroom a few minutes ago to wash off; he had a few drops of blood on his skin from the warehouse killing.
As I moved downstairs, I heard sounds of loud shooting outside. I looked around in confusion and then finally decided to go check it out. My gaze caught Ezera immediately; she had tied her hair up in a ponytail, and with a gun in her hand, she shot at targets.
Maybe this was a chance to set things straight with her. Maybe she didn't have to hate me out of her jealousy.
I slowly approached her. “Nice shot,” I said.
She turned to look at me, a scornful gaze, “Do you even know what a nice shot is?” She asked as she shot another bullet.
“Bullseye” I pointed at the hole in the middle of the target. “You are really good.”
She didn't respond; she just kept sending angry bullets into the target, and the loud ringing echoed in my ears, “Can you stop that for a second?!” I shouted.
She stopped and finally turned to face me. “What?!” She spat.
“I was thinking that we should get to know each other.”
“Why should I do that?” She hissed.
“Well, you are one of my husband’s soldiers.” I noticed her gaze flicker when I called Damien my husband. “I think it would be a good idea to be friends.”
“Not interested.” She turned to face the target.
“Maybe you can let me take a shot at it.” I quickly stepped forward.
“Will the almighty Don let his precious wife touch a gun?” She raised her brow.
I pressed my lips together. “Why do you hate me?” I finally asked.
“Because you are an entitled bitch who thinks she can just sweep in here and take something that's not hers.” Ezera's gaze blazed with anger.
My head tilted to the side. “Do you mean Damien?”
She looked away from me, reaching into her pocket and back to load her gun with bullets. “No,” she lied.
“I can tell you like him.”
“Bite me then,” she cursed.
“Can’t we get past this?”
“Damien has never loved any woman,” she began, bitterness in her eyes.
I blinked. “I’m…his first?”
Ezera scoffed, “You do not even know your husband. He never let anybody get into his personal space; women flooded around him, but he never batted an eye at them.” Her fingers formed a fist. “He never looked at me,” she said softly.
“You are an amazing woman. Ezera, you'll find another man who would….”
“There's no other Damien in the world, Charlotte,” she cut in.
“Just because he loves me?” What she said sounded absurd.
“He killed Dawson for you, a man whom he trusted with his life.” Her voice cracked; she seemed to be in mourning but was struggling to hold it in. “I got intel from Marcus, and I was surprised to hear that he knelt before you, Damien, and kneeling do not belong in the same sentence, Charlotte. He is a god; gods don't kneel, they make people kneel.”
Ezera drew closer until their faces were a few inches apart. “The lengths he would goes to please you…. If you are not careful, you'll be the death of us all,” she spoke and walked past me.
I froze in place, her words ringing like a bell in my ears.
The death of us all?
My mind reeled at what Dawson said before Damien shot him.
You'll ruin this empire because of that woman.
I slowly turned, and my gaze caugh
t Damien standing before the house, his gaze fixed on me, a smile tugged on his lips, and I forced a smile, meanwhile the weight of guilt lingered on my heart.