The Slip Of Truth

The Slip Of Truth
POV: Isla
Jade’s lips parted as if to say something, but no sound came, her eyes flickered between me and Damian like a trapped animal looking for a way to escape.
The entire cafe had gone still, some students leaned forward in their seats as though watching a play. Damian didn’t move an inch from where he stood, his eyes dangerously locked with Jade’s own.
“Apologize. To my wife.”
The command thundered through the cafe. Jade’s throat bobbed. “I–I…”
“Do it.” Damian cut her off before she could finish. “Or I’ll see to it you never set foot in any college in your life. I will burn every acceptance letter you ever dream of and beg for scraps just to survive.”
A gasp rippled through the room. Jade went pale, the cruelty she had worn like a shield breaking under the threat of his words. She forced herself forward, clutching her books to her chest as if they would protect her from Damian.
“I…..I’m sorry,” she choked out, her voice coming out in small and strangled sentences.“I didn’t mean…”
Laughter tore from one corner of the cafe to another and soon it spread like wildfire. The same students who had laughed at me while she humiliated me are now enjoying her downfall.
But Damian didn’t even look at her. In two strides he moved towards me, his hand gripping my wrist in an instant without asking for permission. “Let this be the last time,” he said, voice as sharp as steel.
He turned to face the crowd as he continued.” Let me remind all of you who tried to forget who she is—my wife. And if anyone disrespects her, they disrespect me. And I’ll make sure you will regret it.”
And then he dragged me out.
My heart thundered in my ears, trying to get over the shock of what just happened. His grip on my wrist burned, swallowing me whole. I couldn’t tell where the humiliation ended and began.
The car door slammed as he forced me inside. Damian slid into the driver’s seat, his knuckles gripping the steering wheel so tightly that it turned white.
I swallowed the lump forming in my throat to speak, my voice barely above a whisper. 
“Thank you. For… defending me.”
No response from him. Not even a look of acknowledgment. His jaw tightened while his eyes were fixed on the road like the world outside would crumble if he blinked.
I folded my hands in my lap, the gratitude for what he has done for me changing into unease. Unsure if the silence was rage that was aimed at Jade ... or me.
                
The drive to the mansion felt like forever, every street light casting shadows across his face like broken shards of anger. By the time we reached the house, the tension was strangling me.
His hand closed around my wrist the moment we arrived, nothing tender or soft about it. He dragged me through the stairs, then into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him with a violent slam.
“Damian…”
“Shut the fuck up!!”
“Do you think this is a fucking game?” His voice thundered across the room. It hit me like a physical punch to the face. He stepped forward, closing the distance between us till there was no single space.
“Why were you just standing there and watching her humiliate you, Isla?” His stare was merciless, cold enough to cut through anything. Why did you let her shred you in front of everyone?” 
It wasn’t a question—it was an accusation thrown at me. His words slammed into me, one after the other, and for a horrifying second I thought I would choke.
“You are weak,” he continued, the sentence like a final verdict. “Pathetic. I hate weakness.” His hand clenched on the back of a chair so tight the wood creaked.“And I will not….will not….have my name dragged through the gutter all because you choose to be a weakling.”
My knees threatened to give up underneath me.” I…..I” the words breaking under the weight of his eyes.
He circled me like a predator toying with its prey, each word sharpening into an order. “Weakness is contagious. It spreads. If you let them see it….. if you let them think I own a weak thing. They'll come for me…..”
“……They’ll come for everything I’ve built.” His hand hovered just inches away from my cheek, not touching but rather a promise and threat all at once.
I had to say something to defend myself or this would be an endless cycle of him trying to defame me every time. “She was the one…”
He cut me off with a cold laugh that had no humor in it. “God, Isla. Don’t make me teach you the cost of failure.” 
His hand gripped my wrist very tightly now, erasing every ounce of air from my lungs. “The world will eat the weak things like you and toss them like trash.”
Something inside me snapped.
I pushed him hard, slamming into his chest with all the strength I could gather. He barely staggered back, but the anger in me grew worse with every passing second.
“I never wanted this!” 
The words ripped out of me before I even realized. “I never asked for your name, or your world, or your cruelty! You dragged me into this, Damian!”
His eyes turned into something darker, threatening to rip the words out of me before I could finish. But I didn’t stop.
“You think I’m weak or pathetic? You’re the one hiding behind threats and walls because you’re terrified. You’re the coward, not me!”
My hand flew across his face before I could stop it. The crack of my palm against his cheek echoed through the room. 
His head turned slightly from the impact, turning back to face me with a far more dangerous and sinister look in his eyes.
“I know what you did to my father five years ago!”
The words exploded out of me before I even realized what I’d said.