Chapter 46

Chapter 46
Brenda’s POV

The door clicked shut, sealing me back into the room, but Bianca’s presence didn't leave with her. Her words stayed behind, lingering in the air like toxic fumes, wrapping around my thoughts until I could think of nothing else.
He doesn’t love you. He never will.
“I don’t love him either, as if I even care,” I whispered to the empty room.
The words felt hollow the moment they left my lips, falling to the floor like lead. I turned away from the door and began to pace, my arms wrapped tightly around my torso as if I could manually steady the storm rising in my gut. Why did the denial feel like a lie? Why did it feel like I was a lawyer arguing a losing case to my own heart?
I stopped by the window, staring out into the bruised purple of the darkening sky. Everything was becoming too complicated. Damian wasn't supposed to matter. He was a captor, a titan, a man of shadows. I was supposed to be his antithesis. And yet, I couldn't ignore the way he looked at me, or the way his voice dropped into that low, soft register when we were alone.
“No,” I muttered, shaking my head fiercely. “This is not happening. I won't let it.”
I resumed my pacing, back and forth, my mind a chaotic whirlpool of frustration and confusion. Bianca’s words replayed again, sharper this time. You’re new. That’s all. Was I just a novelty? A temporary distraction for a man who had seen everything?
Suddenly, a sound shattered the night.
CRACK.
My entire body went rigid. For a split second, my brain tried to rationalize it as a car backfiring or a heavy branch breaking. Then, CRACK-CRACK-CRACK.
More gunshots.
My heart slammed violently against my ribs, a panicked animal in a cage. “No…” I rushed to the window, my hands trembling as I yanked the curtain aside.
The scene below was pure, unadulterated chaos. I saw guards sprinting across the manicured lawns, their weapons drawn. Voices were shouting orders over the roar of engines as cars screeched across the gravel, trying to reposition near the outer gates. More gunshots echoed, louder now, sounding much closer to the house than before.
Fear hit me like a physical wave, cold, sharp, and paralyzing. “What is happening…?” I whispered, my breath fogging the glass. My eyes scanned the compound frantically. This wasn't a drill. This was a coordinated attack.
My stomach dropped. Damian wasn't here. If he were here, there would be a sense of grim order. This meant he was the target of the diversion, and this house, his sanctuary was now the battlefield.
“Miss Brenda!”
I spun around as the door burst open. A Mrs Oh rushed in, her face the color of ash and her breathing coming in ragged, uneven gasps.
“You need to come with me—now!”
“What’s happening?” I asked, my voice shaking despite my desperate efforts to remain calm.
“We’re under attack!”
The words were like ice water to my soul. For a moment, I couldn't move, my boots feeling like they were filled with concrete. Then, survival instinct took the wheel. “Who? Who is doing this?”
“I.. I don’t know!” she stammered, grabbing my wrist with a bruising grip. “But they’ve breached the outer gate. The guards are holding the line at the foyer, but.."
Another bang, closer this time, followed by the sound of glass shattering downstairs. I flinched, my pulse spiking to a terrifying rhythm.
“Come on!” she urged. “We have to get you to the safe room!”
As she pulled me toward the door, I took one last, lingering glance at the window. The mansion that had once felt like my prison now looked like a fortress under siege. Smoke was beginning to curl into the air from the gatehouse, and shadows moved rapidly across the grounds. Danger was closing in, and it was moving fast.
We stepped into the hallway and the atmosphere was unrecognizable. The quiet luxury was gone, replaced by a frantic, high-stakes panic. Servants were running for cover, and guards were barking orders into radios.
“Where are we going?” I asked, trying to keep my footing on the slick marble.
“The safe room,” she replied. Of course Damian would have one, a man with his enemies wouldn't leave his life to chance. But would a steel door be enough against the level of violence I was hearing?
We turned a corner sharply and nearly collided with a guard. He looked at me, his eyes wide with the stress of the situation. “Move!” he barked at the maid. “Get her out of sight now!”
Her. Me. I wasn't just a witness; I was the prize or the casualty. The realization hit me like a physical blow. Bianca’s words from only minutes ago suddenly screamed in my mind: Things that get in my way don’t last long.
A chill that had nothing to do with the air conditioning ran down my spine. Could she have orchestrated this? Or was this the "war" Damian had mentioned?
We reached a hidden panel at the end of a service hallway. The Mrs Oh pressed a sequence on a concealed keypad, and a door hissed open, revealing a narrow, well-lit staircase leading downward.
“Go!” she urged, shoving me toward the opening.
I didn't hesitate. I stepped inside, my heart hammering against my teeth as the door hissed shut behind us, cutting off the screams and the gunfire from the world above. But even in the silence of the reinforced passage, the fear followed me.
I stepped inside, my hands shaking as I descended the stairs.

Each step felt heavier than the last.
The sounds of chaos above grew muffled. Distant.
But my heart didn’t calm. It only got worse.
Because one thought kept repeating in my head—
Damian… where are you?

And deep down, I knew. This wasn't just a raid. This was the beginning of the end of the world as I knew it.