Chapter 84 JUST FRIENDS.
\~~~ DAMIEN.
“Gwendolyn is an old friend,” I lied.
I looked straight into Serena's eyes, forcing the words out with a steadiness I didn't feel. I lied confidently, holding her gaze so she wouldn't see the crack in my armor. Twenty years of buried secrets, and here I was, digging them up with every breath.
Her eyes loosened a bit, the tension easing from her shoulders as she sat upright in her chair. The morning light caught the stray strands of her hair, making her look softer, and more vulnerable than she probably wanted to admit after last night's mess.
“Friend?” she asked, her voice laced with that mix of curiosity and doubt I knew too well.
“Yes. We… uhm… we were friends. But, we fell out. It's nothing deep, baby,” I kept my tone light, and casual, like I was talking about some forgotten acquaintance from college.
But inside, my mind was a storm. The last thing I expected was Gwendolyn, my ex-wife, crashing back into my life like this. We'd burned every bridge between us and scorched the earth so nothing could grow.
Divorce papers were signed in silence, and there were no messy court battles, just a clean break, or so I'd thought.
Well, not until she started sending those threatening messages. It began right around our honeymoon, those cryptic texts that clawed at old wounds.
And now? The last thing I was expecting was her appearing right back in our lives, striding into Serena's classroom like she owned the place.
A professor? In Serena's department? It reeked of calculation, and it set my teeth on edge.
“Just friends? Nothing attached?” Serena pressed, her brows knitting together again. She leaned forward, searching my face for the truth I couldn't give her.
I hated lying to this woman. I hate it with every fiber of my being.
Serena deserved better than half-truths and shadows, but there was no way I'd tell her Gwendolyn was my ex-wife without dragging her into the nightmare that broke us. It had been twenty years, and that story was one even my family wouldn't touch.
None of them.
The disgraces, the accusations, and the way it all ended in a haze of pain and regret were locked away for a reason.
Telling Serena would only pull her under, and I couldn't risk that. Not now, not when things were finally settling between us.
“Just friends, Ena,” I said again.
“Oh… I thought you had some lurking history,” she chuckled dryly, but there was no real humor in it. She poked at her soup, the spoon clinking against the bowl.
“No. How did you know her?’' I turned the question back, buying time to steady my racing pulse.
“Well, she is a new professor in my department. She joined this week, which is weird because final exams are just a couple of months away. But then again, what can a little bit of connection not fix?” She shrugged, but her eyes lingered on me, still probing.
I forced a smile, the kind that reached my lips but not my eyes, and picked up my spoon again. The food was getting cold, but eating gave me something to do with my hands, a way to anchor myself. “Yeah, connections open doors.”
She wasn't done, though. “But, how did you fall out? I can't even tell if she hates you or not. She seemed to be picking on me too. Or am I just being paranoid?”
“Yes, you are,” I said curtly, sharper than I intended. The words hung there, and I regretted the tone immediately.
I looked at her as she nodded her head slowly, pressing her lips together in that way she did when she was holding back. Then she resumed eating, the scrape of her spoon against the bowl filling the quiet kitchen.
“I mean… You are just thinking of it too much,” I added, softening my voice. “Gwendolyn has a way of making someone feel intimidated, trust me. It is her style, sharp, and direct. It doesn't mean anything personal.”
“Well, I guess that is the case,” she chuckled, a real one this time, lighter. She took another bite, seeming to relax a fraction.
I nodded my head and ate too, chewing mechanically while my thoughts churned.
Gwendolyn's face flashed in my mind. Her piercing eyes, and the same ones that had once looked at me with love, then hatred, now... what?
Calculation? Revenge?
Then, Serena asked again, her voice casual but insistent. “Just friends, yeah?”
“Yes, baby.’' I reached across the table, brushing my fingers over hers. Her skin was warm, grounding me.
“Good. You better not cheat on me,” she rolled her eyes, but there was a playful glint in them now.
I laughed, the sound easing some of the tightness in my chest. “What?”
“Not to sound jealous or anything, but why would you let another woman adjust your tie while your wife stands a few steps away?”
I grinned, leaning back in my chair. “I will maintain a strict boundary from now on, baby.’' I laughed again, watching her roll her eyes in mock exasperation.
“You better do,” she said, pointing her spoon at me like a weapon.
The moment felt normal, and almost sweet, a brief respite from the undercurrents pulling at us. But I knew it wouldn't last.
Gwendolyn's return wasn't random. It was a threat wrapped in academia and now with her in Serena's orbit, it all felt too close, and too dangerous.
I thought back to the divorce, the real reason we'd split. It wasn't just irreconcilable differences.
It was betrayal, and secrets that could destroy reputations. Gwendolyn had clawed her way up in law, becoming a judge while I built my empire in business.
We had agreed to bury it all, but apparently, she hadn't.
Serena's voice pulled me back. “Damien? You zoned out there.”
“Sorry, just thinking about work,’' I lied again, smoother this time. “The drug thing, my team's digging deeper. We will get answers soon.”
We ate in companionable silence for a bit, the clink of utensils the only sound. Serena looked better, color returning to her cheeks, but the exhaustion from the drugs lingered in her movements. I wanted to pull her into my arms, erase the doubt, but the kitchen table felt like a barrier.
Twenty years ago, Gwendolyn and I were fire, passionate, and consuming.
Now, with Serena, I had something real, and fragile. Losing it to old ghosts wasn't an option.
Just then, my phone beeped again, vibrating against the counter. I picked it up, glancing at the screen out of habit. The message popped up, anonymous as always, but I knew.
'How dare you live as though what happened twenty years ago never happened?'
My blood ran cold. I sat upright, reading through it twice, my grip tightening on the phone. The words blurred for a second, rage and anger twisting in my gut.
“Are you okay?” Serena asked, her voice pulling me back. She tilted her head, concern etching her features.
“O… of course,” I cleared my throat, forcing a smile as I set the phone face down. “Just work stuff. Nothing important.”
But it was everything. Gwendolyn was playing a dangerous game, and now she was in our home, and our lives. I had to end this before it touched Serena. The kitchen felt smaller, the air thicker, as I pushed my bowl away, appetite gone.
Serena watched me, her eyes sharp. “Are you sure? You look like you saw a ghost.”
I chuckled weakly. “Nah, just a long day ahead.”
Gwendolyn thought she could drag me back?
Perhaps it was time she learn I wasn't the man she divorced anymore.