Chapter 94: Some Kind Of Slut

Chapter 94: Some Kind Of Slut

"Get away from me!" Celeste's voice cracked like a whip.

Her fists pounded against Damien's chest. Hard. Over and over. He didn't move. Didn't try to stop her. Just stood there taking each blow like he deserved it.

"You ruined everything!" She hit him again. Tears streamed down her face. "Everything! My life, my privacy, my—"

Her voice broke. She kept hitting him anyway.

Outside, the cameras kept flashing. The voices kept shouting through the thin walls.

"Kane heir caught in love nest!"

"Mystery woman identified!"

"Exclusive photos inside!"

Each word felt like another punch to her stomach. Celeste stumbled backward, her legs shaking. "What will people think of me? What will my neighbors think? My family?"

Damien reached for her. "Celeste—"

"Don't touch me!" She slapped his hand away. "Don't you dare touch me!"

Her chest heaved. She could barely breathe. The walls felt like they were closing in. "Thomas is going to see this. He's going to see me kissing you after our perfect date. He's going to think I'm some kind of—"

"Some kind of what?" Damien's voice was rough. Dangerous.

"Some kind of slut who plays with men's feelings!"

"Is that what you think you are?"

She wanted to hit him again. "It doesn't matter what I think! It matters what everyone else thinks!"

Damien stepped closer. His gray eyes were dark as storm clouds. "You kissed me back."

"What?"

"You heard me. You kissed me back, Celeste. Your hands were in my shirt. You pulled me closer."

Heat flooded her cheeks. "That's not—"

"You enjoyed it." His voice dropped lower. "Just like you enjoyed every time I touched you. Every time I made you come apart in my arms."

"Stop it."

"You can lie to yourself all you want, but your body doesn't lie."

She slapped him. Hard. The sound cracked through the room like a gunshot.

A red mark bloomed across his cheek. He didn't flinch.

"I'm going to fix this," he said quietly.

"Fix this?" She laughed, but it sounded broken. "How? How do you fix this, Damien? Those pictures are probably already online. By tomorrow, I'll be in every gossip magazine in the country."

"I have connections. Lawyers. I can make this go away."

"Make it go away?" Her voice rose. "This isn't one of your business deals! You can't just throw money at it and make it disappear!"

"Watch me."

Something in his tone made her stomach clench. "Damien, don't you dare—"

"I said I'll fix it."

"How did they even know to be here?" The question had been eating at her since the first camera flashed. "How did they know you'd come here?"

Damien's jaw tightened. "I don't know. I have enemies. People who want to see me fall."

"Enemies." The word tasted bitter. "Of course you do. Men like you always do."

"Men like me?"

"Rich. Powerful. Ruthless." She wrapped her arms around herself. "Men who destroy everything they touch."

"Celeste—"

"Adrian's been watching me."

The words fell into the room like stones dropping into still water. Damien went completely still.

"What did you say?"

"Adrian Voss. He's been following me. Asking questions about you." Her voice was barely a whisper. "He said he was looking for anything he could use against you."

The color drained from Damien's face. "How do you know Adrian?"

"He approached me Wanted to know about your business dealings, your personal life." She hugged herself tighter. "I told him nothing. But he kept pushing."

"Adrian Voss." Damien's voice was deadly quiet. "Tall guy? Dark hair? Scar through his left eyebrow?"

"Yes."

Damien's hands clenched into fists. "We used to be friends. Business partners. Best friends, actually."

"What happened?"

"I found out he was trying to destroy my company from the inside. Stealing clients, sabotaging deals, feeding information to our competitors." The words came out like bullets. "I threw him out. Ruined his reputation. Made sure no one in the city would work with him."

Celeste felt sick. "And now he wants revenge."

"That son of a bitch." Damien paced to the window, his expensive shoes clicking on her cheap linoleum floor. "He's the one who tipped off the photographers. He's been watching you, waiting for the perfect moment."

"Damien"

"I'm going to destroy him." His voice was cold as winter. "I'm going to make him wish he'd never been born."

Fear shot through her. "No. No, don't do anything crazy."

"Crazy?" He spun around to face her. "He violated your privacy. He's been stalking you. He orchestrated this whole thing to humiliate us both."

"I don't care! I just want this to go away!"

"It will. After I deal with Adrian."

"Damien, please." She grabbed his arm. "I'm already in enough trouble. Don't make it worse."

He looked down at her hand on his arm. For a second, his expression softened. "I won't let him hurt you."

"He's not hurting me. You are." The words came out sharper than she meant them to. "Every time you're in my life, everything falls apart."

That hit him like a physical blow. She could see it in his eyes.

"I never meant for this to happen," he said quietly.

"But it did happen. It always happens with you." Tears burned her eyes again. "I can't do this anymore, Damien. I can't be your secret. I can't be the woman you kiss in doorways while your wife sits at home."

"I filed for divorce. I told you—"

"Papers don't mean anything until they're signed by a judge. And even then..." She shook her head. "This is your world. Scandal and drama and photographers hiding in bushes. It's not mine."

"It could be."

"I don't want it to be."

The words hung between them like a wall. Outside, the voices were getting louder. More urgent. She could hear footsteps on the stairs. Her neighbors talking in hushed, excited whispers.

"I have to go deal with the press," Damien said. His voice was flat now. Empty.

"And then what? You'll make some calls? Threaten some people? Make this all disappear like it never happened?"

"If I have to."

"What about Adrian?"

His eyes went dark again. "Adrian's my problem. Not yours."

"Damien—"

"Stay away from him, Celeste. If you see him, if he approaches you again, you call me immediately."

"I'm not calling you. I'm not doing anything with you ever again."

He stared at her for a long moment. She could see the hurt in his eyes, but also something harder. Something that looked like determination.

"We'll see about that."

He moved toward the door, then stopped. "For what it's worth, I meant what I said. I left Celia. I left everything. For you."

"I didn't ask you to."

"I know." He reached for the door handle. "But I did it anyway."

"Damien, wait." Panic flared in her chest. "Promise me you won't do anything drastic with Adrian. Promise me you won't make this worse."

He looked back at her. His gray eyes were cold as steel. "I can't promise that."

"Damien—"

But he was already opening the door. Camera flashes exploded like fireworks. Voices shouted questions all at once.

"Mr. Kane! Mr. Kane!"

"Who is she?"

"How long have you been having an affair?"

"Is your marriage over?"

Damien stepped into the hallway without answering. The door slammed shut behind him, leaving Celeste alone with the sound of her racing heart and the muffled chaos outside.

She sank to the floor, her back against the door, and buried her face in her hands.

Through the thin walls, she could hear Damien's voice cutting through the noise like a knife.

"No comment. Stay away from the lady or you'll be hearing from my lawyers."

His footsteps echoed down the stairs. Car doors slammed. Engines started.

But the photographers stayed. She could hear them talking, planning, making phone calls to their editors.

Her life was over. Her normal, quiet, simple life was completely over.

And Damien Kane had just walked away to start a war she never wanted any part of.