Chapter 21 THE CLEAN UP.

Chapter 21 THE CLEAN UP.
Isabel’s POV.

The small office was silent except for Adrian’s groans. He was seated against the desk, holding his bloody nose.

I still stood against the wall, unable to move.

I stared at the dark tuxedo of the man who had just hit his own brother. The shock of the sound, the sight of the blood—it was too much.

Damien stood over Adrian. He was breathing heavily, but the anger was already gone. He was cold and controlled again. He looked down at Adrian like a doctor looking at a damaged machine.

He ignored me for a moment and walked over to the corner of the room where a small water pitcher stood on a side table. He picked up the pitcher and the glass and also pulled a clean, white handkerchief from his jacket pocket.

He knelt next to Adrian.

“D—Damien. Call a doctor. My nose is broken.”

Damien poured a little water onto the handkerchief, ignoring his request. He did not speak. He just started to gently wipe the blood from Adrian’s nose and upper lip. It was an odd terrible act of cleanup.

“You got messed up bad, Adrian,” Damien sald, his face devoid of any emotion “ This is a sports injury. You fell down the main stairs. You were dizzy from the champagne. Do you understand?”

Adrian nodded into the handkerchief. “Not like I will willingly tell mother you punched me. We won’t hear the end of it”

Damien stood up, tossing the blood-stained handkerchief onto the desk. 

He looked at me, finally. Ignoring his brother for what felt like the tenth time in 30 minutes.

“He should not have hurt you,” Damien stated. He did not say it was wrong to hurt me; he said Adrian should not have done it. “He lost control of his temper. I am sorry”

He reached out and gently touched my bruised wrist. Too zone out to realize his brother was in this room. 

His fingers were cool on the red mark. He held my arm for a second, feeling the heat of the pain. It was not comfort. It was a silent inspection.

“Apply some ointment on it” 

He walked to the door and pulled it open just a crack, letting the loud sound of the party spill into the room.

“Go to my study,” he ordered. “The main hallway on the third floor. I will meet you there in ten minutes. We have business to attend to.”

I looked at Adrian, still seated on the table. He stared at our exchange with something akin to curiousity. 

I looked back at Damien, unable to look at Adrain for any seconds longer.

“Go, Isabel. Now,” 

I walked past him, slipping through the door and back into the bright hallway. I walked to the back staircase, needing to escape the eyes of the guests.

I went up two floors. When I reached the main hallway outside his private wing, i leaned against the wall.

I was trembling, trying to breathe, trying to forget the sight of Adrian’s blood and Damien’s cold, cleaning hand. I was safe from Adrian now, but I was already thinking of the other brother.

Ten minutes later, the elevator dinged. Damien stepped out. He looked exactly the same as when he entered the room: perfect, controlled, untouched.

He walked straight to me. He didn't speak for sometime

He only reached out and gently moved my hair from my cheek.

“You are mine, Isabel,” he said, his voice low, a promise and a threat. “I will not have anyone hurt what belongs to me.”

I nodded once, mute. I understood. Adrian’s hand had tried to break me. Damien’s fist had shown me the terrifying price of his protection.

He looked down at my wrist, then back up at my face.

“Are you in pains?”

I tried to feel the ache in my wrist but I could only hear the sound of my heart beating loudly. So I shook my head.

He looked conflicted, trying to see if I was lying.

Satisfied, he turned and opened the door to his room. The room was dark, and felt like the most dangerous place in the world.

“Come inside,” he ordered. “The payment is not finished for tonight.”