Ava successfully slipped back into the corridor that led to her room, her footsteps muffled by the thick carpeting. She glanced around once more to be sure no one had saw her peeping. Her heart was still slightly erratic from the close call on the balcony. As she reached for her door and pressed a hand against the knob to push it open, her gaze drifted involuntarily to the far end of the hallway, the direction of Damien's study.
Damn him.
Why wait around for him to spill truths he might never volunteer? What good would it do to keep giving him time when all she had in return was more silence and carefully constructed half truths? If he wouldn't tell her, she'd dig them out herself.
Her hand fell from the doorknob.
Without another second of hesitation, she turned and made her way toward the east wing. The corridors grew quieter there. It was colder somehow. As she neared the study, she slowed her steps and paused at the edge of the corner, peeking down the staircase. She could still hear voices. Damien was still downstairs, talking with Theron and his assistant.
She took the long route through the hall, careful not to rush and risk the sound of her heels echoing. When she finally reached the study, she placed a cautious hand on the doorknob and gave it a slow, steady turn. The lock clicked open and she pushed the door inward, stepping into the dimly lit room.
She closed the door softly behind her and paused for a moment to adjust to the thick scent of leather and old wood. The study was exactly how she'd imagined it. It was neat, deliberate, and meticulously curated. Books lined the shelves in rows too clean to be frequently touched, a few paperweights strategically placed on the massive oak desk. She exhaled slowly and moved to the shelves, her fingers hovering over spines of thick tomes and binders.
She wasn't sure what she was looking for, only that she had to find something. She just searched for anything suspicious, anything out of the ordinary. Something that justified her unease. Something that gave her a glimpse into the locked part of Damien's life.
She started with the files on his desk. They were mostly contracts, business reports and shareholder analysis. There was nothing that screamed personal, nothing that whispered secrets. She moved to the drawers, flipping through folders labeled with dates and initials. All of it seemed obsessively organized, just like him.
She searched the bookshelves next. She tugged at titles, checking behind covers, flipping through chapters to see if anything was tucked inside. A few had scribbled notes in the margins, but they were intellectual musings. She moved to the drawers and then the lockers. There was still nothing.
"Argh." She muttered a curse under her breath and was about to give up when the door handle suddenly rattled.
Panicked, Ava moved swiftly, crouching behind a tall wooden cabinet near the fireplace. She held her breath.
The door creaked open and Bernard walked in. He didn't look around, just went straight for one of the bookshelves. He pushed aside a few thick volumes and Ava's eyes narrowed. Behind those books was something she hadn't noticed before, a safe.
He punched in a code she couldn't make out and opened the compartment. Bernard reached inside and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in dark cloth. It wasn't a file or a folder, they were parchments. Old, worn, and held together with a leather strap. He took one glance at them, then tucked them under his arm, locked the safe again, and replaced the books. Then he exited the study.
Ava didn't move for a few seconds. Her mind raced.
Parchments? What the hell was in them? Ava got got curious and driven now by an even deeper curiosity, she crept toward the shelf Bernard had accessed. She repeated what he did and pushed the same books aside. The safe was embedded into the wood, almost unnoticeable unless you knew where to look. She didn't know the code, and the safe was already locked again, but the very existence of it changed things.
She heard distant voices approaching and froze.
She quickly pushed the books back in place and slipped out of the study, hurrying silently down the hall until she reached her room. She entered, shut the door behind her, and hurried to look out the window.
Damien stood at the entrance of the estate, speaking with Theron and Vale. She watched as Theron slid into the backseat of a sleek black car, Vale holding the door for him like a dutiful shadow. The engine purred to life, and the car pulled away out of the premises.
But Damien didn't move.
He stood there for a moment, then slowly lifted his head. His eyes met hers through the windowpane, and for a moment, neither of them looked away.
She stood still until he turned and walked back into the house.
Ava turned from the window, her pulse picking up again. She stepped out of her room and made her way toward the stairs. She met Damien in the corridor, catching him just as he was heading toward the living room.
She didn't give him a chance to speak first.
"Why the hell was the man who tried to abduct me here?" she demanded. "Was it your cousin's doing? Why?"
Damien said nothing at first. He moved toward the living room like he hadn't heard her or didn't want to answer but she followed him. He collapsed into one of the armchairs with a tired breath.
"Vale wasn't trying to kidnap you," he said at last. "He just wanted to assess you."
Ava blinked. "Assess me? For what?"
"I didn't introduce you to the family yet," Damien explained. "Theron sent him just wanted to see you for himself."
"That's your explanation?" Ava said, voice rising. "Does that make sense to you? Abduct me because he wanted to see me? What happened to coming here like he just did?"
"I'm not justifying what happened," Damien said, his tone low. "But it wasn't an abduction and it won't happen again."
"Does he know why I'm here?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"Yes."
"Does he know why you married me? The curse and all?"
"Yes."
"Then why? Why does any of that justify what happened to me?"
"That's exactly it," Damien said, rubbing a hand over his jaw. "He wanted to know if you are… fit."
"Fit for what?"
Damien didn't answer. His silence was beginning to wear on her nerves.
She paced a few steps away, then turned back to face him. "I'm not just a contract or an accessory to a curse or whatever, Damien. I'm a person. I've been trying to find my place in this madness but you keep treating me like I'm on the outside."
Damien's eyes finally met hers, and there was something behind them. Ava could swear she saw fatigue in them.
"I'm not an easy person," he said quietly. "And this… this is not an easy thing."
"You think I don't know that already?" she said. "I didn't come here expecting rainbows. But you need to stop pretending that keeping secrets is the same as protecting me."
He stood then, slowly, and approached her until there was just a breath of space between them.
"I just want you safe," he said, voice low. "And I'm going to keep you that way. Even if it means keeping you away from things you're better off not knowing."
Ava held his gaze, not retreating.
"I'm already involved, Damien."
"No, no you're not. You're not until you are." He just looked at her like he was finally starting to realize she wasn't just part of the plan, she was part of the consequence.