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6
Islid open the sliding glass door and stepped into the house, shivering at the air conditioning that swept over my clammy skin. I jerked to a stop when I looked up and saw Damien sitting on one of the couches, Drake and Tyrone sitting on the other couch across from him.
I quickly wrapped my towel around me, casting my eyes on the floor. “I’m just going to go to my room,” I said quietly. My heart was pounding in my chest. I needed to get away from Damien.
“Nonsense,” Damien stated, and I heard him stand up from the couch. I jerked my eyes up from the floor to stare at him as he walked toward me. I saw Drake move to get up out of the corner of my eye, but Tyrone clamped a hand on his shoulder to hold him in place. I nervously swallowed as I focused my attention back on Damien. “Let me see your hand, darlin’.”
I swallowed hard and slowly held out my hand, unable to deny the man in front of me. Damien wrapped his fingers around my wrist, and with his other hand, he dropped something in my palm, releasing me as quickly as he had grabbed me. “I believe that belongs to you,” he said quietly, his mesmerizing dark eyes locked on mine.
I looked down at my hand. Tears instantly built up in my eyes as I stared down at the large, diamond ring in the center of my palm.
The same exact diamond ring that I had worn on my hand for months after Damien had asked me to marry him.
I hadn’t seen it since I had visited him that one and only time in prison after he had been arrested. I had laid the ring on the tabletop and told him I was leaving, officially ending everything between us.
It had ripped me apart more than he had ever managed to do himself to walk away from him, but I had to do it. I had to find myself again, and I had to heal from the miscarriage of the baby that I had lost.
As if he hadn’t just blown my damn mind away, Damien walked back to the couch and sat down. I rushed off to my room, shutting my door behind me as the tears slid down my cheeks.
Just because Damien had ruined me didn’t mean that I didn’t still love him despite all he had done.
I pulled into the garage,thankful to be home after such a long, exhausting day at work. With a tired sigh, I turned my car off and leaned my head on the steering wheel for a moment, trying to collect myself. It had been an extremely tiring day at work, and it seemed every customer I had come in contact with had some kind of attitude problem.
With slow movements, I pushed open my car door and stepped out of my car, beeping it locked. Damien would have a fit if he found out I accidentally left my car unlocked. He was a stickler when it came to my safety and well-being.
I strode up to the door and pushed it open, walking inside. I knew Damien wouldn’t have been home by then, and with tired movements, I kicked my shoes off by the door and dragged my feet to the bedroom.
Damien was leaning against the doorjamb when I walked down the hallway.
My eyes widened in shock as I stared at him. “You’re home early,” I commented, walking towards him as he stood up to his full height.
He pulled me against him and kissed me softly. I smiled into the kiss and stepped a bit closer to him, desperately wanting to be closer to him. He pulled back all too soon and stepped backward into the room, grabbing a glass of chilled wine off of the table beside our bedroom door. He handed it to me with a gentle smile. “Happy six-month anniversary, darlin’.”
I smiled and took a sip of the wine, loving that he always remembered my favorite kind. My eyes widened again when I looked at the floor and saw the rose petals scattered on the floor to make a path. I laughed softly, my eyes filling with tears as I followed them towards the bathroom where the light was off, candles lit everywhere. The jacuzzi-style tub was filled with bubbles and was letting off the aroma of vanilla—my absolute favorite scent.
“Go ahead and relax, darlin’. I’ve got dinner in the oven,” Damien told me, his deep voice wrapping around me, soothing me after such a long day.
I turned and smiled at Damien, reaching up to wipe a tear of happiness off my cheek. “This means a lot,” I whispered. “Thank you.”
He softly smiled at me and reached forward to wrap his hand around the back of my neck to kiss me. “Anything for you, beautiful.”
He turned and walked off. I smiled and stripped out of my clothes, settling down into the tub, sighing at the perfect temperature as all my muscles began to loosen and relax.
When dinner was ready, Damien and I ate on the back porch under the stars with the moon and the candles our only light as we spoke softly about our future, and the great moments we knew we would have together.
Damien might have been a monster, and he might have been controlling as hell, but he loved me in his own twisted, fucked-up way.
I was staring up at the moon in silence when Damien’s chair scraped against the concrete. I jerked my head around to stare at him as he got down on one knee in front of me, a velvet box opened in his hands to reveal a gigantic diamond ring.
My breath caught in my throat as tears spilled down my cheeks.
“Hayley, you are the only woman I’ve met who has been able to worm her way under my skin. I don’t make a single decision without thinking of how it would affect you. I’ve created an empire for myself, but without you, it all means nothing to me.” He drew in a deep breath like he was actually nervous, and that was insane. Because Damien Parrish didn’t get nervous. “Hayley, please, do me the honor of marrying me and sharing all of this with me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” he murmured, nervousness showing in his eyes.
Damien was never nervous, and yet, tonight, he was nervous that I would turn him down.
Tears of joy slid down my cheeks as I nodded and launched myself out of my chair at him, knocking us both to the ground as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him for all he was worth.
I was jerkedout of my beautiful, yet heart-breaking memory when I heard a gunshot go off, the sound of glass shattering meeting my ears right after. I shrieked and jumped off my bed, landing on the floor on my hands and knees. My bedroom door crashed open, and Damien rushed in, Drake and Tyrone hot on his heels.
