Beneath the surface

Maya held her breath, waiting for his answer. She knew she shouldn't be doing this. She had always expected her husband to have had partners before her, but that wasn't what troubled her.

It wasn't that she thought he should be pure or that she should be his first. What bothered her was the idea of him visiting brothels. Her father and brother had done that—betrayed their women—and Maya had lived with that hurt her entire life.

The thought of him being like them, like a man who could not resist temptation, made her feel as though she were trapped in the same cycle of betrayal. She wanted so badly to see him differently, to believe he was nothing like her father or brother.

"Yes, I had visited brothels," Damien said, his voice low. He hadn't thought much of it before, but now, with Maya looking at him like this, it felt different. He had lived his life without much guilt—before her. But now... now that she was his mate, everything felt heavier.

The mate bond was everything to his people. He knew this, and yet, as he spoke the words, he felt a pang of shame that he hadn't anticipated. It wasn't about the brothels, not really. It was about the idea that he might have betrayed her, even before they had met.

He had tried to convince himself that his past didn't matter now. That it was the present, and she was his future. But hearing the words out loud—knowing that she might see him differently—made him feel unworthy. 

Had he already ruined it before it had even begun?

She knew that it was bad, but she didn't know why. She had expected that maybe he would say no, but there was also another part of her that already knew the answer.

She knew that if she asked him this, she was going to hurt herself. She didn't know how she was going to get past it. She wasn't married to him yet, and still, she felt the hurt—imagining her future husband with his previous partners.

She didn't know how her mother had felt all those years when her husband would go to the city, for the sake of his... affairs with other women.

She didn't know how she was going to get past it, but she knew that even though he had been like this in the past, he wasn't like that now.

It was something that belonged to his past, not to his present. Deep inside, something told her she could trust him, even after he had spoken those words.

"Please say something, Maya," Damien's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. He was in a panic, not wanting her to think that he was a rake, just like any other man in the village.

He wanted to say something, but he didn't know what. He knew that he had messed up, and he felt ashamed. He shouldn't have done that.

What if she felt that he didn't deserve her?What if she thought he wasn't the one for her?

He was in a panic, in shambles, thinking about everything that could go wrong.

"Damien, I'll be honest with you. The thing is, ...I always knew that I would never have a husband .....who would be loyal...before marriage. I expected it, and I knew it. But here's the thing—I mean, .....I know and I accept that you had a past before me. I accept that. But I just expected one more thing: that you wouldn't be like this after marriage."

There it was. She had said it all, and it felt good that she had said it. She wanted to come clean with him. It wasn't that saying this would break the marriage, but it felt like she could tell him anything.

He was the only person in this world who would understand. There was a feeling inside her that knew she could be open with him, that she could lay herself bare in front of him, and he wouldn't betray her. He wouldn't hurt her. He would protect her from the world.

On the other hand, Damien was a mess. He hated that he was away from her. He just felt the need to assure his mate that there was no one else in his life, no one in his heart, and there would never be anyone else in his life or his bed—just her.

But there was something inside him that broke when he heard her words—that she had to come clean with her man about his rakish ways.

He was ashamed that he made his mate feel this way. He was supposed to protect her, yet here he was, shattering her."You know what, Maya, I never thought that... I'm so sorry. I don't know what to say. Just know this: I'm yours. No one in this world has a right to me except you. I am yours. You are the only one in my life, and I am so ashamed. I'm sorry."

But what more could he say to her? What more could he say after this? This was all he could say: that he was sorry.

He couldn't change his past. If he had the understanding or the wisdom back then, he wouldn't have done the things he did.

Somehow, Maya felt better. Somehow, she felt that he was right—he would never, ever betray her. So what if he had many partners before her? He was hers now, and there would be no one in the world who would touch him but her.

She smiled and looked at him, saying, "I'm sorry, Damien. I trust you."

"No, no, you have to understand", his voice intense. "It's only you. Ever. In the future, you'll be the mother of my child. You're the only woman who's ever going to touch me again. There will be no one else, know this."

He knew he was being desperate, but he had to make her understand. But suddenly, Maya cut him off and said, "Damien, I trust you. Don't—don't ever try to explain yourself. I trust you. I just want us to start our new chapter, with honesty and with each other."

As the last of their words lingered in the air, an understanding passed between them. There were no more questions, no more doubts.

The silence felt comfortable now, not heavy or uncertain. It was as if the world outside had faded away, leaving only the two of them in that moment—together.

Damien took a deep breath as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

 I felt that Damien and Maya should have this conversation so I added it And tried to make it in the same flow.

In the next chapter, prepare yourselves for a turning point that could change everything.

The journey is far from over. Stay tuned. The best (and most dangerous) is yet to come.