Lashirah_Hash

> He saw her once—and that was enough.

Elena Rivers was just a waitress at a high-end gala she didn’t belong to, filling in for someone else's shift. She didn’t know her spilled glass of champagne would be the moment Damien Vale—billionaire, recluse, and dangerously obsessive—noticed her.

He never spoke to her. Not then. But he watched.

And when he wanted her closer, he made it happen.

Now, Elena is working directly under him, unaware that the life she thinks she controls is already entangled in the hands of a man who doesn't just want her—he needs her.

He’s patient. He’s powerful. And he’s been planning this from the moment she walked into his view.

OBSESSION IN SILENCE

Damien stood at the edge of the university courtyard, half-shaded by the arching stone pillars, a hardcover tucked under his arm—not because he intended to read, but because it made him look harmless. Approachable. Normal.

But he wasn't watching anyone. Only her.

She moved like someone who didn't want to be seen but couldn't help drawing eyes anyway—books clutched to her chest, hoodie up despite the heat. Sharp eyes. Head down. She wore silence like armor, and that fascinated him.

Then curiosity turned into a habit. A ritual.

He began to map her schedule in his mind without needing a single conversation.

Psychology at nine. Literature at noon. She always took the corner seat, always left last. She didn't talk much. Didn't smile often. But when she did—rare, quiet, like an accident—he felt it somewhere deep in his chest. Like hunger.

He remembered the first time their eyes met. It had been seconds. A glance across the library. She hadn't even held it.

He saw the moment her guard flickered. Just for a heartbeat.

It was the recognition of something familiar.

She had shadows behind her eyes. The kind that didn't come from fear but from survival.

And Damien… Damien didn't fall in love.

She didn't know it then—couldn't. But from that moment on, she had already been chosen.

And no matter how far she ran, no matter how hard she resisted…

she would return to where she belonged.

Before She Knew Me(Flashback)