Chapter 6 - Her Taste, His Distance

Elina couldn't sleep that night. Her lips still burned from Damon's kiss. It hadn't been sweet — it had been wild. Desperate. Like something they both needed but were afraid to want.

She thought everything had changed between them.

But the next morning… he was gone.

She woke in the penthouse guest room. No note. No message. Just silence.

By afternoon, Damon had returned to being cold, composed, and distant. In the office, he avoided eye contact. He didn't speak unless necessary. The man who once held her like she was fire was now acting like she didn't exist.

Elina's chest ached, but she kept her head high. If he wanted to pretend nothing happened… she would too.

Until she walked into the boardroom.

And saw her.

Long legs. Silk dress. Eyes that screamed trouble.

The woman sitting next to Damon wasn't a stranger.

"Everyone," Damon said flatly, "This is Selena Hart — our new brand strategist."

Selena turned, her lips curving into a venomous smile. "We've met before… but you were just a pretty assistant back then."

She leaned closer to Damon, her hand casually brushing his arm.

"I must say, Damon, you still smell like sin."

Elina froze.

His jaw tightened. But he didn't move away.

Selena's presence wasn't a coincidence.

She wasn't just an ex.

She was his weakness. And now… she was here.

Later that evening, behind a wall of tinted glass and power games, a different woman watched everything unfold — eyes cold, lips pursed.

Vivienne Salvatore. Damon's stepmother.

From her high-backed leather chair, she sipped her wine slowly and smirked.

"So easy," she whispered. "Boys always run back to poison when they're afraid of falling for something real."

She picked up her phone.

"Keep Elina close, but never too close. Selena will do her part. Let the girl burn."

And just like that… Elina was no longer just a girl trying to survive.

She had unknowingly walked into a house of wolves.

Elina sat alone in the break room, fingers trembling around a lukewarm cup of coffee. Laughter echoed faintly down the hallway — Selena's voice, bright and sharp like broken glass.

She stared at the swirling liquid, her reflection distorted.

"It was just a contract," she whispered to herself.

She had signed it to help her brother.

Nothing more. Nothing romantic. No promises.

So why did it hurt this much?

Why did it feel like she'd handed over more than her time… like Damon had taken a piece of her and now refused to acknowledge it?

Her throat tightened.

"After this is over, he'll go back to his penthouses and parties. Back to women who belong in his world."

And I'll go back to a tiny apartment. To hospital visits. To fighting reality alone.

She placed the untouched coffee aside and wiped her eyes quickly.

"I can't afford to fall. I didn't come here to feel."

Behind the glass walls, she saw him smile at Selena.

And for the first time… she didn't know if the ache in her chest was anger or heartbreak.

Elina sat frozen, her thoughts a tangle of pain and denial.

"It's just a contract," she reminded herself, voice hollow.

"He'll go back to his world... and I'll go back to mine."

Her phone buzzed in her lap.

She ignored it at first.

But it buzzed again. Then again.

She glanced down, her chest tightening when she saw the name flashing on screen.

Dr. Mishra – ICU

With trembling fingers, she answered.

"Elina?" The voice was urgent. "It's your brother. His condition has worsened. We need your immediate consent to shift him into a critical care unit."

Her blood ran cold.

"N-no... what happened? I— I'll be there," she choked.

Tears welled in her eyes as she stood abruptly, her chair scraping loudly across the floor. Panic rose like a tidal wave.

She rushed out, not caring who saw her.

"Where are you going?" Damon's voice cut through the hallway as he stepped out of the conference room.

She didn't stop.

"Elina!" he called, walking after her. "Talk to me!"

"My brother—he's not okay!" she gasped, wiping her tears as she ran toward the elevator. "I have to go. Don't stop me, Damon!"

He reached for her arm, but she pulled away.

"I told you… this was just a contract, right?" Her voice cracked. "Then let me go!"

The elevator doors slid shut between them.

And Damon stood there, alone… confused, guilty, and aching.

Inside the descending lift, Elina pressed her forehead to the cold wall, tears falling silently.

She had forgotten. Forgotten her reason for everything.

But pain always remembers.

And love?

Sometimes… love arrives too late.

END OF CHAPTER 6