Four
“Errrr…I…I just wanted to look at these books, I'm sorry.”
She hadn't expected him to return that early.
Damien stood by the door, his arms folded across his chest. The look on his face clearly showed he didn't believe one bit of her story.
“I only wanted to borrow a book from the library. I didn't find any interesting one in the general library,” she explained further, hoping he would let her go.
“And who says you can come into my library and touch my books? Were you not informed that you shouldn't come to this part of the house?” He asked, advancing menacingly towards her.
Sophia swallowed nothing and her throat went dry. With each step he took, Sophia took one backwards until she fell into his comfortable office seat.
She was wearing baggy shirts and shorts because she loved to feel comfortable at home. This cloth did a good job in hiding her feminine features and perfect curves. Standing close to her and crouched before her face, Damian couldn't deny that she had a beautiful face with pink lips that begged to be kissed.
However, he was too pissed to think in that direction. Having a pretty face didn't give her the right to break his rules.
"Know your place, Mrs. wife. I’ll not be this nice next time. Out of my study!" he ordered.
Relieved that he did nothing to her, Sophia sprang up from the chair and straightened her cloth, her face red with a mixture of both fear and embarrassment. The bloody man before her knew just how to creep her out.
She had only gotten to the door when she remembered her book. She could still borrow it, right?
"Eh, can I please borrow the book?"
Damian stopped cleaning his desk and turned to her. How brazen.
“What?"
She calmly repeated herself. She had wanted that book for a long time to give up now that she had seen it.
“I’ll return it tomorrow, unfailingly, and in good condition too."
It was her courage and confidence that amazed Damian.
"You have no right to touch my things. Get lost," he yelled at her, and she quickly scurried away, not wanting to infuriate him the more.
By evening, Sophia was still restless. She had spent the whole day doing nothing. She was unable to get the book she so much wanted to read from Damian. She didn't also get to take a book from his library as well.
She wanted to keep herself busy, so she decided to take a walk around the house. Maybe that would make her feel a lot better.
While taking the walk, she discovered a walled off garden at the end of the house. Upon entering, she saw that it was filled with roses of different colors, particularly red roses. The air smelled divine, inviting, and calming. She moved closer to touch the flowers, and on getting close, she noticed the flowers had a certain pattern, as if a name was written with the roses.
She looked closely and was able to make out the name "Charlotte." Before she could think, she heard Damian's voice somewhere inside the garden. Was he here too?
"What do you want?”
“You swore you'd never marry again after me, Damian,” a woman's voice was heard over the phone. Damian took a deep breath.
"I did everything for you, and in return, you cared less about how I felt. You've lost the right to call me and whine over the phone."
Sophia didn't hear anything after that. Was this woman the Charlotte whose name was written with roses? For a full minute, no other sound was heard. She felt it was safe enough to go about checking the flowers.
This was what she was doing when Damian found her. His expression was shattered, and he ordered her out in a cold, raw voice.
"This isn't yours to touch. Why do you enjoy snooping around? Do you have a problem respecting boundaries? You fucking bitch?"
He took six strides and was soon towering before her. The fiery anger in his eyes was impossible to miss. She swallowed, unable to utter a word.
"Are you short of excuses now?"
His hands grabbed the necklace on her neck, and a gasp escaped her mouth.
"No, please don't rip it."
“Or?” he sneered.
"Touch it, and I swear..." She didn't get to finish before he tugged hard, and the necklace with it's silver lockets came falling to the ground.
"This is what happens to people who intrude other people's privacy - they get destroyed."
He threw the remains of the necklace in his hands on the floor.
Sophia's facial expression wavered from one of shock to anger, and in the next second, Damian felt a splitting pain on his cheek. Sophia had slapped him.