133 Chapter 133
Damien’s POV 1
Something was off.
I’d been carrying this nagging feeling in my chest all morning, like a splinter I couldn’t dig out. It had started
the moment I woke up and found Sera already dressed, moving through our morning routine with that too-
bright smile she’d been wearing since yesterday.
I tried to focus on the quarterly reports spread across my desk, but the numbers kept blurring together. My
mind kept drifting back to the way Sera had kissed me goodbye this morning.
That should have been a good thing. Instead, it made me feel like I was standing on the edge of a cliff.
“Mr. Nightshadow?”
Emma’s crisp voice cut through my wandering thoughts. She stood beside my desk in another one of her
perfectly tailored suits, holding a stack of contracts that needed my attention.
She set them down with practiced efficiency. “They need your signature before the two o’clock deadline.”
I picked up my pen and started signing without really reading them. My mind was elsewhere.
“Also, I’ve rescheduled your meeting with the Seattle division,” Emma continued.
“Fine,” I muttered, scrawling my signature across another page.
She nodded quickly, gathering up the signed papers. “Is there anything else you need right now?”
“No,” I said. “That’s all for now.”
Emma hesitated at the door. “Mr. Nightshadow? If I may… you seem distracted today. Is everything alright?”
The concern in her voice sounded genuine, but it irritated me anyway.
“Everything’s fine,” I said curtly. “Just tired.”
She nodded and left, closing the door behind her with a soft click. I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my
temples, trying to ease the tension that had been building there all morning.
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*Get it together,* I told myself. *Sera’s fine. She’s home with Lily, probably napping or reading or doing whatever it is she does during the day.*
But the feeling wouldn’t go away. If anything, it was getting stronger.I nced at my watch. Nearly noon.
I could call Sera. Just to check in. Just to hear her voice and reassure myself that everything was normal.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I was dialing her number.
It rang three times before she answered.
“Hello?” Her voice was soft, slightly breathless.
“Hey, baby,” I said, relief flooding through me at the sound of her. “How’s your day going?”
“It’s going well,” she replied, and I could hear rustling in the background, soft baby sounds. “I’m just feeding Lily right now. She’s being an angel today.”
“That’s my girl.” I closed my eyes, picturing Sera in the nursery rocking chair, Lily cradled against her chest. The image made warmth spread through my chest, chasing away some of the anxiety.
Sheughed, but it sounded forced. “Fair enough. What about you? How’s your day?”
“Long. Boring. The usual corporate nonsense.” I spun my chair to face the window, looking out at the city
skyline. “I keep getting distracted.”
“By what?”
“By you. Always miss you.
“I know the feeling.” Her voice got softer. “Damien?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you. You know that, right?”
“I love you too, baby. More than anything.”
“I know you do.” There was rustling again, Lily making contented baby noises. “I should probably let you get
back to work.”
“Probably. I’ll try not to be toote tonight.”
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“Don’t worry about it. Take your time. Adrian and I will be here when you get home.”
“Okay. Kiss Lily for me.”
“I will.”
The line went dead, and I sat there staring at my phone. The conversation had been perfectly normal. Sera had sounded calm, even affectionate. So why did I feel worse than before I’d called?
*Because you’re losing your mind,* I told myself firmly. *Everything is fine. Sera is fine. Stop borrowing
trouble.*
I tried to focus on work after that, but it was hopeless. The afternoon crawled by at a snail’s pace. Emma came and went with updates and requests, her presence a constant low-level irritation. Every time she
walked into my office with that professional smile and perfect posture, I wanted to snap at her to go away.
She was efficient, I had to give her that. Probably more efficient than most assistants I’d had. But she wasn’t
Sera.
By four o’clock, I’d had enough. The quarterly reports could wait until tomorrow. All I wanted was to go home
to my family.
“I’m leaving,” I announced, standing up and grabbing my jacket.
Emma looked up from herputer in surprise. “But there is a meeting until five-”
“Reschedule it.”
“Sir, they specifically requested this time slot. They’re flying back to Pornd tomorrow morning—”
“Then they can extend their trip by one day.” I was already moving toward the door, my need to get home
suddenly overwhelming. “Handle it, Emma. That’s what you’re here for.”
“Of course, but-”
I was in the elevator before she could finish protesting, my phone already in my hand to call Sera and let her
know I’d be home early. Maybe we could have dinner as a family tonight. Maybe I could help Adrian with his
homework and spend some time with Lily before bed.
Maybe whatever was wrong with me would disappear once I was home where I belonged.
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The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
Then it went to voicemail.
*”Hi, you’ve reached Sera. I can’te to the phone right now, but leave a message and I’ll call you back as
soon as I can!”*
I frowned, ending the call without leaving a message. Maybe she was in the bathroom, or putting Lily down
for a nap, or just had her hands too full to answer.
I tried again as I walked through the parking garage to my car.
Straight to voicemail again.
By the time I was on the highway, headed toward home, I’d tried calling three more times. Each failed
attempt made the uneasy feeling in my chest grow stronger, more insistent.
*Her battery probably died,* I told myself as I merged into traffic. *Or she turned the ringer off while Lily
was sleeping.*
But deep in my gut, in that primal ce where instinct lived, I knew something was wrong.
Very, very wrong.