Chapter 7
Without saying a single word, Damien firmly pressed the bracelet into my palm. “Please… keep it. It was your favorite.
“I’m not trying to win you back. I just want you to be happy.”
I looked down at the bracelet resting in my palm and let out a cold, bitter laugh. “I don’t care about this broken thing anymore.”
Right in front of him, I threw it back into the trash. I heard it break again as it hit the bottom.
Damien’s eyes widened in disbelief, his mouth slightly open, but no words came.
“I treasured it because I loved you. I held on to everything you gave me, as if it meant the world.
“But now, I hate you. And everything that reminds me of you only makes my skin crawl.”
As the weight of my words settled between us, I saw Damien’s eyes begin to redden, a faint glimmer of tears forming in them.
Without thinking, I lifted my hand and wiped the corner of my own eye.
It was the first time I ever saw him cry. Yet I had cried for him countless times before.
I had cried the night he was ambushed and beaten in that alley after his first court case.
I had cried when he finally bought his own place in Aberton, a home carved out with nothing but sheer determination.
had cried on the day we shared our first wedding ceremony.
But none of those tears held a candle to the ones I shed when he left me for Astrid.
He went from being my greatest source of comfort to feeling like a complete stranger.
Now, his tears were just a reaction to the fact that I truly didn’t want him anymore. After all, who wouldn’t be hurt losing the perfect nanny?
I didn’t pay Damien any mind and slipped back inside my house to finish my meal.
My expression remained neutral, and my parents didn’t suspect a thing. They just kept piling food onto my plate, happily sharing their stories of their legal cases with me.
As my mom’s voice filled the room, I held the plate of shrimp my dad had carefully peeled for me. To them, it was just another day of routine. But after everything with Damien, I finally saw what I’d been missing.
Fortunately, I was still young.
The next morning at work, Lily Tillman, the receptionist, approached me, her grin teasing. “Nora, do you have a secret admirer?”
I blinked in surprise as she brought out a bouquet of flowers and a cup of chamomile tea from beneath the desk.
“Early this morning, a guy stopped by and asked me to leave these for you. He said that you should have something warm to drink since you’re on your period.
“As for the flowers, he hoped they’d bring a little light to your day.”
I didn’t take the bouquet. Instead, my eyes were drawn to the words written on the card. It read, “Hey Nora, I’ll send you a bouquet every single day from
now on.”
As expected, it was from Damien. Repulsed, I told Lily to dispose of everything immediately. “Anything from that bastard might be poisoned.”
Lily didn’t hesitate and cleared it all away. “Understood,” she said.
Meanwhile, Damien remained completely oblivious that his gifts were being discarded. Day after day, the flowers continued to arrive at the office without fail.
It wasn’t long before the entire firm caught wind, assuming I had a secret admirer. The younger staff members would sneak over, eager to uncover the gossip.
But I shut every one of them down.
Lily stood nearby, on the verge of tears. I didn’t hesitate when I told her to shove the flowers in Damien’s face and tell him to get lost.
But that didn’t stop him. He kept sneaking in, leaving bouquets at the door like clockwork.
I couldn’t understand what drove him or where he found the nerve to keep showing up. Eventually, I’d had enough. I woke up early on purpose, just to catch him in the act.
The moment I saw him with another bouquet, I snatched the flowers from him and shoved them hard into his face.
‘Is this never going to end?
Do you honestly believe that showing up every day like this makes you some kind of tragic romantic?”
Damien stumbled back from the impact, sulking as he gathered the fallen flowers. “I just want you to be happy,” he mumbled.
“The sight of you only makes me more irritated. How many times do I have to make myself clear?” I retorted without mercy. Damien lowered his head, looking like a child caught red–handed.
