Chapter 54 The Confrontation

• The night deepened around them, pressing in with a silence that felt almost unbearable after the heated words that had been exchanged. The villa seemed quieter than usual, as if the very walls were holding their breath, listening for what came next. Ivy stood by the wide window, her figure cast in pale moonlight, her arms wrapped around herself though she wasn’t cold. She felt raw, stripped open by Damien’s intensity, by the way he could unravel her with just one look.
• Behind her, she could sense him. Damien had not moved from the center of the room where their confrontation had ended. He was watching her, that much she knew without turning. His gaze was a weight, steady and heavy, and it pulled at her like invisible chains. She wanted to resist, to fight, to reclaim the breath he had stolen, but part of her—the dangerous, treacherous part—was beginning to crave those chains instead.
• “You’re quiet,” Damien finally said, his voice low, threaded with control. It wasn’t a question, but an observation. A deliberate test.