Chapter 55 The Edge Of Betrayal

• The night stretched endlessly, heavy with the remnants of everything that had been said and left unsaid. Ivy lay awake, her body restless against the silken sheets, her mind replaying Damien’s words with a cruel persistence that felt like a punishment. His voice had been calm, deliberate, yet edged with something darker—a reminder of the power he held not just over her body, but over the very direction of her life.
• She turned onto her side, staring at the faint glow of the lamp across the room, its dim light doing nothing to ease the sharp ache of her thoughts. For all his ruthlessness, Damien had given her glimpses—tiny, fleeting hints—of something beyond cruelty. A man like him did not show weakness without purpose, yet Ivy had seen it, even if he would never admit it. But instead of comfort, the memory left her unsettled, her chest tightening as though she were carrying the weight of secrets too dangerous to speak aloud.
• Damien was not asleep. She could feel it in the way his presence dominated the room, even when he lay motionless beside her. There was a tension in him, coiled like a predator waiting for the slightest sound to strike. His breathing was steady but not relaxed, and though his eyes were closed, Ivy knew better.