Chapter 21

• Damian’s POV
• Silence had always been Little Treasure’s sanctuary.
• Even as a child, he carved out spaces in this house that felt untouched, untouchable just like the heart he kept walled off from the world. After meals, he’d vanish to his room, disappearing into that carefully constructed quiet. The staff knew better than to linger. One creak of a floorboard, one voice above a whisper, and he could spiral his emotions a storm no one dared provoke.