Kneel, Darling, Your Trophy Wife Is Gone Chapter 14
The ocean wind drifted across the deck, cool and damp with traces of salt.
I still hadn’t fully recovered from the conversation when Damien had already turned and walked away.
His back disappeared quickly. Too quickly.
For some reason, it left me momentarily dazed.
I lowered my eyes to the performance tickets still in my hand. After hesitating for several seconds, I finally
slipped them into my pocket.
And suddenly, an absurd thought surfaced in my mind.
Does Damien like me?
Otherwise… why save me? Why appear at the hospital by “coincidence”? And why follow me around the
world for three straight months?
But the moment the thought formed, even I found it ridiculous.
Damien and I had no past together. No history. If we’d truly crossed paths before, I wouldn’t have forgotten a
man like him.
So I stopped thinking about it and returned to my room.
At eight that night, I still went to the fifth-floor theater lounge.
But the moment I pushed open the doors, I froze.
It wasn’t a normal performance hall at all. It was a masquerade ball.
The lighting was dim and seductive. Everyone wore elaborate masks and extravagant clothes that looked
almost unreal beneath the chandeliers and music.
And there I stood in a plain white shirt and jeans.
Too ordinary.
Too out of place.
I glanced down at myself, debating whether I should go back and change first, when footsteps approached
from behind.
Damien.
Tonight, he was dressed far more formally than usual. The black dress shirt fit tightly across his shoulders
beneath a sharply tailored suit, stripping away most of his usual laziness and replacing it with something
darker. Sharper.
A silver fox mask covered the upper half of his face.
He stopped in front of me and held out a butterfly mask.
“Forgot to mention it was a masquerade?”
I nodded slightly. “I’ll go change first.”
I had barely turned around when he caught my wrist.
The grip wasn’t forceful, but it was steady.
Light reflected in his eyes like shattered glass as he looked at me and said quietly, “Nora, nobody in this world gets to decide how you’re supposed to live.”
“What outfit belongs at what event. What kind of woman should act what kind of way…” His voice stayed calm. “None of that is mandatory.”
I paused.
It was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to me.
Growing up, everyone taught me the opposite. My parents taught me elegance and restraint. Ethan only ever
wanted the flawless Donna beside him.
For a long time, I honestly believed that was my purpose.
Damien watched me silently before speaking again, softer this time.
“You don’t always have to behave.”
“You’d probably breathe easier if you just acted like yourself.”
I stayed quiet for a long moment before finally muttering, “But everyone else dressed up.”
I looked down at myself again.
“I look strange.”
Damien laughed softly, then stepped closer and secured the butterfly mask over my face himself.
“So what?”
His tone turned teasing again.
“Or do you seriously think a top-tier attorney like me can’t handle a little gossip for you?”
He leaned slightly closer.
“Don’t underestimate me, Nora.”
That was the moment I almost smiled.
I glanced sideways at him. “The attorney who charged me a billion dollars?”
Damien shrugged shamelessly.
“Corrupt lawyers are always transparent about pricing.”
Then before I could refuse again, he grabbed my hand and pulled me straight toward the dance floor.
“Come dance.”
At first, I felt uncomfortable, like everyone around us was staring.
But gradually, I realized nobody actually cared about me at all. They only cared about their masks, the music,
themselves.
No one judged me.
No one examined me.
And for the first time in my life, I realized maybe rules weren’t nearly as important as I’d always believed.
Maybe I didn’t have to be a Donna.
Maybe I didn’t need to belong to a definition at all.
That night, I drank several glasses of wine. My cheeks grew warm, my thoughts pleasantly soft around the
edges.
By the time the ball ended, Damien was helping me back to my room.
He sat beside me afterward, quietly using a warm towel to wipe the makeup from my face. His movements
were careful. Gentle.
Half-drunk and half-awake, I grabbed lightly onto his sleeve.
“Damien.”
He lowered his eyes toward me.
And I asked softly, “Why are you helping me?”
He paused briefly before answering in that same lazy tone as always.
“Didn’t I already tell you? You paid me a billion dollars.”
I shook my head slowly.
“That’s not the reason.”
Even I couldn’t fully explain it.
But somehow… I knew it wasn’t just money.
Damien didn’t answer immediately. He simply looked at me.
Deeply.
Too deeply.
Deep enough that I suddenly couldn’t meet his eyes anymore.
We were standing incredibly close now, close enough that our breathing had started mixing together.
My heartbeat skipped suddenly.
I lowered my gaze first.
“Forget it,” I muttered softly. “Pretend I never asked.”
I was just about to let go of his sleeve when he suddenly reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair gently behind my ear. Slowly. Carefully.
Then finally, he spoke.
His voice had gone much quieter now.
“You really don’t remember me, Nora?”
I froze instantly.
His eyes never left mine.
“Not even a little?”
I stared at him blankly, my mind completely empty.
Because if I had truly met a man like Damien before, there was no way I could’ve forgotten him.
But the truth was-
I didn’t remember him at all.
So slowly, I shook my head.
