DAMIAN “What problem?” Anton cocked an eyebrow. “You’re clearly in love with her. Can’t you see that?” I scoffed. “In love? That’s quite funny. Why would I fall in love with Amelia? Is she any different from all the women I’ve been with?” Anton crossed his arms and leaned closer to me. “I’m tempted to believe you, but I have eyes, Damian. And what they tell me is far from what you’re saying. You almost exploded because I called her beautiful. You were jealous. Jealousy is an extra package that accompanies love.” “I’m not jealous.” I gulped down the contents of my glass. “I don’t want you to flirt with my wife or talk about her, especially when she can hear you.” “Ok,” Anton smiled, and I knew he was up to something. “Let’s believe you don’t love Amelia. I want to take you back to your old self. You’ve become boring. If you don’t love your wife, you wouldn’t mind having an erotic life, would you?” I stared back at him intensely, torn between accepting his crude pla

DAMIAN Anton was gaping at Lora. Amelia was staring in turn at Lora and me in disbelief, about to phrase a question. I took the opportunity of silence to grasp Lora's arm. "Now leave, Lora," I told her in an undertone. "I've got company. Do you hear me? Leave." Lora shook off my grip and took a few steps further away from me. "I can't leave, Damian," Lora said in a carrying voice. "I can't." "Why not? Your legs are not glued to my floor, are they? You walked in here. Now, walk out." "Y-your ex-girlfriend?" Amelia stuttered, not having gotten over my introduction. "Yes. His ex-girlfriend, Lora," replied Anton, recovering somewhat from his surprise at seeing Lora. He gave me a piercing look. "Aren't you going to-" I shoved my fingers through my hair and glared at Lora. I didn't have it in me at the moment to further explain. I was so pissed. Her reappearance was the last thing I wanted to deal with. Seeing I was struggling to explain to Amelia because of my ange

AMELIA I heard voices, hushed voices, as I approached the indoor pool. One clearly was Lora's, and the other was... Damian's. I rounded the corner and blinked at the sight that met my eyes. A naked Lora had her hands on Damian's shoulders. Her clothes were pooled on the floor close to her feet. She was talking to him in low whispers, but what she was trying to talk him into was very clear. I couldn't tell if Damian was responding to her sexual overtures. Lora's body blocked him from my view. I must have made a sound because their heads whipped towards me at the same time. Lora gave a small scream and dived for her clothes. "Um- sorry," I mumbled, but I didn't think either of them had heard me. Lora had taken a couple of steps forward and seemed to realize it would be ridiculous to run into the house stark naked, so she settled for quickly getting dressed. I met Damian's eyes. He had an odd expression like he was expecting me to do something. But what? I turned away, wa

AMELIA "She's sleeping in the second master's bedroom, the one you were sleeping in before," Damian said quietly as he shut the door of his bedroom quickly behind him as though afraid he would be overheard. The reality was that he was. We were all terrified of Petra and what she was up to. I didn't blame him. Lora and Petra in the house called up the image of a pair of hounds, hot on the scent. Petra had just insisted on being shown into her room, taking it for granted that she would be asked to spend the night here. Now, I would have to spend the night, and probably many nights after that, in Damian's room. The same thought seemed to have occurred to him because he looked very uncomfortable. He hurried into the bathroom and took a shower but was fully dressed in his pyjamas before he came out. I was already lying in bed before that, having previously locked the door. I honestly wouldn't put it past Petra or Lora to try to peer in on us to find out if Damian and I were cu

AMELIA While I walked to Damian's bedroom, I tried to remember where exactly I had kept the list of supplies for the bakery. Was it on the dressing table, the chest of drawers or... I stopped in my tracks. Sounds were coming from inside the bedroom. Had Damian come home already? That couldn't be. He wasn't due back for hours. Some hidden instinct made me tiptoe the last few paces to the door and gently push it open. I saw Petra rifling the drawers. She had already brought out some of its contents. She tugged at the last drawer, swore under her breath when she found it locked, and began to grope on the dressing table for the key. "What are you doing?" I asked quietly. Petra squeaked and nearly jumped a foot in the air. "Amelia!" she cried. "You scared me!" "No. You scared me. I almost thought you were a burglar." Petra flushed crimson. "But you didn't answer my question. What are you doing here?" She straightened slowly, caught sight of her hand and snatched it o