Chapter Five

“W hy are you doing this?” I thrash. I fight with everything I have, forcing his hold on me to loosen just enough to make a break for it. My feet hit the floor, and I dash toward the apartment, but before I can even make it halfway, his steely arm wraps around my waist, lifting me effortlessly off the ground.

A low growl catches my attention, making me glance down in surprise. There, tugging on Damian’s slacks with all his might, is Goldie. His tiny body shakes with the effort, his eyes wide and fierce as he growls up at Damian, not backing down an inch.

“I said let go!” I pant.

The thudding of footsteps reaches my ears, and I twist my head to see Summer standing a few feet away. She’s frozen as she takes in the sight of Damian holding me effortlessly against his side, my feet still inches off the ground. She stares at him in disbelief, eyes wide.

“Release my friend, NOW!”

Damian’s indifferent gaze slides toward Summer, his expression cool and completely unaffected by the anger radiating off her. He looks almost bored. With one hand still holding me, he easily subdues my violent elbow as I try to break free, his grip tightening just enough to remind me how helpless I am in this moment.

Summer stops beside us, her eyes blazing with fury. The baseball bat in her hands is raised above her head, her knuckles white from the pressure. “Put her down. Or you die,” she growls.

When there’s no response from him, her grip flexes on the bat. “I will beat the shit out of you. I mean it. I won’t let you kidnap my friend. I will fight till my last breath if I have to.”

My heart warms at her words. She is willing to risk fighting a man twice her size for me.

Damian snorts. It triggers her and she swings her bat, stumbling. I gasp out loud. As if the time has slowed, I watch as the bat gets bigger and bigger. Realizing with horror that it’s heading toward my face with full force.

I wait for the hit but instead, I’m whirled around at the last second causing Damian to take the hit on his bicep. With wide eyes, I watch as he plants me behind him. He assesses my face and body. Palming my cheek, he asks. “You okay?”

My heart is in my throat but I manage to nod. His eyes darken and he spins around to face Summer. With one fluid motion, he snatches the bat from her hands. A thunderous look shadows his onyx eyes as he towers over her. “You could’ve hurt my wife.”

Summer pales, her eyes jumping to my trembling body propped against the wall. “N-no. I was trying to hit you!”

He takes a threatening step toward her. “You are intoxicated.” He sounds disgusted. “While it was amusing that you think you could tackle me, your bat was inches away from my wife’s face.”

She glances at me again, her face still hidden behind those oversized glasses, but even through the lenses, I can see the way her complexion goes deathly pale. “I’m so sorry, River.”

I shake my head, unable to talk with the dry throat. So I attempt to reach her but Damian pulls me back. Then he gets in her face. “If my reflexes weren’t quick, she could’ve gotten hurt. And you don’t want to know what I do to people who hurt my wife.”

He can’t just threaten my best friend! I open my mouth to tell him just that when a booming sound echoes the hallway. “I suggest you back away from her.”

All heads turn toward the tall, strikingly handsome man who leans casually against the doorframe of the apartment across from Summer’s. He has that charm, the kind you’d find in a leading man of a k-drama. He’s in a white fitted t-shirt, and gray sweatpants. His hair is rumpled, clearly disturbed from sleep.

I blink in surprise—he's the neighbor who barely interacted with me when I was living here. In fact, I hardly remember him ever acknowledging my existence.

Something flashes in his eyes when he sees Damian towering over Summer. A muscle in his jaw twitches. He steps away from the doorframe and walks toward us, stopping only when he's toe to toe with Damian. “Back. Off.”

“You stay out of it.”

The man tucks his hands in his pockets and regards him with an unreadable gaze. “I decline.”

“You decline?” Damian cocks a brow.

Goldie barks, making the newcomer glance down. The attention makes Goldie excited. Bending down, he lifts him. Then stares at Summer. And I can’t help but notice the familiarity they share when their eyes lock. “Take him to the apartment. Lock the door behind you.”

She opens her mouth, probably to argue but he cuts her off. “Do as you’re told for once, Summer.”

So they know each other. Enough for him to recognize her stubborn nature. But what confuses me is the way Damian goes still when the neighbor calls her by her name.

Damian watches Summer, his expression unreadable. He stays frozen, even after she leaves, leaving just the three of us in the hallway. But it's only for a minute before Summer returns, this time without Goldie.

The neighbor sighs as he watches her. As if he expected her to defy him.

“Where were we?” The neighbor asks no one in particular. It snaps Damian out of his thoughts. The man continues, “Ah, yes. I just witnessed a man threaten a woman half her size in my hallway.”

My husband’s face remains impassive at his direct attack.

“Hmm. Let’s pretend that I was. What are you going to do about it?”

The man looks at Damian with a piercing gaze. “I am not a violent man. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t consider becoming one if need be. But the real question is whether there is a need for it.”

I tense. No one dares to talk to Damian Montgomery like that. He’s not just filthy rich; he’s immensely powerful. This man might not be violent, but Damian is.

Damian may have morals about not laying a hand on a woman, but that’s where his code ends. I’ve seen his enemies quake in fear. I’ve seen someone black and blue, just because he touched me. This guy has no idea what he’s getting into.

My husband doesn’t get offended. Instead, he lifts a single brow. “Is she your woman?”

I hear Summer sucking in a sharp breath at the question.

“What if she is?”

“Then I think you should have her on a short leash. So she would keep her nose out of other’s business.”

I gasp and Summer’s eyes flare.

The neighbor’s lips tighten in a thin line, his fingers curling in tight fists. “She will do whatever she damn well pleases. If I were you, I would shut my mouth and think twice before disrespecting her.”

That’s the last straw that snaps Damian’s patience. He stalks forward. They snarl at each other, seconds away from breaking into a physical fight. I have to do something. Not because I’m worried for Damian. It’s the opposite. I’m worried for Summer’s neighbor because I’ve seen Damian train with his men often times to know this can easily turn into a bloodbath.

“Enough!” I snap, pushing between the two men. The moment I touch Damian, his entire attention latches on me. Like nobody else exists except us. This used to make me swoon before. But now I know what it is. It’s not love. It’s obsession. Dark and raw. He is obsessed over his possession. Me.

“Stop it.” I grind out then glance at Damian, eyes locking eyes with his. “Fine. I’ll go with you.”

His eyes blaze with satisfaction. My face heats with anger and knowledge of what I just uttered. It means he won. Yet again. As if reading my mind, his gaze intensifies.

“River,” Summer interrupts. “You don’t have to. He can’t force you.”

I smile sadly. “It’s okay. I’ll live.” With that, I snatch Damian’s wrist and enter the waiting elevator.

In sync with the door, my eyes flutter shut. Releasing his wrist, I plaster myself to the far side, my body still trembling with what just happened. All of my efforts were for nothing. He has me back in his possession, probably looking forward to whisking me back to his mega mansion—my gilded cage—in Bel-Air.

The thought of returning to that house where my whole world shattered weakens my knees and my legs give out. My tired brain is vaguely aware of Damian’s urgent leap as he reaches me. His arms wrap around me, my face planting against his hard chest.

With a hand in my curls and another banded around my back, he begins speaking but my ears fail to catch his words.

My traitorous body melts against him while a sensible part of me is screaming to pull away.

His fingers tighten in my hair as if to get my attention. He’s successful as I feel his mouth brushing the shell of my ear. “You shouldn’t have run.”

My breath hitches. I lift my head to stare at him. The man I had run from not once but twice now. The man with eyes like burning coal. The man who is staring down at me with a calm that betrays the storm in his blazing gaze.

I begin pushing against his chest. He doesn’t budge. “I only agreed to go with you because I want to end this with some semblance of dignity and respect.”

A muscle ticks in his jaw. “End what?”

I give up struggling and fist the lapels of his suit jacket. “Didn’t you hear what I said earlier?” I glare at him. “I want a divorce. I want to end this sham of a marriage.”

“Real marriage.” His grip on my hips tightens as he corrects me.

“It’s ironic hearing you say that after I saw multiple proofs in your office claiming otherwise.”

He tenses, his expression shifting to a more dangerous territory.

“What happened?” I tilt my head to the side. “Cat got your tongue, Mr. Montgomery? Or are you concocting more lies to feed me in that manipulative head of yours?” A tiny shiver shoots down my spine as he leans closer.

He stares at me for a few seconds before smoothing a curl from my face. “You’re scared,” he murmurs. “Saying that cost you a lot of courage.”

My lower lip trembles. Yes, it did. But it’s the mocking pity glinting in his eyes that shatters it completely. He backs away, leaving me chilled, as the elevator doors slide open.

Seizing my hand, he steps out and begins to drag me behind him. “I see you went snooping behind my back.”

“I didn’t—”

“But it seems you failed in your task miserably.”

What?

As if sensing my confusion, he stops in his tracks and faces me. “Because angel, your snooping should have taught you that you surrendered the rights to your life to me the moment you married me.”