Chapter 6

Jillian POV

My pupils constricted, my entire body seizing up, a raw, primal scream trapped in my throat. My hands trembled, tears streaming down my face, not from the pain of my injuries, but from the horrifying sight of him holding my mother' s last keepsake, my brother' s final resting place, a casual threat in his careless hand.

"No!" I choked out, my voice ragged, breaking with despair. "Don't touch that! Put it down! That's... that's my mother's. It's all I have left." I didn't mention Cristopher. I couldn't. It would break me completely.

Damian stopped, his gaze fixed on my face, watching my raw, unadulterated anguish. For a fleeting moment, a flicker of something unreadable crossed his eyes – surprise, perhaps, or a nascent unease. He was seeing a depth of pain he had never witnessed from me before.

But then, Aida' s frantic, tearful voice echoed in his mind from the phone call. His face hardened. He violently suppressed whatever nascent emotion had threatened to surface. The box still clutched in his hand, he nodded stiffly. "Get dressed, Jillian. We're going to Hildegarde's. Now." His voice was iron-clad, devoid of warmth.

He grabbed my arm, his grip bruising, and dragged me out of the room, out of the house, and into his waiting car. I was still only wrapped in a bathrobe, the cool night air biting at my skin, but the coldness in my heart was far more profound. He had touched me. Truly touched me, for the first time in years. And it was to drag me to my next humiliation, a weapon in his cruel game. It was a sick, twisted irony.

We arrived at Hildegarde's sprawling estate. The grand hall was quiet, but the air thrummed with tension. As we stepped inside, I saw Aida, kneeling rigidly on the polished marble floor, her face streaked with tears, clutching her arm. Hildegarde stood over her, a formidable figure, her heavy cane tapping impatiently against the floor.

"You manipulative little viper!" Hildegarde's voice boomed, sharp with fury. "How dare you spread such lies? How dare you poison Damian's mind against his own wife?" She raised her cane, bringing it down with a sharp thwack against Aida' s shoulder. Aida shrieked, a theatrical sound that echoed through the silent hall.

"Grandmother, please!" Aida wailed, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't do anything! Jillian is just jealous! She always hated me! You're being unfair! You always favor her!"

Damian's jaw tightened. His eyes, fixed on Aida, were filled with a familiar mix of concern and pity. He took a hesitant step forward, his hand reaching for her.

My heart twisted, a dull, familiar ache. I had known this would happen. He would always defend her. Always.

Hildegarde turned, her eyes blazing with a potent fury that extended to Damian. "Damian Ramsey! Don't you dare defend her! Have you forgotten your wife? Have you forgotten everything she has endured?" She raised her cane again, aiming for Damian this time.

Damian didn't flinch. He stood perfectly still, his gaze still fixed on Aida, his body braced for impact.

Before the cane could land, I stepped forward, putting myself between Hildegarde and Damian. "Hildegarde, please," I said, my voice flat, devoid of emotion. "It doesn't matter anymore."

Damian's head snapped towards me, his eyes widening in surprise. A flicker of something unreadable crossed his face, a nascent seed of unease.

Just then, Aida let out another piercing shriek and collapsed, falling to the floor in a dramatic heap, her eyes fluttering shut. "Oh, my head... I feel faint..."

Damian immediately rushed to her side, gathering her into his arms. "Aida! My love! Are you alright?" He scooped her up, his face etched with frantic concern, and hurried out of the room, presumably to take her to a doctor or a quiet room.

Hildegarde watched them go, her face a mask of bitter disappointment. "The little schemer," she muttered, shaking her head. "She's always been good at this." She turned to me, her anger giving way to a profound weariness. "Jillian, my dear, I am so sorry."

I merely lowered my gaze, the raw emotions I felt for Damian and Aida having curdled into a cold, indifferent emptiness. It didn't matter what they did anymore. All I wanted was my freedom, my divorce papers, and the chance to take Cristopher' s ashes to the places he had yearned to see.

"Hildegarde," I began, my voice trembling slightly. "There's something I need to tell you." I took a deep breath, the words catching in my throat. "Cristopher... my brother... he's gone." I omitted the gruesome details, shielding her from the full extent of Damian's crime. "It was an accident. He... he fell."

Hildegarde's eyes widened, then filled with unshed tears. She pulled me into a fierce embrace, holding me tightly as I sobbed silently against her shoulder. "Oh, my poor child. My poor, sweet child." We held each other for a long time, the shared grief a silent bond between us.

When she finally pulled away, her eyes were red-rimmed. "Stay here, Jillian," she pleaded, her voice soft. "You don't have to go back to that house. This is your home now."

I shook my head. "I can't, Hildegarde. I need to get back to his ashes. I can't leave them."

She understood. A quiet resignation settled over her face. I knew she would ensure my divorce was finalized quickly.

I returned to the silent, dark mansion. The house was cold and empty, a stark reflection of my heart. I made my way to my room, pulling out Cristopher' s small urn, cradling it gently. He was still with me. That was all that mattered now.

I had just turned on the bedside lamp when the door burst open. Damian stood there, his eyes wild, his hair disheveled. Before I could react, he lunged across the room, grabbing me, pulling me into a suffocating embrace.

My breath hitched. My entire body stiffened. This was the first time he had ever held me, truly held me, in eight years of marriage. Not on our wedding night, not in any moment of shared joy or sorrow. Never. And now, he was pressing me against him, his body radiating a desperate, almost primal heat.

My mind screamed in protest. Every fiber of my being recoiled. I wanted to escape, to push him away, to erase his touch from my skin.

I exerted all my strength, pushing against his chest, finally breaking free. I stumbled back, my eyes wide with alarm, watching him with a mixture of fear and disgust.

He stood there, his face flushed, his eyes glazed, a strange, frantic hunger in their depths. He looked disoriented, almost feral.

"Jillian," he breathed, his voice slurred, desperate. He lunged again, grabbing me, his lips crushing against mine.

His kiss was rough, demanding. It wasn't tender or loving. It was desperate, almost violent. And yet, for the first time, I felt no revulsion from him. No coldness. Only a strange, unsettling heat. A desperate hunger that wasn' t for me, but for something else. Something he was trying to extinguish. A memory. A feeling.

My hand instinctively reached out, my fingers closing around the heavy ceramic vase on my bedside table. With a surge of adrenaline, I brought it down, hard, against the side of his head.

A sickening crack echoed in the silent room. He cried out, a sharp, choked sound, and stumbled back, his hands flying to his head. Blood immediately blossomed against his white shirt, stark against the pristine fabric.

"You've been drugged, Damian," I said, my voice cold, devoid of any sympathy. "Aida. She clearly wanted you to warm her bed. But she sent you to the wrong room."