Chapter 87- The Breaking Point

Malios stepped back, just two paces, but it was enough to set Damon off.

I could feel the temperature in the room shift—Damon’s glare alone was enough to boil blood. His jaw was tight, eyes blazing with the kind of fury that made lesser men tremble. If smoke could pour from his nostrils, it would’ve filled the room by now.

“I was only checking on Mrs. Ava,” Malios said with a tone far calmer than I expected, as if his nerves hadn’t been set ablaze.

Damon didn’t flinch. His voice came down like the final toll of a funeral bell.

“You won’t need to do that anymore,” he said.

Both Malios and I turned toward him, stunned.

“You’re dismissed.”

My breath caught in my throat. Dismissed? Just like that?

Malios looked just as blindsided. “Sir… I don’t understand—”

Damon didn’t let him finish. “You don’t need to. You just need to obey.”

Malios stood frozen, struggling to find words. “But, Master Damon—”

“Get. Out.”

That growl—it wasn’t just angry, it was primal. It vibrated through the air like a crack of thunder. I prayed Malios would take the warning and leave without another word, because I had seen what Damon could do when provoked. I’d seen what happened when someone crossed the invisible line he rarely let others near.

“I can’t just walk away,” Malios finally said, and I felt a wave of dread settle in my gut. “With all due respect, there’s a child involved. I took an oath to protect—”

He didn’t get to finish.

Damon moved. Swiftly. Powerfully.

In seconds, he was standing nose-to-nose with Malios, who looked significantly smaller despite his impressive size. Damon, taller and broader, loomed over him like a wolf about to strike. The presence of his alpha blood swelled in the air, dense and suffocating. He didn’t use it often—but when he did, it was unforgettable.

“You listen to me,” Damon said in a chillingly calm voice that made the walls feel like they might crumble. “The only reason you’re still breathing is because your father serves me loyally. But if it were up to me? Your head would be mounted outside for all to see.”

Malios stepped back, visibly shaken. Damon’s fangs had extended—he was no longer just Damon. He was Master Damon, the one people told stories about.

Something in the room shifted. I realized, with a horrible certainty, that Damon knew. Knew about Malios’s feelings for me. And I could only think of one person who would’ve told him: Valia. She had seen us together, after all. She must have twisted the truth, fed Damon lies, painted a picture just dangerous enough to spark this reaction.

Malios turned to leave. He gave me one last glance, a silent apology buried in his eyes, then disappeared through the front door. The sound of it shutting echoed in the silence.

I didn’t know what to say. But I had to try.

“You didn’t need to humiliate him like that.”

Damon turned to me, his glare unwavering. “Didn’t I?”

“He’s just a kid.”

“Like Evan?” His voice sliced through the air like a blade.

I blinked, stunned. Damon never brought up Evan. It was a name we rarely said out loud—too raw, too painful.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know everything,” he said sharply. “Your midnight strolls, your little bedtime snuggles—don’t insult my intelligence.”

“Damon, no—it’s not like that.”

But he wasn’t listening. “Pack your things. Bullet’s on his way. You’re going to stay with Mason and Maria for a while.”

He turned, as if the conversation was over. But I wasn’t letting him leave me like this. Not when the truth was drowning under someone else’s lies.

“You’re just going to believe Valia? Again?” I grabbed his arm, forcing him to face me. “Have you learned nothing from Tessa?”

“Tessa didn’t lie,” he growled. “You did. You tried to poison me, didn’t you?”

His voice was ice, but his eyes were fire. That same dead stare—the one he wore when he’d locked me away. I thought that version of Damon had died. I was wrong.

“This time she’s lying,” I insisted, desperate now. “Valia wants me gone so she can take my place, and you’re giving her exactly what she wants!”

“And maybe,” he said slowly, venom in every syllable, “maybe I wouldn’t mind if she did.”

I froze.

My heart didn’t just break—it shattered. I looked at him like I didn’t recognize him anymore. Maybe I didn’t.

“You haven’t changed at all,” I whispered. “Still just as prideful. Just as blind. That’s why it’s so easy for people to deceive you.”

His jaw clenched. He shoved me off him. I stumbled backward, breath catching in my throat.

“Get out of my house."

“I’m not leaving without my son.”

“You’ll have no choice.”

He was halfway across the room already.

“Damon!” I shouted. “You coward! Come back and face me!”

But he didn’t turn.

“Don’t bother packing,” he snarled, “none of it belongs to you anyway.”

Bullet appeared from the hallway, hesitating when he saw the chaos. His gaze flicked from Damon to me, confusion clouding his features.

“Put her in the car,” Damon ordered.

But Bullet didn’t move.

“Are you deaf?” Damon roared. “I said now!”

Bullet looked at me, then back at him, swallowing hard. For the first time, he seemed unsure. And for the first time, I saw hesitation in a man who had always followed Damon blindly.

“Master… are you sure?” Bullet asked quietly.

The question shocked the air out of both of us. Damon’s eyes widened—Bullet had never questioned him. Not once.

“Do what I say, or I’ll kill you both,” Damon thundered, voice dark and terrifying. The very walls trembled.

Bullet obeyed. He crossed the room, lifted me gently, and carried me away.

As I passed the staircase, I saw her.

Valia.

Half-hidden in the shadows, smirking like the devil had just granted her every wish.

And Damon… Damon wouldn’t even look me in the eye.