Chapter 76: A Visit After Dark

By the time Damon returned to Blackstone Manor, evening had settled over the estate.

The first thing he noticed was the difference in the entrance hall.

Two servants were carrying a stack of folded linens toward the guest rooms, while another was speaking with an older housekeeper near the staircase.

Further inside, someone was moving furniture, and the faint sound of footsteps came from the upper floor.

Outside, several guards stood near the entrance. Others were positioned along the grounds, with a few more gathering near the security office while Thomas’s arrangements were put into place.

The manor was finally beginning to feel like a properly staffed household.

Damon removed his jacket and handed it to a passing servant.

"Looks like you’ve been busy, Thomas."

The butler followed him inside. "We’ve recruited several suitable candidates over the past few days. Some are still learning the layout and their duties, but the arrangements are progressing well. The guards are also being assigned their posts."

"Good. I don’t want to keep finding empty rooms and unattended corridors whenever I walk through the place."

"I understand, sir. It will take a little longer before everything runs smoothly, but the main positions are being covered."

Damon glanced toward the staircase.

"Anything else?"

"Yes, sir. I’ve made progress on the search for the senior personnel connected to the Thorne family."

Damon’s attention sharpened.

They had been searching for the senior personnel for a month, ever since the interview with the former house guard. Until now, the search had produced little worth pursuing. This was the first promising lead Thomas had brought him.

Thomas continued. "The individual has relevant experience and connections to the family’s previous operations. Unfortunately, they’re currently in another country."

"How long before they return?"

"Approximately two weeks. He’s currently overseas, and I’ve already begun checking his background. I’d prefer to complete those inquiries before arranging a meeting."

Damon considered it briefly.

Two weeks wasn’t a particularly long wait. He had money, a residence, and enough resources to keep things moving. What he lacked was reliable information about the Thorne family, and rushing into a meeting with the wrong person wouldn’t help.

"Continue the checks. I want to know who we’re dealing with before he arrives."

"Of course, sir."

"Arrange the meeting once he’s back. Until then, don’t make promises on my behalf."

Thomas inclined his head. "I’ll handle it."

"Good. That’s all for now."

The butler left to attend to the household, while Damon went upstairs.

He spent the next part of the evening doing little more than cleaning up, changing into comfortable clothes, and checking a few messages on his phone. There were no urgent matters demanding his attention, which suited him perfectly.

Still, one absence had become difficult to ignore.

Vivian hadn’t joined him for their usual morning training sessions over the past two days. She had also stopped coming to lunch, despite having spent much of the preceding week finding reasons to remain with him after their practice.

Vivian spent most of the evening in her own room, trying to concentrate on a book she had opened nearly an hour earlier.

She had read the same page several times.

It was irritating.

She was Vivian Ashford. She had grown up knowing her own worth, trained to become stronger rather than depend on someone else, and refused to be treated as a decorative possession.

Yet a single aspect of Damon’s life had managed to unsettle her more than she wanted to admit.

The agency itself wasn’t what troubled her. Damon had been honest about his intentions, and she had never expected him to become a man who devoted himself exclusively to one woman.

She had accepted that arrangement when she chose to remain with him.

The problem was that accepting something in principle had turned out to be easier than living with it.

Over the past few weeks, she had grown accustomed to his presence.

Training together had become something she looked forward to, and their conversations had gradually extended beyond martial arts.

She had started telling him things she wouldn’t ordinarily share, sometimes staying beside him simply because she wanted to.

She hadn’t intended to become so attached, and that was what irritated her most.

Keeping her distance had seemed like the easiest way to protect her pride, but it hadn’t stopped her from thinking about him.

Avoiding Damon wouldn’t change who he was or make her feelings disappear. If she wanted to remain in his life, she needed to decide what she could accept instead of continuing to hide from the problem.

She closed the book and placed it on the bedside table.

Her cheeks warmed as another thought came to mind.

She had already chosen him as her husband.

That choice had been hers.

So was the next one.

Vivian rose, smoothed her clothes, and walked to the door before she could talk herself out of it.

Damon was sitting near the headboard, scrolling through his phone, when he heard a knock.

"Come in."

The door opened, revealing Vivian.

For a moment, he simply looked at her.

"Something you need?" he asked, setting his phone aside.

Vivian stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"All right."

He waited, watching as she approached the bed and stopped a short distance from him.

She had clearly rehearsed what she wanted to say. Damon could see it in the way she held herself, trying to preserve her usual composure even as her fingers tightened at her sides.

But when she finally opened her mouth, the words didn’t come immediately.

It annoyed her that speaking to him could make her nervous.

Damon waited, his attention fixed on her.

Vivian drew a slow breath and raised her eyes to meet his.

"I don’t like the thought of you pursuing other women," she admitted.

"I knew about that side of you before, but I didn’t realize how much it would bother me."

Damon didn’t interrupt.

"I’m still not going to ask you to become someone you’re not," she continued.

"And I’m not giving up my own ambitions just because I’ve grown attached to you."

A faint smile touched his lips. "I wouldn’t expect you to."

That answer eased some of the tension in her shoulders. She had feared he might misunderstand her visit, as if coming to his room meant she intended to surrender every demand she had ever made of him.

It didn’t.

She was still Vivian Ashford. She still wanted to become stronger, and she still expected to be treated as his wife rather than a possession he could put aside whenever he pleased.

But she wanted him, too.

She had spent two days avoiding that truth. She didn’t want to spend another night pretending otherwise.

Vivian stepped closer to the bed. Her heartbeat quickened, but this time she didn’t look away.

"Today, I want you to take me."

Damon studied her face for a moment, recognizing the courage it had taken for her to come here and say those words herself.

Then he smiled.

He reached for her, drew her closer, and kissed her.

Vivian closed her eyes and returned the kiss.