Chapter 356: Hypnotized By You

"Good morning, Oliver." Naomi said.

"Morning, Naomi. Please tell me you’ve got news that will remind my boyfriend that humans need sleep and regular meals."

"I have the final governance report," she said, placing the folder in front of Damien. "Unfortunately, it appears neither sleep nor meals are part of the recommendations."

"I knew I liked you," I chimed in. "You get the problem."

Damien shot us both a long-suffering look before flipping open the folder.

The report confirmed that the remaining governance changes were on track. Any attempt to unseat Damien would now trigger scrutiny from the board and shareholders, and his parents could no longer quietly turn him into a figurehead without confronting the new structure he had established over the past month.

They could still stir up personal trouble, social interactions that felt a lot like interrogations, and prompt the press to speculate about his private life, but their control over his professional future had significantly weakened.

Damien perused the final pages before closing the folder. "The administrative work can wait an hour."

I shot up straight. "Will the company last sixty minutes without its fearless leader?"

Naomi didn’t even blink. "The company has survived worse under William Lockwood’s leadership."

I placed a hand over my heart, feigning deep emotion at her contribution. "Naomi, you might just be my new favorite person in this building."

"I’m sure Mr. Lockwood must be thrilled to hear that."

Damien looked back and forth between us. "I’m kind of regretting letting you two meet."

"That’s understandable," I replied. "We have fantastic chemistry and horrible respect for authority, you know what? I’m leaving you and running away with her."

Damien glared at me and literally pinched my ass which made me me jump, "Ow! What the fuck, Asshole?"

Damien smirked at the sight of me rubbing my ass cheek, "Still plan on leaving me for someone else? There will be consequences, Sunshine."

Naomi collected the empty coffee cup from the desk, nodded at Damien professionally, and left us to our afternoon, though not before reminding him that the joint statement regarding Isabella’s impending marriage needed his final approval.

That reminder shifted the atmosphere a bit.

Damien opened the folder with legal documents, and I moved from the desk to stand beside him while he read the confirmation from his lawyers.

The formal dissolution documents were ready for review, and Isabella had already contacted her legal team, indicating she would cooperate.

Next to the legal papers was a draft of the joint public statement.

I picked it up and read it closely.

It was almost offensively dull, confirming that both families had mutually agreed not to move forward with the proposed marriage and requested respect for their privacy. There were no accusations, no hints of scandal, and definitely no mention of the guy currently standing beside me in his fancy house might be the furthest thing from straight.

I looked up at him.

"It’s too bad we can’t just write, ’The wedding is off because the groom has a boyfriend, both families need hobbies, and everyone should start minding their own damn business if they know whats good for them.’"

Damien took the document from my hands. "Legal would have a fit."

"Legal lacks imagination."

"They also prefer to avoid unnecessary lawsuits."

"That sounds like something someone without imagination would say."

I leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth, pleased when he grabbed my wrist before I could pull back and pressed another kiss to my fingers.

Then his expression grew serious, and he set the papers aside. "Oliver, there’s something else I need to discuss with you."

I glanced at the document again. "If you’re about to ask me to proofread another forty pages of this boring shit, I’m afraid we’ve reached an unfortunate crossroads in our relationship."

"It’s about us."

The humor vanished from my face, though I kept my hand in his. "Okay, sure."

Damien paused for a moment, choosing his words carefully, which made me sit up and pay closer attention.

"How much of our relationship are you okay with being made public? The statement won’t name you or suggest Isabella was turned down because of another relationship, but I don’t want to assume that keeping you out of the public eye is what you want."

I looked down at the paper in my hands, realizing how strange it was to have someone actually ask me that instead of just making the decision themselves.

"Well, I absolutely don’t want to become a footnote in a corporate press release," I started. "I can just imagine the headlines. ’Mystery Man Destroys Perfectly Good Arranged Marriage!’ They’ll probably dig into my university records, find out I’m a psychology lecturer, and claim my entire career exists because I hypnotized the CEO into loving me with Psychology Witchcraft or whatever."

Damien’s expression stayed serious, though I caught a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. "But you did hynotize me, Dear. Don’t you remember? With those gorgeous eyes of yours."

I rolled my eyes and set the statement down and leaned against the edge of his desk, letting the humor fade as I tried to explain what mattered to me.

"Honestly, the thought of strangers examining my life makes me uneasy. I don’t want people discussing my background, family, or work like everything I’ve done suddenly connects back to you. I worked hard to be a lecturer at St. Jude, and I don’t want to be seen as Damien Lockwood’s boyfriend first and Oliver Reyes second."

He listened closely without interrupting, his attention entirely on me.

"But I also don’t want to feel like someone you need to hide," I continued. "There’s a big difference between keeping our relationship private and being a secret because someone’s worried about what the world will think. After everything that happened four years ago, I don’t think I could handle feeling like loving me is something you need to conceal to protect your family name."

Damien rose from his chair and stepped in front of me, taking my hands in his.

"I will never announce our relationship without your consent," he promised. "And I’ll never make you feel like you have to stay hidden to protect the Lockwood name."

His voice was soft, but the certainty in it left no room for doubt.

"You are not a liability, Oliver. You’re not something I need to manage behind closed doors. I want a life with you, and I want you to have the freedom to choose how much of that life you share with others. If you prefer privacy, I’ll respect that. If you decide you want to be seen with me publicly, I’ll stand by you without hesitation."

I stared at him, feeling something warm and fragile settle in my chest.

Four years ago, decisions about us were made in rooms I’d never been in, by people who thought they could dictate our future. Damien had let fear dictate what he kept, and I paid the price.

Now, he was asking me what I wanted.

It shouldn’t have felt like a big deal, but it did.

"Then let’s keep the statement focused on the arrangements," I said. "No details about us, no unnecessary explanations, and no turning either of us into a public spectacle before we’re ready."

"Agreed."

I pulled him closer by the front of his shirt and kissed him, intending it to be a quick thank-you, but his hands slid around my waist, and he responded with such warmth that the kiss quickly turned longer and definitely less appropriate for a guy who still had important documents waiting for his signature.

When we finally pulled apart, I rested my forehead against his.

"You’re learning," I said softly.

"Am I?"

"Yes. You asked me what I wanted, listened, and didn’t immediately try to distract my feelings with an expensive gift."

"I could still buy you something, would you like a better car?"

"Don’t ruin the moment."

His laughter followed me as I pulled him toward the sofa, where I settled against the cushions and tugged him down beside me.

He lasted roughly three seconds before I convinced him to lie with his head in my lap, at which point I started running my fingers through his dark hair while he closed his eyes, relieved to finally allow himself to relax after a morning spent holding together a corporate empire.

"You’ve spent a month restructuring the corporate hierarchy," I noted, gently scratching his scalp, "only to come home and find your boyfriend has a much more authoritarian management style."

His mouth turned up in a smile, and for a while, we just lay there in comfortable silence, the late morning sunshine stretching across the floor while the city continued its hustle beyond our windows.

Eventually, I looked down at him.

"Do you feel different now that so much of your idiotic father’s influence is gone?"

Damien opened his eyes but took a moment to respond. His fingers absently traced my knee as I waited, giving him time to find an honest answer rather than a polished one.

"Control and peace are not the same thing," he finally said. "I thought that once I had enough power to shield my loved ones from interference, everything would feel easier, but I still find myself anticipating their moves or wondering which choice will be least damaging."

I kept stroking his hair while I listened.

"What matters now is that I can make these calls without fearing someone will use those I love against me. I can choose what I want, protect those who matter to me, and deal with the consequences without surrendering to someone else’s expectations."

Leaning down, I kissed him slowly before resting our foreheads together.

"You’re allowed to enjoy this, Damien. The life you’ve worked for, the choices you’ve fought for, and us. You don’t have to spend every day bracing for the next person who might try to take it away."

His eyes softened as he regarded me, and his hand slipped beneath my loose shirt, warmly resting against my back.

"I plan to enjoy it," he murmured. "Preferably with you, and with significantly fewer surprise fiancés"

I couldn’t help but smile against his mouth, feeling genuinely happy that we’d finally reached a stage in our relationship where Damien Lockwood could talk about his future without sounding like he was gearing up for a hostile takeover.