Chapter 182: let her see

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: let her see

Damian glanced across the table at Vivienne.

She was still eating, completely unaware of the argument taking place inside his head.

He had been looking at this all wrong.

Christopher was new.

That was an advantage.

Vivienne was curious about him because there were still things she didn’t know.

But Damian...

Damian already knew her.

He knew what made her laugh.

He knew when she was teasing him.

He knew how she reacted when she was embarrassed.

He knew the little habits she’d developed over the years.

And more importantly—

She knew him.

She trusted him.

She was comfortable with him.

For years, Damian had considered that comfort completely ordinary.

Now, for the first time, he wondered whether he’d simply been using it incorrectly.

Perhaps familiarity wasn’t the disadvantage he had assumed it was.

Perhaps it was his starting point.

Christopher had to build that connection from nothing.

Damian didn’t.

He only had to change its direction.

His eyes narrowed slightly.

That was it.

He didn’t need to become someone else.

He didn’t need to compete with Christopher by pretending to be more interesting than him.

He simply needed to stop behaving like a man who had no romantic interest in Vivienne.

Because that was exactly what he’d been doing.

Every time he’d become nervous, he’d stepped away.

Every time he’d noticed himself looking at her for too long, he’d looked somewhere else.

Every time his thoughts drifted toward those dreams, he’d reminded himself that she was Anthony’s fiancée—

and then, after Sunday, that she was his former fiancée.

But the engagement was over.

Anthony was fine.

Vivienne was free.

And Damian was still standing there doing absolutely nothing.

He almost laughed at himself.

What kind of strategy was that?

If he continued behaving exactly as he had before, Christopher wouldn’t even need to compete with him.

Damian would lose by default.

No.

He wasn’t going to do that.

He had spent years being comfortable around Vivienne.

Now he needed to let himself become comfortable being close to her.

There was a difference.

He didn’t need to confess.

Not yet.

He didn’t even know how to begin such a conversation.

But he could show her.

Small things.

Walk her to class.

Carry her bag.

Stay beside her a little longer.

Touch her hand when there was a reason.

Let his attention linger instead of immediately pulling away.

Make plans with her.

Be the person she naturally turned toward.

And perhaps...

If he did that long enough...

She might begin to notice that something had changed.

Damian’s expression softened slightly.

He remembered her ridiculous list from Sunday.

Flowers.

Letters.

Walking her to class.

Carrying her bag.

Remembering small things.

Grand gestures.

He could work with some of those.

The letters could wait.

The fireworks could remain firmly in the realm of fantasy.

But the rest?

Perhaps.

He looked at Vivienne again.

She smiled at something on her plate.

Damian felt his heart give a quiet beat.

He wanted her.

There was no point pretending otherwise anymore.

And if he wanted a chance...

Then he had to act like a man who wanted one.

Not a friend hiding behind friendship.

Not Anthony’s cousin standing politely at a distance.

Not someone waiting for permission that nobody had asked him to seek.

Just Damian.

A man who liked Vivienne.

And who, for the first time, was going to let her see it.

--

The bell rang across the university.

Students around them began gathering their things, gradually making their way toward their afternoon clubs and classes.

Vivienne glanced toward the clock.

"I should probably go."

Damian stood as well.

"Literature Society, right?"

Vivienne looked at him.

"Oh, you remembered."

A faint smile touched Damian’s lips.

"Of course."

Vivienne smiled back.

"You’re quite attentive."

Damian’s heart gave an embarrassingly hard beat.

Am I doing this right?

He had no idea.

But he’d decided that if he wanted her to see him differently, he couldn’t keep hiding every instinct he had around her.

So instead of brushing the comment aside, he simply said,

"I can be."

He paused.

Then, more quietly—

"Especially when it comes to you."

Vivienne blinked.

For a moment, she looked at him.

Then her smile widened slightly.

"That’s nice to know."

There was no suspicion in her expression.

Only genuine appreciation.

Damian felt some of the tension in his chest ease.

Good.

Apparently, he hadn’t made things strange.

Vivienne reached for her bag.

Before she could lift the strap properly, Damian reached over.

"I’ll carry it."

His fingers brushed hers.

It was barely a touch.

Barely anything at all.

Yet Damian felt the contact shoot straight through him.

His fingertips tingled.

His heart gave one hard, traitorous beat.

Get a grip.

He had touched her before, of course. A hand at her shoulder, when they danced, or helping her into a car, guiding her out of the way when they were younger—nothing unusual.

But this felt different.

Because now he knew.

He liked her.

And suddenly every little thing seemed to carry far more weight than it should.

Damian calmly took the bag from her shoulder, hoping his face hadn’t betrayed him.

"I’ll send you."

Vivienne blinked once, then smiled.

"Okay."

That was it.

No suspicion.

No hesitation.

She simply let him take it.

Damian turned before she could notice the faint warmth creeping toward his ears.

Act normal.

He adjusted the strap over his shoulder and started walking.

Vivienne followed easily beside him.

She didn’t think much of it.

In fact, she was smiling.

Damian had always been attentive toward her. She remembered the little things—the way he’d instinctively shielded her head when they got into the car, the way he’d notice when she needed something before she asked, the way he’d always quietly make sure she was comfortable.

This was simply another side of him.

And, honestly...

It was rather flattering.

The female lead really is lucky.

She’d never seen this much of Damian in the novel.

Perhaps the author simply hadn’t given him enough scenes.

Vivienne smiled to herself and continued walking.

Damian, meanwhile, adjusted her bag over his shoulder and tried not to look as nervous as he felt.

All right.

One step.

That was all.

He didn’t need to confess.

He didn’t need to overwhelm her.

He simply needed to stop acting like he had nothing to lose.

Because now he knew better.

He had something, rather, someone to lose.

And he wasn’t going to let Christopher Archibald take her.