Eilika sat stunned, the weight of his words sinking in. A life together, not just a contract or a necessity, but a future he was actively choosing.

"Stay true to that statement," Eilika said, her voice trembling slightly despite her attempt at firmness. "If you deviate from it, I won’t forgive you."

"I promise, I won’t," Damian replied, a low chuckle escaping him. They finished their pastries in a comfortable silence that felt far lighter than the tension from earlier. Once the plates were cleared, they stepped back out into the sunlight and returned to the car.

"Are we returning to the mansion now?" Eilika asked as the door closed behind them.

"No. I have somewhere else to take you," he answered, nodding to the driver to pull away from the curb.

"Wait—where?" she questioned, her curiosity piqued.

"You’ll find out soon enough," he replied, a trace of a mysterious smile playing on his lips as he looked out at the passing streets of Varos.

"We still need to visit the academy for Roman’s admission," Eilika said, turning to him as the thought suddenly occurred to her.

"I haven’t forgotten. We’ll go tomorrow," Damian replied.

Satisfied, she turned back to the window. The urban landscape of the city gradually thinned, replaced by a lush canopy of trees. The car eventually slowed to a halt in a light forest clearing, the air noticeably cooler beneath the shade.

Before she could voice her confusion, Damian was already out of the vehicle. Eilika began to open her door, but he appeared at her side, offering his hand. She placed her palm in his and stepped out, struck immediately by the serenity of the woods.

"None of you are to follow us," Damian instructed the guards, his voice leaving no room for argument. He then turned back to Eilika with a slight bow. "Shall we?"

She nodded, and he led her deeper into the clearing. The path opened up to a hidden pond, its surface as still as glass. Nestled right beside the water stood a modest, one-storey wooden house.

"Don’t tell me it’s your another secret place? But it’s situated between such a forest, so I suppose people do know about this place," Eilika stated.

"It’s a private property. Not anyone can walk in here," Damian replied. "You can say it’s one of the places where I feel peaceful. I thought to share it with you since you also give me peace."

Eilika looked down at their joined hands, then toward the shimmering pond. "This place is maintained exceptionally well."

"It is," Damian nodded, though his gaze seemed fixed on a memory. "Four years ago, this was my sanctuary. I would stay here for days at a time and drink..." A heavy sigh of regret escaped him. "I had become a total drunkard."

"The loss was too painful for you to overcome alone," Eilika replied softly. "I was nineteen back then. Do you want to guess what I was doing that year?"

"Probably teaching children," Damian suggested, glancing at her.

"No," Eilika said, shaking her head.

"Then?"

"Finding a way to get rid of this," she answered, her fingers tracing the line of the scar on her cheek. "I would spend hours in the library, scouring books for any herb or remedy that might make it disappear forever." She lowered her hand to her side, her voice trailing off. "I’m sorry if I’m boring you."

"You aren’t. Tell me more," Damian insisted, his tone shifting to something more serious, his eyes searching hers.

"The words people said about me... they had taken root in my mind," Eilika admitted. "No man in Varos desired me. At the time, I felt it was a shame for me to even walk the streets without a veiled hat to hide behind."

"Then, how did you overcome that feeling?" Damian asked, his gaze fixed on her.

"The day my father and I argued because I failed to secure his friend’s son’s interest," Eilika recalled, a dry smile touching her lips. "I didn’t like the man even an ounce. During our meeting, he kept telling me how he would ’overlook’ my scar for my sake, provided my only duty was to serve him in bed and bear his children. Can you imagine? I ended up slapping him and held a dagger’s blade to his throat."

Damian broke into a sudden, genuine laugh. "And did you finish the job? Did you cut his head off?"

"No. I would’ve been declared a murderer then," Eilika answered with a small shrug. "In those days, I never went anywhere without a dagger. Liam gifted it to me when I turned eighteen."

"Why didn’t Liam ever propose to you?" Damian asked, the question coming out more abruptly than he intended.

"Hmm? Why would he?" Eilika asked, sounding genuinely puzzled. "He is my friend." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Damian looked at her, realizing with a start that Liam had been thoroughly relegated to the ’friend zone’ for years. It was clear she had never seen him as anything more than a companion.

"I wonder what it would have been like if I had met you first," Eilika murmured, the thought drifting out before she could catch it.

"Perhaps things would have been different," Damian replied. "I wasn’t so broken-hearted back then."

She gazed at him for a long moment, lost in the ’what ifs,’ until she felt a cool drop of water strike her cheek.

Eilika tilted her head back, surprised to find the clear sky had vanished, replaced by dark clouds that had gathered with unnatural speed. Within seconds, more droplets began to fall, pattering against the leaves and the surface of the pond.

"Let’s go back to the car before we’re soaked," she suggested, moving to turn around.

"No. We’re going into the house," Damian said, his grip on her hand tightening slightly. "The sound of the rain is wonderful from here."

Without waiting for an answer, he began to run, pulling her along with him toward the small wooden structure as the drizzle turned into a steady downpour.