Dominated

Chapter 42

Damien returned to a dark and quiet house. There was no sign of anyone else, but he didn't need one to know that he was alone when he saw the key on the kitchen island and Amelia's diamond necklace. Abandoning the items, he made his way upstairs and into the master bedroom.

The bed had been made and appeared exactly as he left it every day. He walked up to his closet where the drawer of Amelia's items was left ajar. He peered inside only to find it completely empty. He wasn't expecting to find anything, but a small part of him hoped that she had left something behind to indicate that she'd eventually come home.

He returned to the kitchen where he had left the house key and necklace on the island and sat in front of them, staring pensively at the items. He didn't count the minutes that passed, but he managed to tear his eyes away when he heard the code being entered for the front door. He spun his stool toward the door, expectantly waiting for the moment it would open.

Disappointment washed over him when Zoey entered. She turned the lights on in the living room and jumped at the sight of Damien hunched over the kitchen island. When she identified the figure in the dark as her brother, she breathed a sigh of relief and shut the door.

"You scared me," she told Damien. "Why are you sitting here in the dark?"

He dropped his head inside his hand and grazed his fingers over the diamonds on Amelia's necklace. Zoey couldn't see the solemn look on his face, and the dramatic pause made her anxious.

"She's gone," he answered after the long moment of silence passed. "Amelia left me."

"Oh," Zoey said, furrowing her brows. She crossed the living room to join him in the kitchen and pulled up the stool beside him to sit. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," he murmured. He reached for the opened bottle of scotch on the corner of the island and popped off the lid. "Do you want some?"

She blinked hard, surprised by the question. "You're going to let me drink alcohol?"

"It's safer to do it with me than with Evelyn," he said, shrugging.

Zoey frowned and took the bottle and cork from his hand to reseal it. "I see what's going on here. Evelyn caused your break up, and now you're trying to drink the pain away."

"I caused the break up," he corrected her. "I promised not to let Evelyn get between us, and I did. I made Amelia think that I could love anyone else."

"Make her think otherwise," Zoey said. "It's time to stop living in the past and drop Evelyn once and for all."

"What if I cut her out of my life, and Amelia still wants nothing to do with me?"

"Then you would have at least done what's best for you," she answered. "Let her go, Damien. Don't let your fear of losing people be the reason you lose Amelia."

He smiled. "When did you get so smart?"

"I've always been smart."

"You're right," he agreed. His smile faltered, and a frown appeared on his face. "I guess I haven't been paying much attention to you since Mom died, and I'm sorry if you've felt abandoned in any way."

"Actually, that feeling started when you met Evelyn."

He raised a brow, surprised by her confession. "It did?"

Zoey nodded and looked down at her hands, avoiding eye contact. "You used to visit me all the time. We'd go to this cafe—"

"Rosario," he cut in. "I haven't thought about that place in so long."

"I think about it all the time," she admitted. "You introduced me to Evelyn the last time we went. You had just made it official with her. You swore that nothing would change and you'd always be my big brother, but I didn't get to see you as often anymore. When you would come to see me, you'd bring Evelyn, so I never got to spend time with just you."