Chapter 3

Harrison hadn't meant to humiliate Damien—he was simply passing down a belief he held dear. When Catherine was still alive, every time she mounted a horse, it was by stepping onto Harrison's shoulder. Back then, Aurelia was just a young girl. She remembered placing her tiny foot on Damien's shoulder and thinking how broad and steady it felt. And in that moment, though she couldn't explain why, her heart suddenly began to race. It was the first flutter of a young girl's affection. But she never noticed the humiliation quietly etched across Damien's face. She had always assumed Damien was just proud by nature, too proud to be stepped on by anyone. So after that day, she never asked him to kneel for her again. But now, watching him kneel without hesitation, letting Sloane step down from the horse using his shoulder, it felt like someone had flung a handful of needles straight into Aurelia's eyes. The pain was sharp. And blinding. She forced herself to look away, then gave the horse a firm kick to its side. The horse obediently galloped forward. As Aurelia rode with the wind rushing past her face, she finally felt a sliver of calm return to her heart. Today's lesson was show jumping. Aurelia had to guide the horse over three hurdles, each one more difficult than the last. Just as she approached the first, her horse suddenly took off in a leap. But midair, the strap securing the saddle snapped. Caught completely off guard, Aurelia was thrown from the horse and slammed hard into the ground. Startled, the horse reared back and bolted, wild with panic. In its frenzy, it could trample her at any moment. And yet, Damien, who was supposed to protect her, stayed by Sloane's side. He hadn't even noticed that Aurelia had fallen from the horse. "Damien!" Aurelia clenched her teeth against the searing pain in her lower body and shouted with all the strength she had left. Only then did Damien finally notice that her horse had gone wild. He stepped forward calmly and, with a single hand, brought the panicked animal under control. Damien had been trained in animal handling, which was why Harrison had assigned him to accompany Aurelia to her horseback-riding lessons. He was supposed to check her saddle, stay alert to her movements, and ensure her safety at all times. But instead, all his attention had been fixed on Sloane. He hadn't even realized that Aurelia's saddle hadn't been properly secured. Aurelia ended up breaking her leg and was sent to the hospital. Perhaps out of guilt, Damien volunteered to take care of her during her recovery. He was attentive, almost to a fault. Whenever Aurelia felt the slightest thirst, water was already at her lips before she could ask. If she so much as winced from the pain, he was there in seconds, offering painkillers. And after the bitterness of the pills, he always had her favorite candy ready, just so her mouth wouldn't taste unpleasant. He was always like this. He clearly didn't love her, yet he still cared for her with such painstaking tenderness that Aurelia began to fall for the illusion. She started convincing herself that maybe he did love her but just didn't know how to show it. But how could that be true? When he looked at Sloane, the affection in his eyes was unmistakable—so vivid it practically spilled over. A few days later, Aurelia's leg was nearly healed. That night, as she got up to use the bathroom, she unintentionally overheard voices drifting from the hallway. "Damien, that's seriously messed up," said Owen. "You're telling me you cut Aurelia's saddle strap on purpose? Even if she did push Sloane down the stairs, that's no excuse. Falling off a horse is no joke—she could've broken her neck!" Damien let out a quiet sigh. "It was only meant to be a small punishment… I didn't think she'd get hurt that badly." Damien was an expert equestrian. He calculated that the fall would cause no serious harm if the horse didn't jump. What he hadn't accounted for was that Aurelia would be practicing show jumping that day. The horse didn't just jump—it leapt high into the air. "I've atoned," Damien added. "I've done everything she asked over these past few days. I've already made it up to her. She's fine now, so let's leave it at that. No need to bring it up again." In that moment, an inexplicable chill crept down Aurelia's spine. So, Damien had cut her saddle strap just to vent on Sloane's behalf? All the meticulous care he had given her these past few days was nothing more than compensation for a "miscalculation". It wasn't because he cared that she was hurt. Aurelia bit down on her lip until it bled. Yet, she didn't feel a thing. Because her heart hurt more than anything else ever could.