Ding!

The elevator doors slid open, and Damian stepped in with his phone still in hand. Ever since his wives had grown accustomed to using phones, they no longer followed him around physically, but the messages never stopped.

He had gained privacy at the cost of constant notifications.

The Hill family group chat buzzed endlessly, lighting up his screen every few seconds.

"Mr. Hill?"

Damian turned, only to find two familiar figures standing between the elevator doors. William and Anna, the twin junior associates assigned under him.

Their expressions were a mix of surprise and excitement. When news of Damian being shot had spread, it had shaken them more than they expected. But as junior staff, they were not granted leave to visit him.

By the time he was discharged, the window had already passed. They did not know his home address, and even if they did, they were not close enough to justify such a visit. Their first impression of him had been distant, unreadable. They were never sure if he even liked them.

"Ooh... William... Anna," Damian muttered, their names slipping out almost absentmindedly.

Yet that alone was enough to light up their faces.

He remembered.

They had been certain he would forget, given how indifferent he had seemed. What they did not know was that Damian simply remembered things better than most humans ever could.

"We heard about your accident..." William began.

"I hope you’re doing better now?" Anna added, concern clear in her voice.

Damian did not respond.

His expression remained unchanged, his gaze drifting past them and settling coldly on the edge of the elevator door where they stood. Their presence blocked it from closing.

If they had not appeared, he would already be on his way to his office.

William and Anna were not foolish. They followed his gaze and immediately understood. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Without another word, both of them stepped fully into the elevator.

"Oh my, I’m sorry!" they said in perfect unison.

Their mirrored mannerisms were almost uncanny.

They turned quickly, reaching for the panel to select the criminal defense floor, but before the doors could close, a hand caught the edge.

A figure slipped in hastily then froze.

It was Candice.

The same stillness that had taken the twins now claimed her as well.

’Fuck my life. I should have just stayed home.’

Damian stood there, resisting the urge to roll his eyes or drag a hand across his face.

William and Anna’s expressions collapsed, and for a brief moment, they felt like digging a hole and disappearing into it. Everyone in the firm knew about the incident that had cost a senior associate his job and left his paralegal suspended. The story had spread fast, and so had the tension that followed it. Now, standing here, it felt like they had just forced two people who should never share a space again into the same confined box.

They slowly turned their heads, stealing a glance at Damian, expecting some sign of irritation or discomfort. What they found instead was a man leaning slightly against the wall, his attention fixed entirely on his phone as it continued to buzz with incoming messages.

He looked exactly the same as he had moments ago.

Unbothered.

Candice exhaled quietly and stepped fully into the elevator. She reached forward and pressed the button for the nineteenth floor, the corporate litigation department, then shifted her stance so her back faced Damian.

The elevator doors slid shut.

The silence inside was heavy, broken only by the constant vibration of Damian’s phone as message after message poured in.

Strangely, the two people at the center of the tension seemed the least affected by it. Damian remained focused on his screen, his thumbs moving steadily, while Candice stood still, her posture controlled, her expression carefully neutral.

It was William and Anna who bore the weight of it. Their eyes flickered between the two, searching for any shift, any crack, any signal of something about to happen.

They caught Candice glancing at Damian’s reflection in the polished metal of the elevator doors, quick, almost cautious looks that vanished the moment they formed.

Damian never looked up.

Not once.

Candice wanted to speak. The words hovered somewhere at the back of her throat, but they never came out. After her two-week suspension, she had been warned clearly. Maintain distance. Maintain professionalism. One wrong step, and she would follow Adrian out of the firm.

And Adrian...

She had already cut him off.

The moment he lost his job, she ended things and moved into a small studio apartment she could barely afford on her own. It was nothing compared to what she once had. Nothing compared to the space she shared with Damian.

This past two weeks, living in the aftermath of her own decisions, had forced a clarity she did not ask for.

She had it good. Much better than she realized.

If she had stayed... if she had not walked away when she did...

She would be the one standing beside him now.

Ding!

The elevator doors slid open, cutting through her thoughts. Candice hesitated, her body refusing to move for a second longer than it should have. She even turned slightly, her eyes drifting back over her shoulder.

Damian did not notice.

He remained exactly the same, head tilted slightly downward, fingers moving across his phone with quiet focus.

That single sight crushed whatever fragile hope she had been holding onto.

The man she knew was gone.

This was not the person who once starved himself just because she was upset. Not the man who revolved around her moods, who bent himself to keep her close. She had even joked, in passing, that he might kill himself after the breakup message she sent to Adrian.

And yet he had come out of it untouched.

No... More than that. He had risen above them all in the fallout.

Candice stepped out of the elevator, her mind struggling to keep up with the reality in front of her.

How could everything change so much in just a few months?

Why had none of this happened when she was still with him?