"A yacht... A fucking yacht!" Damian paced back and forth in his office, his expression twisted with barely restrained fury.

He simply could not believe what he had just heard. How the hell did you call a yacht a vehicle?

"Like, it is a vehicle, but that is not the point!" Damian was losing his mind here.

Apparently, the girls had gone all the way to California in a second SUV he hadn’t even known existed, just to buy a mansion in Big Sur, California, on the Central Coast.

It was an ocean-meets-forest estate that had cost them a staggering seventy-five million dollars, and then, as if that wasn’t enough, they decided that since they had enjoyed themselves in the Maldives, it would be nice to add a fifty million dollar yacht.

This was on top of the luxury SUVs and supercar they had already purchased, which had cost somewhere around two million dollars.

In just a single day, his wives had spent one hundred and twenty-seven million dollars out of his five hundred and fifty million dollar fortune.

Damian fell back into his seat, the force sending the chair rolling slowly backward as he stared blankly into the air, his mind struggling to keep up.

He wanted nothing more than to fly over to California and scream at them, but he had too many things to handle right now. He didn’t have the time to entertain his wives’ madness.

"Marrying demons is no different from humans. I should have signed a prenup or something." Damian sighed.

He felt as though he had aged a decade just trying to comprehend what had gone through his wives’ minds when they made those purchases. To be fair, the money was theirs, but what the hell?

Ding!

Ding!

Two message notifications buzzed his phone almost at the same time, pulling his attention away. It was Councilman Delaney and Sofia.

Sofia: "Yeah, dinner by 9 is good. See you"

Damian exhaled heavily. This should have been an exciting moment, but his misfortunes had drained it of all meaning.

He was too worn down to feel any joy now. With a faint sting in his eyes, Damian replied.

Damian: That’s great. See you. (smiling face)

He exited the chat immediately and opened Councilman Delaney’s message. It wasn’t text, just a shared location.

Damian had requested a meeting to present "solutions" to his problem, so it wasn’t surprising that the man had wasted no time responding. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

A cold grin slowly spread across his lips as he rose to his feet and grabbed his blazer. He slipped his phone into his back pocket and swung the blazer over his shoulder, his eyes flashing faintly with a streak of violet.

____

The gates came into view long before the estate revealed itself.

Black steel stood embedded in a concrete wall that stretched endlessly in both directions, broken only by cameras that tracked his car the moment it slowed.

Loth eased her foot off the accelerator.

The SUV rolled to a smooth stop just before the checkpoint.

A panel slid open beside the gate, and a camera adjusted, then stilled.

A voice came through, calm and flat. "State your business."

"Damian," he replied, his tone steady. "I have an appointment with Councilman Delaney."

A brief silence followed, then the gates parted without a sound.

The car moved again.

The estate revealed itself gradually as they drove in. Clean roads cut through trimmed lawns that looked untouched by weather or time. Trees stood in deliberate rows, not grown but placed with intent.

Halfway up the drive, the second checkpoint awaited them, and this one had men.

Four of them stepped forward as the SUV came to a stop. They wore dark suits, earpieces, and moved with precise efficiency. One raised a hand, signaling for the engine to be cut.

Loth obeyed, and the door opened.

"Step out, sir."

Damian complied without a word.

The first guard approached from the front, eyes sharp as they scanned his face. The others moved into position, one circling behind, another taking his right, while the last remained near the vehicle.

"Arms out."

Damian lifted them slightly.

The search was thorough. Hands moved along his sides, down his legs, across his back. They checked his pockets, his waistband, even the inner lining of his blazer.

His phone was taken, glanced over, then returned.

"Clear."

Damian turned to Loth, who remained in the car.

"Wait for me here," he said, and she nodded.

"Yes, my Lord."

The lead guard stepped back and gestured toward the estate. "This way."

Damian adjusted his blazer and followed.

They neither rushed him nor slowed for him. The path curved through a wide garden, designed to impress without seeming to try. Stone tiles pressed beneath his shoes, and water features lay spaced just far enough apart to be heard but not fully seen at once.

Ahead, the main building stretched low and wide, more modern than he had expected, its white stone reflecting the afternoon sun without glare.

But they did not head inside. Instead, they veered to the side.

A shaded terrace came into view, though the man seated there had chosen the sun.

Councilman Delaney sat in a simple outdoor chair, angled slightly toward the light. A small table rested beside him. On it, a glass of orange juice caught the sunlight, condensation trailing down its side. In his other hand rested a folded newspaper, already half read.

He did not look up immediately.

He turned a page first, then took a slow sip.

Only then, as if Damian had been standing there all along, did his eyes lift.

Calm, steady, measuring the youth before him.

"Go on. Have a seat," he offered.

Only then did Damian take a seat at the other end of the table.

"Water, beer, cigarette? What can I get you?" The councilman’s gaze followed his every movement.

"Cigarette and whiskey." Damian did not hesitate, and the old man laughed out loud.

Youthful vigor. Damian’s boldness stirred a faint memory of the man he had once been, back when ambition still burned bright and the future felt within reach.

"You heard him. Go on," he ordered.

The security man gave a brief nod before turning and walking away.