The Billionaire's Secret Baby-Chapter 109: Protect You

When Sienna left, the silence that followed was deafening.

How could she have forgotten such important policy? Wasn’t it a part of the reasons she hadn’t approached Raymond when she fancied him? Then how possible was it that she’d forgotten all about it with Damian?

What was she going to do? Choosing between her career and Damian would be hard but then, she’d have no choice.

Her mind drifted to him. Has he heard? What is his take?

By late morning, Chloe had redone the same sketch three times. The lines refused to stay straight; her focus kept drifting toward the clock.

It was already hours since Damian left the office, yet he hadn’t returned.

The empty space beside her where his desk was, his untouched coffee mug was like a quiet accusation. He’d left to get her coffee, yet after hours, he wasn’t back.

No matter how hard she tried to keep her mind away from the situation, every now and then, she caught herself glancing at the door, expecting to see him stride in with that brisk, infuriating calm of his.

But he didn’t.

Had he heard about the rumor and was perhaps staying away from her? Or was he blaming himself that the rumors were flying?

She tried not to care. Tried to convince herself he’d gotten called into a meeting or that he had been called for something else. Perhaps, something important had come up and he’d had to leave urgently without informing her.

Still, after the third hour, she sighed, pulled out her phone, and typed a quick message.

[You disappeared. I thought you just went to get me coffee. Where are you? I hope you’re good.]

She hit send and stared at the screen, waiting for those three dots to appear. To show that he was perhaps typing a reply or something.

But they didn’t.

Minutes stretched into an hour. Lunch break crept up, and the unease that had started as mild curiosity began to settle like a weight in her chest.

Finally, she pushed back her chair, grabbed her tablet, and decided to find him herself. If he was still in the company premises, he’d at least explain to her why he’d disappeared for hours and if he wasn’t anywhere in the company, she’d at least know he wasn’t and was perhaps caught up with something.

The corridors were quieter than usual, sunlight spilling through the tall glass panels. When she reached the end of the hall, she saw him standing outside his old office, speaking briefly with one of the assistants before dismissing them. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

He was here? At his office? Why? Did Miss Laurent ask him here? Why didn’t he just reply her text and tell her he was here? Or could it be what she thought it was?

She shook her head. She needed to talk to him to be able to know what he was thinking about. She thought as she approached him.

From his back, she could see that he looked composed, but there was also a stiffness in his posture she hadn’t seen before.

"Hey," she said as she approached, relief breaking into a small smile. "There you are. I thought you’d vanished."

Hearing her voice, he turned, and just like that, Chloe’s relief faltered.

The expression in his eyes wasn’t the one she was used to. It wasn’t anywhere near that cool sharpness that hid something warmer underneath. This was colder. It seemed rather controlled and.... distant.

"I’ve been here," he said simply.

"Here?" She glanced around, confused. "Back in your old office?"

"Yes."

The single word carried no explanation, and Chloe frowned.

"Why?" she pressed, still trying to sound casual. "Did the new one offend you or something? Or did I offend you?"

Damian’s lips curved faintly, but it wasn’t a smile. "No, you didn’t," he said simply.

Chloe nodded. "Then why?"

If he’d heard about the rumor and was trying to create some distance between them, then he should be man enough to say it to her. After all, he was the one that had asked her out on a dinner date with his friends and insisted and calling and checking in with her. He’d also been the one to send her texts. The least he could do was be open with her.

"Let’s just call it... a change of environment," he said with an easy shrug.

Something in his tone made her chest tighten. "Oh! I see. You could’ve told me. I waited all morning thinking you were—" she stopped, shaking her head with a laugh that didn’t sound like one. "Never mind. You got my text?"

He nodded once. "Yeah, I did."

"And you couldn’t reply? Or you didn’t think I needed your reply?"

"Actually, yes. I didn’t think it needed a reply."

That one stung.

Chloe blinked, caught off guard. How could he do easily say it like they were enemies. Even then, hearing stuff like this wouldn’t have hurt her this much. "Right. Of course. Silly me."

Damian shifted his gaze to the side, hands slipping into his pockets. "Chloe, we should maintain a bit of distance for now."

Although he never would’ve thought he’d be the one saying this especially when he knew he liked her but he had to. He couldn’t let her start deciding on what to choose between him and her job.

This was the only way to make it easier for her.... for them. It was easier now that nothing had been made official.

Her brows shot up. "Distance?" Chloe asked back, looking at him incredulously.

"Yes." He kept his voice even, as if they were discussing logistics. "Given the current... rumors, it’s better we avoid unnecessary attention."

She stared at him, disbelief breaking through her confusion. "You actually heard them."

"I did," he admitted quietly.

"And your solution is to vanish? To treat me like I’m some stranger?"

"It’s not vanishing or anything of the sort, Chloe. It’s just that I’m... I’m just trying to be careful."

Her laugh came out sharper than she meant. "Careful? Damian, you know those rumors aren’t true.... yet. You, of all people—"

"I know they aren’t true and they’re never going to be true; I’ll make sure of it," he cut in, tone steady but low. "That’s not the issue."

Her breath hitched. Never be true?

For a second, she just stared at him, trying to process what he’d said. The words twisted in her chest, sharp and cold. "You’ll make sure of it?" she repeated, her voice tight. "Wow."

She’d thought he actually liked her.

"Chloe—"

"No," she cut in, shaking her head as a humorless smile tugged at her lips. "I get it. Don’t worry. You don’t have to make it sound polite. You’re basically saying I’m the last person you’d ever get involved with, right?"

His brows drew together, confused. "That’s not what I meant, Chloe."

"Then what did you mean, Damian?" she pressed, her tone rising despite her best effort to stay calm. "Because to me, it sounded like you’re disgusted by the idea of people thinking we could ever be... something."

"That’s not—" he began, but she wasn’t done.

"I know about the policy and I know you did, too," she said, her voice trembling. "After the policy, I’ve always made sure it never became an issue because I didn’t want to risk my career. And yet—" her throat tightened as she looked at him, "I still let myself believe you were different after spending these few weeks with you."

He took a careful step forward, guilt flashing across his face. This wasn’t how he’d wanted the conversation to go. "Chloe, please, listen. I didn’t mean it like that. I just don’t want this to affect you. You’ve worked too hard—"

She laughed, but it came out brittle. "You keep saying that like it’s supposed to make me feel better. Like my work’s the only thing that defines me."

"That’s not it—"

"Then what is it, Damian?" she asked, voice breaking a little now. "Because from where I’m standing, it sounds like you’re trying to convince both of us that we don’t care. That what we have, whatever it was, means nothing."

He fell silent. His hands curled into fists in his pockets, the words dying in his throat.

Finally, he said quietly, "Maybe for now, it has to mean nothing."

For now, it has to. He wouldn’t want her to be like his mom. He wouldn’t let her give up the only thing he knew she enjoyed doing just for him.

For a long moment, neither of them moved neither did they utter a word. Then Chloe took a slow breath, blinking hard to keep her composure.

"Right," she said, voice steady again but cold now. "Well, thank you for clearing that up. I’ll make sure to act accordingly."

She turned sharply and walked away, her heels echoing down the corridor, each step louder than the last.

Damian stood there long after she’d gone, the echo of her voice lingering in his chest.

He’d wanted to protect her, but somehow, he’d only ended up hurting her instead. How was he supposed to explain to her that he genuinely loved her and wanted her to be happy?