Nine months too late: After divorce

Feeling Damon's warm fingers running through her hair, Nyla instinctively clenched her hands on the table and tensed up.

"Maybe I should just do it myself," she said, starting to turn away.

Damon placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'll do it." His voice was deep, carrying an irresistible authority.

Nyla bit her lip and stopped insisting.

The only sound in the bedroom was the hairdryer.

After about ten minutes, the noise finally ceased.

"All done. Take a look," Damon said.

Nyla reached up to feel her hair. It felt smooth and dry. She turned to look at Damon. "Thank you.

Damon glanced down at her, but his eyes quickly shifted away when they caught a glimpse of the V-neck of her nightgown.

"Let's head downstairs for dinner," he said.

"It's too late. I won't be eating tonight," Nyla replied.

She wanted to maintain her figure and had a rule about not eating anything after 8:00 p.m.

"Lydia said you've been too tired lately and made all your favorite dishes. Are you sure you want to waste her kind effort?" Damon asked.

Meeting Damon's questioning gaze, Nyla frowned and conceded, "Alright, you go ahead first. I'll change and come down in a bit."

"Okay, I'll wait for you," Damon answered.

After he left, Nyla opened her wardrobe and took out a long black dress.

While changing, the scene from earlier-when Damon pressed her against the bathroom door and kissed her- flashed through her mind. Her heart skipped a beat.

No, she couldn't think about that anymore.

She patted her flushed cheeks, trying to suppress her fluster as she walked out of the bedroom.

Once Nyla entered the dining room and sat across from Damon, Lydia brought out the dishes she had kept warm.

When Lydia's gaze met Nyla's, a smile flickered in her eyes.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

Something must have happened between Damon and Nyla since they had spent so much time together upstairs. Otherwise, Damon wouldn't be in such a good mood when he came down, and Nyla wouldn't look so flushed. If they kept this up, maybe Mason would have a sibling next year.

Nyla was completely unaware of Lydia's thoughts. She lowered her gaze to the tableware, too shy to meet Damon's eyes.

Whenever she saw him, inappropriate scenes from earlier would involuntarily come to mind. She didn't know

what was wrong with her.

"Mr. Sumner, Ms. Kinsey, all the dishes are served," Lydia announced.

Damon nodded. "Okay."

Noticing Nyla looking down, he frowned. "Are you planning to eat with your forehead?"

Nyla reluctantly lifted her head. The moment she made eye contact with Damon, she quickly looked away again.

Seeing her like this, Damon couldn't help but tease her. "Are you shy?"

Nyla gritted her teeth and retorted, "Who's shy? Don't say nonsense!"

Damon smiled. "Still claiming you're not shy? Then why is your face so red?"

Subconsciously reaching up to touch her face, Nyla realized it was indeed warm.

She met Damon's playful gaze and defended herself, "I just didn't dry my hair in time. Maybe I caught a cold."

Noticing her earlobes turning pink, Damon decided not to tease her further. "Looks like I was reading too much into it then. Let's eat."

After finishing dinner, just as Nyla was about to leave, Damon suddenly asked, "I heard you gave all your savings to Valarie. Is that true?"

Nyla halted in her tracks, surprised. "How did you know?"

"Someone told me," Damon answered.

"Oh. And you're asking this because?" Nyla replied.

"Nothing. I just wanted to see if you really are that foolish," Damon said.

Nyla shot Damon an irritated glare. "Now that you know, what's next? It's my money, and how I use it is none of your business."

11

"Of course, but you should be prepared for that money to disappear like it's been dumped into the sea," Damon warned.

"Don't worry. When I lent it to her, I didn't expect her to pay it back," Nyla countered.

Since she could lend it out, she needed to be ready for the possibility of never seeing it again. Otherwise, she'd just end up torturing herself.

Damon raised an eyebrow, surprised that Nyla could go that far for Valarie.

"But with me around, I won't let your money go to waste," he assured her.

Nyla paused, looking up at him. "What do you mean? Are you planning to help the Weir Group?"

"Not at all. I'm doing it for you," Damon declared.

Nyla bit her lip. "You're being a bit too obvious with your intentions."

Damon nodded. "I won't deny it. Helping the Weir Group is a way to get you to appreciate me. After all, I want to pursue you."

"Don't you think doing this quietly and letting Valarie tell me would have a better effect?" Nyla retorted.

2

Damon smirked. "That would definitely work better, but I can't wait. Besides, you're definitely going to think about me when you fall asleep tonight."

At 2:00 a.m., Nyla still couldn't sleep.

She lay staring at the dark ceiling, cursing Damon in her mind. Great, his comment had kept her thinking about him all night, and now she was wide awake. That annoying man was doing this on purpose!

Yet, for some reason, she felt a hint of sweetness in the mix...

Nyla buried her face in her pillow, forcing herself not to think of him.

The more she tried to avoid thoughts of him, though, the more his face and their recent interactions kept popping into her mind.

The next morning, Nyla descended the stairs with dark circles under her eyes.

Seeing her exhausted face, Damon couldn't help but smirk. "Good morning."

Nyla shot him a resentful glance but didn't say a word.

If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have stayed up nearly all night. Consequently, she felt quite resentful toward the culprit.

Damon, however, acted as if he had no clue and continued trying to chat with her.

Nyla replied half-heartedly, looking somewhat lethargic.

Usually, when she didn't sleep well at night, she lacked energy in the morning and had no appetite. After just a few sips of milk, she set her glass down, announcing, "I'm done eating." Damon glanced at her untouched breakfast and turned to instruct Lydia, "Pack a portion of breakfast for her."

""No need. I can't eat," Nyla refused.

"Just pack it up. If you can't eat later, you can throw it away," Damon coaxed.

"Alright..." Nyla relented.

After Lydia packed the breakfast, Damon picked it up and told Nyla, "Let's go."

The two walked out of the villa one after the other. Just as they got into the car, Nyla's phone rang.

It was Valarie.

As soon as she answered, she heard Valarie's slightly downcast voice. "Nyla, do you have time this afternoon? I have something I want to discuss with you." Today's Bonus Offer

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Noticing something off in Valarie's tone, Nyla quickly asked, "What's wrong? Di