Rebirth Of The Heiress And The Tycoon's Lover (Alina) novel Chapter 265

Chapter 265

AUTHOR’S POV

Her words lingered in the quiet room, fragile but certain.

“I want us to start over if you don’t mind.”

Damien froze where he stood, halfway between stepping out the door and staying. His expression softened, the usual playfulness in his eyes dimming into something careful, unsure. “Do you really mean that?” he asked slowly, searching her face. “Or are you just saying it because you feel guilty about what happened last night?”

Alina set her fork down and lifted her gaze to meet his. Her voice was steady, though still edged with a kind of quiet exhaustion. “No, I mean it,” she said. “I really want to start over, Damien. I’d love it if you showed me around the manor sometime. Maybe maybe it’ll help me remember my childhood.”

For a second, Damien didn’t say anything. He simply stared at her, as if trying to decide whether to believe her or not. Then, a small smile curved his lips the kind of smile that carried a touch of relief. “I’d like that very much.” He said, his tone soft, almost shy.

A faint, genuine smile ghosted across Alina’s face for the first time since she’d arrived. She picked up her fork again, quietly slicing through the pancakes Damien had brought her. The warm aroma of butter and honey filled the air, almost comforting.

As she ate, the silence stretched comfortably between them until Alina finally spoke again. “Damien…” she began hesitantly.

He looked up from where he had leaned lightly against the dresser, his hands in his pockets. “Hmm?”

“Can you tell me about him?”

He frowned slightly, “About who?”

“Lucius,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “If I’m being forced to marry this person… the least I can do is know who he is.”

Damien blinked, taken aback by her bluntness. “Are you sure you want to talk about that right now?”

“Yes.” She didn’t look at him as she spoke, just kept her eyes on the plate. “I’m not agreeing to anything. I just want to know what kind of man is turning my life upside down.”

Damien exhaled softly, rubbing the back of his neck. “Okay,” he said finally. “If that’s what you want.” He pulled a chair closer and sat opposite her, resting his elbows lightly on his knees. “Where do I even start…”

“With what kind of person he was,” she said. “When you knew him.”

Damien’s lips curved faintly. “Lucius was… quiet. Always has been. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, it was worth listening to. He had this calm about him, the kind that made people stop fighting just to hear what he’d say.

ainst porcelain. “So, you knew him well?”

“Yeah,” Damien said with a faint chuckle. “He was my best friend. A year older than me, six years older than you. You adored him.” He added, his tone teasing but warm.

Alina blinked, startled. “I adored him?”

“Oh, completely,” Damien said, his eyes lighting with distant amusement. “You followed him everywhere, declaring you’d marry him when you grew up. You were this tiny little thing, always clinging to his arm. He’d pretend to be annoyed, but he never really was.”

Her brows drew together, confusion and disbelief mixing in her expression. “I did that?”

“Every single day,” Damien said, grinning at the memory. “You even made him wear those ridiculous flower crowns you used to make from the garden. Poor Lucius… I swear, half the time he looked like he was being dragged into your little world against his will.”

Despite herself, Alina laughed quietly…a soft, brief sound that warmed the cold edges of the morning. “That sounds like me, actually,” she admitted. “Bossing people around.”

“Yeah,” Damien said, smiling at her laughter. “But he never minded. He was patient with you. Protective too.” Alina looked down, stirring her food absently. “He sounds… kind.” She murmured.

“He was,” Damien said, nodding. “He didn’t talk much, but when you cried, he’d just sit next to you and let you hold his hand until you stopped. He never told anyone about it either…just quietly let you be.”

She went quiet again, taking another bite without really tasting it. “And then?”

Damien’s smile faltered a little. He leaned back in his chair, his eyes dimming. “Then the attack happened.”

The air between them seemed to shift. Alina glanced up slowly, her tone cautious. “You mean the one that destroyed his family?”

He nodded. “Yeah. The night everything changed. He disappeared after that, no one ever found his body, but… no one found him alive either.”

She stopped eating, her appetite fading. “So he’s gone?”

Damien hesitated before answering, his voice careful. “We don’t know. He’s been missing for twenty years. No trace. Not a word. Nothing.”

Alina’s gaze dropped to her plate again, though her mind was elsewhere. “Then why are they still insisting I marry him?” she asked, bitterness seeping into her voice. “What’s the point of being engaged to a ghost?”

“Because that’s how the families sealed the bond,” Damien said quietly. “It wasn’t just a promise. It was a… merger. A blood pact, actually.”

She frowned, confused. “A blood pact?”

He nodded. “It’s complicated, but it wasn’t meant to be romantic. It was more like a symbol…a way to unite

the two families.”

Alina’s lips tightened, her chest rising sharply with a scoff. “So now I’m supposed to pay the price for some ridiculous promise made twenty years ago?”

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