Brandon cleared his throat.
“Because she’s my wife.”
Damien’s shoes shifted slightly.
“That isn’t an answer.”
“Mr. Blackwood, with respect, this is a private family matter.”
“Then you should have kept it out of my private office.”
One of the bodyguards moved toward the doorway.
Brandon took a step backward.
“Look, I apologize for interrupting. Just tell Hannah to come out, and we’ll leave.”
Damien leaned forward.
“Hannah.”
My heart nearly stopped.
He knew exactly where I was.
Of course he did.
“Can you hear me?”
I swallowed.
“Yes.”
His voice softened.
“Would you like to leave with your husband?”
Brandon immediately answered.
“Of course she would.”
“I wasn’t speaking to you.”
Silence.
I stared at the polished wooden panels beneath the desk.
Three years of fear crowded into my throat.
If I said no, Brandon would be furious.
If I said yes, I knew what would happen when we reached home.
I remembered the bruises.
The locked bedroom door.
The phone he’d smashed against the kitchen floor because I’d spoken to my sister without telling him.
Then I thought about the stranger above me.
A man I didn’t know.
A man whose name had made Brandon suddenly forget how to breathe.
And I whispered the word I’d been terrified to say for years.
“No.”
Damien didn’t hesitate.
“You heard her.”
Brandon’s voice changed.
“Hannah, stop embarrassing yourself.”
I flinched.
Damien’s tone hardened.
“That’s enough.”
“She’s confused.”
“She’s answered.”
“You don’t understand our marriage.”
“I understand the word no.”
A chair scraped against the floor.
Then Damien spoke to his security men.
“Marcus, escort Mr. Mitchell out of the private corridor. Ask restaurant management to preserve the security footage. If he threatens anyone, contact the police.”
Brandon’s composure finally broke.
“You can’t keep my wife from me!”
Damien answered quietly.
“I’m not keeping her anywhere. She has said she doesn’t want to leave with you.”
“This is kidnapping!”
“No,” Damien replied. “It’s a woman making her own decision.”
I heard footsteps.
A scuffle of expensive shoes against carpet.
Then Brandon’s voice, furious and suddenly distant.
“Hannah! You’ll regret this!”
The office door closed.
I remained under the desk.
My entire body was trembling.
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Damien moved his chair backward.
“You can stay there until you feel ready to come out,” he said.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
“I don’t know what to do.”
“That’s all right.”
I heard him walking toward the far side of the office.
“I’ll give you some space.”
A moment later, a woman’s voice came through an intercom.
