Demon?

Hailey

My lips sealed, eyes widening as if a ghost had crossed my path, and the jolt I felt—akin to being hurled off a skyscraper's hundredth, maybe even two hundredth floor.

So, this was the little demon? He wasn't little at all. God! He did look sinful like a demon, but...

Damn it! I needed to get a hold of myself.

"B-but, Damien's eleven years old," I stammered, my words barely rising above a whisper. "How can you be Damien?"

His stormy grey eyes danced with amusement, the curve of his lips signaling he enjoyed my confusion as much as I hated being confused.

"Tell me something. What about me made you think I'd be an eleven-year-old kid?" he asked, momentarily diverting my attention to the way his lips moved and the prominent veins on his neck—God! He even knew my name... And he was too pristine—something about his orderliness and serenity clashed starkly with my chaotic nature.

Hell! This was going to be a struggle if he were the real Damien because my thoughts were far from decent. Not even close.

He couldn't be the real Damien. No way

Mom had insisted Damien was a kid. Why would she mislead me like this?

"So, you're not Damien's caretaker?" I questioned.

"Caretaker?" He chuckled, a sound that effortlessly succeeded in sending shivers down my spine, "Looks like Madison spun quite the tale for you."

"Not my fault. She was too engrossed in games when I mentioned you," Mom admitted, raising her hands in surrender. "I said twenty-six, she heard eleven—made no sense, so I left her in the dark."

My gaze shot to her.

So, she'd deceived me all those times I lamented about not wanting a sibling?

Argh! She must've relished fooling me. It was her fucking thing, no matter what.

I glared at my mother, catching her trying to suppress her laughter behind her hand, confirming my suspicion.

"How could you do this?" I asked in disbelief, and she laughed.

"Well, be glad. You'd prefer a sensible sibling over the 'little demon' you kept mentioning, wouldn't you?"

Indeed he was sensible but I didn't know why I now liked the idea of having a little brother rather than the one who sat before my eyes in all glory like a god.

"Little Demon?" Damien raised an eyebrow at my mother's statement, his gaze fixed on me, a few hair strands slipping from the grip of his neat hairstyle and framing his flawless face.

God! These moments made me question if she was even my real mom.

"Oh, she called you 'little demon' because she thought you'd be an annoying eleven-year-old kid," Mom chuckled, exposing me to everyone, "You should've seen her panic at the thought—she was literally freaking out all these days."

"Mom!" Heat rushed to my cheeks.

"Poor Hailey," Coby laughed. "That wasn't fair, Madison. Why did you do that to her?"

"I think she's still freaking out a bit more now," Damien observed, sizing me up as he poured a drink, sipping it slowly, every move of his was majestic, so calm and collected as if he was a man that could never ever make a mistake, perfected to the very way he breathed and there was something in his gaze that made me want to vanish, "She still seems afraid of the demon."

Demon? Did he call himself a demon?

God. What was I supposed to fucking make of that?

"She'll be fine," Mom reassured. "That's just her. She gets easily rattled."

"Mom, you don't have to spill everything about me," I muttered, managing a small laugh, discreetly grabbing her hand under the table, shooting her a look she happily ignored.

However, before she could utter a word, Damien interjected, "I believe she should. After all, you're going to be my sister, and the family should be aware... of everything about each other, shouldn't they?"

Everything? Okay. There was no denying he was behaving as oddly as my racing heart, and unfortunately, no one seemed to notice except me.

Fuck. I was already fucking wet....

"But—" I attempted to interject, but something about his stormy grey eyes didn't let me. They had power. Fuck, it wasn't just them—it was him as a whole—he was powerful, a presence that silenced me despite his minimal reaction.

"Alright, that's enough for now. I'm sure Hailey has nothing more to add," Mom chuckled, reaching for the menu. "Let's order. We understand how busy Damien is. We shouldn't keep him."

"Thanks, Maddison, but I'm quite full. Had lunch on my way here."

"But I asked you to join us for lunch, Damien. Why did you do that?" Coby questioned, a frown etching between his brows, confusion evident.

"Maybe I felt more at ease eating with my colleagues?" Damien replied with a kind of sarcastic smile, taking a sip of wine. Coby's expression faltered, mirroring my mother's.

Okay...

Something was definitely amiss.

Something about his smile was....Really off. It left a tension hanging thick in the air and I hadn't noticed it until now.

"Damien, we've spoken before, haven't we? This isn't—" Coby began.

"It's alright, honey," Mom interjected before Coby could continue, her tone overly cheerful. "He works all the time, he must have been hungry. No problem at all. At least he could make it."

"Thank you for understanding, Maddison. I really didn't expect that," Damien flashed another smile, lacking warmth yet again.

What was his deal? He seemed entirely disinterested in being here.

From the outset, I sensed something amiss, but I didn't anticipate this level of strain between him, Coby, and my mom.

My mother's smile wavered at his words, but she tried to hold it, silently signaling Coby not to react.

Was this typical? Damien's cold behavior toward my mom and his dad? Was he always like this, or was he simply against this marriage?

My mom was nothing but nice to him, there was no need to behave like a cold-hearted jerk when god had given him such beautiful features.

A genuine smile would suit him better rather than a sarcastic one.

I stayed quiet, avoiding Damien's gaze that seemed fixated on mine, never once wavering throughout the entirety of the lunch. The tension hung thick, and his unwavering stare added an uncomfortable layer to the strained atmosphere and a new speed to my already racing heartbeats.

So far, I could say—my new brother spoke of nothing but otherworldly sinful elegance I should have cared less about and trouble. Trouble for me....