CHAPTER 75

Lisa's POV

He smiled at me, and when I didn't smile back, his expression altered, and he realized that something wasn't right.

The next action he takes is to sigh heavily, suggesting that he must have deduced my response just from staring at my expressionless face.

I pause as he reaches out his hand to shake mine. Damien is observing us from a hidden location. Now that Damien and I are dating, I couldn't let him touch me in any way he wants since I am aware of how envious Damien can be.

I like what is between Damien and me, even if it doesn't seem right. How he makes me feel is wonderful.

Is everything all right? While attentively observing me, he asks.

I stand uncomfortably in front of him and say freely, "I have some things to tell you.

He smiles at me, his adorable face looks content. "Shall we sit now?"

I nod.

He leads me to the seat and smiles as he looks down at me as if he can see right through me.

I'm considering how to respectfully refuse him while also informing him of my marriage to Damien. Will he accept it harshly? It seems more like I lied to him from the beginning by withholding the fact that I am married.

I abruptly declare, "I am married," and he looks surprised. Slowly, his mouth opens, but he quickly snaps it shut again.

"Married?" He laughs while glancing about and giving me a clownish feeling.

Why doesn't he consider me credible? Do I seem to be someone who is now making a joke?

Yes, I say firmly, "I am married.

As you said to me the other day, I believed that you had come to Verona in search of love.

I cut him off, "Yes, that is true." I said I had come looking for love, but I no longer am. Love will always find its way to you, as my grandmother used to say. Although I didn't discover love in New York, I came here with the hopes of finding the pure love that everyone claims to have.

To locate me, Damien arrived. Love came to me all by itself.

I adore Damien, even if he may not feel the same way about me. I've always had a strong affinity for him, but once we were married, it grew.

He is a damaged guy, therefore I will wait till he can accept and love me completely for who I am.

I say, staring at my fingers as a flush spreads over my cheeks and turns me a bright tomato red, "I didn't tell you all along about the marriage because it was kind of fake until last night."

Before last night? He seemed to be having trouble believing what I was saying.

I muster the confidence to face him directly. "Yes. I believed we didn't really love one another since the marriage was just formal on paper.

"And now that you believe you two are in love? What the heck are you saying?

He doesn't get what I'm saying. How can I tell him that I fell in love with Damien while visiting Verona and that Sabrina and Eunice were correct?

How can I explain to him that I just realized I could only love Damien after running into him? How do I explain to him that Damien only realized how important I am to him after a week of my absence?

I tell him bluntly, "It was a contract marriage," and he laughs.

"What?!"

"Yes, for some reason we were supposed to be married for a year, but we have decided to be with each other because we are...attracted to each other,"

"Attracted? Is this it?

I shake my head, "No." We cherish one another.

He stares at me for a bit before turning away as stillness begins to set in.

He says, "You are married" more as an affirmation. Then, good luck.

I'm not sure if there is anything more I want to say to him since I don't believe his laughing to be sincere.

As Damien and I left Alejandro's house in a vehicle and we both drove there, I had the words I wanted to say to him memorized and repeated them over and over in my head.

It is much simpler to appear sincere now that Damien and I are together. When Alejandro questioned me about where I went and why I didn't answer my phones last night, I had no idea that Damien's concern from earlier in the evening was valid.

Alejandro had missed calls, but I didn't pick them up since I assumed he was just calling to see how I was doing.

I didn't think Damien was being honest about being concerned about my absence until he told me how he had a panic call from Damien last night and how he smiled when he described to me how breathless Damien was.

All of this suggests that Damien feels the same way about me as I do about him. It could just be too early for him to confess it or feel comfortable telling me how he really feels.

I shall be patient until he recovers from Helena. He will recover and find love again with my assistance. I won't break him; I'll make him happy once again.

"So, Damien is your husband?" I'm startled out of my daydream by Romeo's voice. When I turn to face him, I see that he is carrying the phone that contains the image of Damien.

"Is your husband the newest billionaire to get married in New York?" He raises his brow as he turns to face me, and I swallow loudly as I nod.

I should have anticipated that the Internet would make everything public. Before I told him the truth, did he view this picture?

Instead of seeming like a question, "Damien Russell who married his Assistant" sounds like a comment. "Why did I not even consider it? Your role as his assistant, then? I humbly nod while pityingly observing his face.

Then he made you marry him against your will.

"What? No!" I vehemently defend, my brows furrowed.

"He didn't make you do it?" He inquires while portraying concern.

I informed you that the marriage was no longer by contract. He offered to assist if I agreed to marry him for a year in exchange for the money I needed for my grandma's operation.

I stop. Why am I sharing all of this with Romeo? What if he attempts to threaten Damien and me with this knowledge or uses it against me?

Oh my god! What did I do?

He smirks, "Go on, your story is really interesting."

"Romeo, my husband, and I are now officially married, so the answer to your request is no," she said as she entered the room. I cherish Damien.

"You love him, that is understandable, but does he love you?" He interrupts me abruptly. It is simple for a poor woman like you to fall in love with a guy like him, but how do you know whether he really cares for you or if this is just one of his ruses to get you and then dump you?

My jaw drops.