Do You Still Love Me When We Meet Again? (Aubrey and Damon) novel Chapter 5

Aubrey was genuinely terrified.

Last time, even in a crowded, bustling hotel, Damon hadn’t hesitated to be cruel to her.

Now, it was past two in the morning, and the apartment corridor was eerily silent and deserted. She had no idea how he would torment her this time.

“I… I didn’t know you’d be here,” Aubrey’s voice trembled as she pressed herself against the door, ready to pound on it and scream for help.“I didn’t mean for you to see me.”

Damon’s expression darkened. He turned and walked to the trash can in the corner, stubbed out his cigarette, and tossed it in.

He pressed the elevator button. When the doors opened, he looked back at Aubrey, his voice flat.“Coming?”

Aubrey took a deep breath, her heart a knot of unease, and slowly walked over.

Was he really not going to snap again?

Was he waiting for her?

nside the elevator, Aubrey pressed herself against the back wall, still unable to relax, her gaze fixed

on Damon’s back.

He was tall, his short, clean–cut hair revealing a strong nape. Broad–shouldered with a narrow waist, he was solidly built, yet his clothes gave him a lean, lmost understated silhouette, radiating a cool, detached air.

His back, paradoxically, made her feel safe.

n the past, she’d loved to sneak up behind Damon while he cooked, pressing her face against his broad back.

t was safe and comforting.

He’d laugh and ask, “How am I supposed to cook with you clinging to me?”

she’d tease, “I’m not holding your hands. You cook, and I’ll just hug.”

Are you underestimating how soft you are?” he’d murmur, his voice rough.“You’re making my blood run hot. Now, I don’t want dinner. I want you.”

So bad,” she’d playfully scold.“Can’t even be serious while cooking.”

Damon wasn’t joking. He’d put down his spatula, lift her onto the kitchen island, and capture her attention, his desire clear in his eyes. Only after they vere both satisfied and sated would he carry her, weak–kneed, back to bed to rest, before returning to the kitchen to finish her meal.

Their past was sweet, but the memories now tasted only of bitterness,

Aubrey lowered her head, refusing to look at his back any longer.

The elevator doors opened, and without a single word exchanged, they walked out, one following the other.

Damon’s car was parked in the complex, and Aubrey walked past it.

Get in.”

The man’s voice came from behind her, and Aubrey paused, turning to look back at him.

le stood by the driver’s side, holding the door open, ready to get in. His face was indifferent, his gaze icy, and his voice held no warmth.

No, thank you,” Aubrey said “I’ll just grab a taxi home.” A shiver of apprehension ran through her.

Get in,” he said, his voice hardening.

No, really, I don’t need to

Don’t make me say it a third time.”

Aubrey froze, unmoving, staring at him, confused.

What did Damon mean?

Was he going to drive her home?

He didn’t say another word. He got into the car, closed the door, and buckled his seatbelt, but didn’t start the engine. He waited, silently.

Aubrey realized then that no matter how much Damon hated her, how much he despised her, he wasn’t the kind of man to leave a woman alone in the

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dead of night, past two AM, to take a taxi home by herself.

She hesitated no longer, approaching the back door of the car and tugging hard.

The door wouldn’t open.

She tugged again, but it still wouldn’t open.

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Suddenly, Damon leaned across the console, his arm extending to push open the passenger door. He then straightened up, all in one seamless motion. Staring at the now open passenger door, she hesitated for a few seconds. Then, without another thought, she climbed into the passenger seat, pulling the seatbelt across and buckling up.

In the confined space of the car, it was just the two of them. The car was filled with a pleasant lavender scent, one she loved and knew Damon did too. She felt rigid with unease, Damon’s presence enveloping her, her thoughts becoming a tangled mess. Even breathing became a struggle.

The car’s interior remained dark as Damon started the engine, pulling them out of the neighborhood.

He tapped open the navigation on the screen.“Where to?” he stated.

“Oh.” Aubrey reached over and typed her address into the screen.

Damon glanced at it, his brow furrowed.

For the rest of the drive, they exchanged no further words.

Time crawled, each passing minute, each second, agonizing for Aubrey.

She didn’t dare look at Damon, instead fixing her gaze on the nightscape outside the window. Her heart hammered, her body rigid, as if the air itself was thinning.

Meru

She’d graduated from a prestigious university with a finance degree, landed a high–paying job in the City, and had an incredibly promising boyfriend. Now, she was just a public interest lawyer, earning a pittance, buried under crushing debt, living in a dilapidated house in the suburbs, and working herself to the bone.

The very excuse she’d used to break up with him was now back to haunt her, flaying her alive.

She deserved this.

She had no right to cry.

But her heart was ripped to shreds, raw and bleeding, making her tremble with pain.“Please,” she begged, her voice a mere whisper,“let go of me.” Damon scoffed, his voice dripping with sarcasm.“He was a rich kid, after all. So you didn’t even manage to get a single thing out of him?” Aubrey yanked her wrist, trying to pull free, but she couldn’t escape Damon’s powerful grip. Her wrist ached, but her heart throbbed even more painfully.

She closed her eyes, and tears streamed down her pale cheeks.

The dim, yellow light fell across her gaunt face, a heartbreaking sight.

Damon wasn’t done with her. He gripped her jaw, tilting her face up. He spoke, each word a deliberate, cutting blow.“Five years. With that beautiful face and stunning body of yours, you could have gone out and found any rich man. You wouldn’t be in this pathetic state today.”

Aubrey looked at him through tear–filled eyes, her voice frail and shattered.“Damon,” she whispered,“does it make you feel good, humiliating me like this?”

Damon scoffed, a faint light illuminating his hard face. The shadow cast by his short hair obscured his bloodshot eyes.

He grabbed Aubrey’s collar, his fury spiking, thick with bitter hatred.“Come to my bed,” he snarled, “and I’ll give you money, a home, a car.”

Blind with rage, he completely lost control, pulling hard.

The button on Aubrey’s white shirt snapped, flying off. Her shirt was torn open, exposing a pale, bare shoulder and the tantalizing curve of her breast, the edge of her white bra peeking out.

His pupils gave a faint tremor, his gaze growing unreadable. His fingers went rigid, and his Adam’s apple bobbed once.

Aubrey had no strength left to struggle, her face streaked with tears. She looked at him with a vacant, almost dead expression, as if her soul had been ripped from her.“I don’t need any of it,” she whispered, her voice barely there.

He released Aubrey, taking a sharp step back.“Fucking pathetic,” he muttered, a harsh, self–derisive whisper.

He was cursing himself.

But to Aubrey’s ears, it stung.

His face a terrifying mask of grimness, he spun around and got into his car. He slammed the door shut with a force that rattled the silence, gunned the engine, and peeled out, disappearing into the night.

The desolate alley returned to its broken silence, and the night deepened the sense of crushing solitude.

Aubrey felt her legs give out, her body swaying as she watched Damon’s retreating car through a blur of tears, slowly pulling her collar back up.

Her heart felt like it was being torn to shreds.

The pain was so intense, it was almost suffocating her.

Ever since she met him, she felt like she was on the verge of breaking Where else could she