The Billionaire's Intern (Maya Thompson) novel Chapter 420

1 oder 186 Bare and Unguarded 1

Chapter 186: Bare and Unguarded-1

+25 Points

Maya took a deep breath, her chest tightening as she looked at him. Seeing Damien like this-so raw, so exposed-shattered something inside her.

She wanted to reach out, to hold him, to tell him it was okay, that everything would be fine. She

wanted to shield him from the weight of his own regrets.

But she didn’t. Not yet. This moment demanded more than comfort.

They needed this conversation. They needed honesty.

Because if he could lay himself bare-every fear, every regret, every vulnerable fragment of his

heart-then she owed him the same.

She owed herself the same.

Her hands curled at her sides, trembling as she fought the instinct to shield him from the pain.

She would speak. She would confront the truth. She had to-because they couldn’t move forward

while the hardest things remained unspoken.

“…. I need to say this,” she whispered, though it was meant for him too. “If we skip it now, we’ll

never heal-fully, not together.”

She lifted her gaze, meeting Damien’s eyes with a quiet resolve.

“You didn’t just hurt me,” she said softly, her voice steady despite the tightness in her throat. “You

made me feel like I didn’t get a say. Like my voice didn’t matter.”

His expression shifted-something dark flickering briefly in his eyes. Regret. Self-reproach.

“I know,” he said, his voice cracking, eyes raw and pleading. “And I hate that I did that to you. I hate

that it took others to make me see it. I hate myself for putting you through that.”

He swallowed. “Please believe me-it was never my intention. Never. Hurting you is the last thing I

would ever do.”

Silence stretched between them-not uncomfortable, but weighted with everything they were still

learning how to say.

Maya studied him carefully, searching for deflection, for control-for the Damien who commanded

rooms without effort.

Instead, she found something else.

Uncertainty. Fear. Vulnerability-bare and unguarded.

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Chapter 186 Bare and Unguarded-1

+25 Points

Damien’s shoulders finally sagged, the tension bleeding out of him. He dragged a hand through his hair, then over his face, as if grounding himself.

“I’m not used to this,” he admitted quietly. “Caring this much… and not knowing what the right

move is.”

He lifted his gaze to hers again, steady but stripped bare.

“Every instinct I have tells me to eliminate risk before it ever gets close to you,” he said, his voice lowering. “To control it. Contain it. End it.”

A beat.

“But I’m realizing something,” he continued. “That instinct doesn’t get to override you.”

Her breath stilled. Dahlia’s words surfaced unbidden-he’s learning. Both of you are. And if he could

meet her like this, without armor or control, then she owed him the same.

“That’s what scared me, Damien,” Maya said softly. “Not what you did-but what it meant.” She swallowed. “That loving you might mean disappearing a little at a time.”

He stiffened, the words striking deeper than anything else she’d said. Then he shook his head,

sharp and immediate. Panic flashed across his face as he stepped closer, lifting a hand to her

face, cupping her cheek with careful gentleness.

“No. No-never,” he said, his voice rough. “Don’t say that, love. Please.” His hand stayed warm

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