The Billionaire's Intern (Maya Thompson) novel Chapter 528

Chapter 258: Not Our Place to Interfere

A thoughtful silence settled between them.

Maya quietly turned Damien’s words over in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more she realized he was right.

When Dahlia had walked into the dining hall the night before, she hadn’t looked frightened or anxious. If anything, she had looked like someone carrying a burden too heavy to bear.

She had looked… as though something inside her had shattered.

“I noticed something too,” Maya said after a long moment as she turned to Damien.

“What is it?” Damien asked, his brows drawing together with curiosity.

Maya took a slow breath, hesitating before she spoke.

“I… I’m not sure, Love. Maybe I’m just overthinking it.”

Maya lowered her eyes and absently fidgeted with her fingers before looking back at him.

“But I couldn’t shake the feeling that she was avoiding me. Every time I looked at her, she’d look away.”

Damien reached over and gently enclosed her fidgeting hands in his, stilling them with a reassuring squeeze.

“No, you’re not overthinking.”

Then, slipping a finger beneath her chin, he gently lifted her face until their eyes met.

“I noticed it too.”

Maya blinked in surprise.

“You did?”

Damien fell silent for a moment, his eyes leaving hers as they settled on the floor.

“It wasn’t just you,” he said quietly. “She avoided looking at me as well.”

A small frown creased Maya’s forehead.

“But… why?”

Damien slipped an arm around her shoulders and gently drew her against his chest

“I don’t know yet,” he admitted, his thumb absently tracing slow circles against her arm. “But I don’t think it’s a coincidence that she avoided both of us. Whatever happened yesterday… I have a feeling it has something to do with us.”

A flicker of worry crossed Maya’s face,

She slowly pulled back from his embrace and searched his face, uncertainty written plainly in her eyes.

“What if I’ve done something wrong?” she asked quietly. “Maybe… maybe she’s upset with me over something?”

She bit her lower lip.

“I…”

Before she could finish, Damien gently cupped her cheek.

“Don’t say that, Love.”

His voice was calm but firm.

“I know my mother. If something bothered her, she wouldn’t keep it to herself. She has no problem telling people exactly what she thinks.”

He brushed a loose strand of hair behind Maya’s ear.

“This is different.”

Maya looked at him questioningly.

“How?”

“If she were simply overwhelmed, she would’ve talked to Dad… or at least Grandma,” Damien said after a thoughtful pause.

“Dad said she left early, couldn’t be reached all day, came home late, brushed off every question he asked, couldn’t even bring herself to look at either of us, then went straight to her room.”

Damien fell silent, his brows knitting together as he pieced everything together in his mind.

“That tells me something.”

Maya felt her chest tighten.

Damien understood immediately who she was referring to, and a familiar sense of guilt settled heavily in his chest.

He had been too confident back then. He had underestimated what a desperate man was capable of, and

Γ Maya had nearly paid the price for his mistake.

Seeing the lingering fear in her eyes was a painful reminder that the guilt had never truly left him. Although he had already made Beckett pay a hundredfold for what he had done, it didn’t change the fact that he had been the reason behind one of Maya’s greatest traumas.

He gently tightened his hold on her hand.

“No,” he said softly. “Not this time. I won’t make the same mistake again.”

His voice remained calm, but there wasn’t the slightest hint of overconfidence behind it

“I already have people watching him. Every move he makes will be reported to me. I won’t give him the opportunity that bastard had.”

Maya held his eyes for a long moment before nodding. Just as she was beginning to feel reassured. another thought crossed her mind.

“But what if he doesn’t came after you?”

Damien frowned slightly.

“What do you mean?”

“What if he goes after the woman instead?” Maya asked. “The one who exposed him.” She paused, trying to remember. “What was her name again?”

“Brandy Martinez.”

“Yes… her.” Maya looked at Damien, worry lingering in her eyes.

“If she’s the reason everything came to light, what if he decides to take his anger out on her instead?”

Damien was quiet for a moment before answering.

“Brandy made her own choice. She used Bill Franklin to get into the company because she wanted a chance to get close to Nick. She didn’t do anything to offend me, so I already did her a favor by giving her an easy way out and allowing her to go through the same separation process as every other employee.”

He paused briefly.

“As for whatever consequences Bill chooses to impose on her… that’s between the two of them. It isn’t our place to interfere.”