QUIET MOVEMENTS
(Closing the distance)
Shadow_vee
When they back inside dinner was being set on the table this time around, there wasn't any boiling storm hovering. Andre didn't make it, but he had called to inform Marina earlier and she passed the message to them while they were eating. The conversation stayed light, small talks about work,Zepher's never-ending archives of stories.Marina could tell the tension between Damien and Darla was calm as they exchanged smiles mid-conversations she was very happy.No one mentioned the issue.
After dinner, Damien stepped away from the dining room and headed toward his room when his phone vibrated. Vance.
He answered on the second ring.
"Tell me you've got something."
A tired sigh came from the other end. "You really love making my job harder, don't you?"
Damien leaned against the wall, voice calm but edged. "I never knew you to be someone who gives up easily,this should be an easy job."
"Easy?" Vance scoffed;"Common, Damien. You gave me a name,just a name,do you know how many girls bear the name Orabella in this state alone? That is even if she stays here. Give me a break, I'm working on it. You'll get my reply soon."
There was a pause. Damien exhaled quietly. "...Sorry. That was my frustration talking."
Vance hummed, brushing it off. "Thought as much. So, how's the grand return home? Surviving the family estate?"
"Manageable," Damien replied simply.
"Good. Try not to strangle anyone before I call you back," Vance joked lightly before the line went dead.
Damien lowered the phone slowly, his mind refusing to settle.He entered his room took off his clothes and got into the bathroom to shower usually he would stand in front of the mirror to admire his well toned body but this time around his gaze was unfocused as a thought pressed itself forward again:
What exactly had his father seen in this girl?
No background worth noting,no influence that could benefit the empire. Yet he was willing to push him this far, strip him of everything, just to secure this marriage.
"Who are you and what quality do you possess?" he murmured under his breath,irritated by the mystery of a girl who had changed his perfect life within days.
Later that night Andre car pulled into the compound he didn't head to his bedroom or ask for dinner instead he went straight to his study, the door shutting quietly behind him.
The file was exactly where he left it.
He opened it without hesitation, flipping through the pages with the familiarity of someone who had memorized every line. School records, job history, medical reports, even the small notes from the private investigator about her daily routines. It was as though he had traced every step of her life from the day she was born.
Andre leaned back in his chair, eyes scanning the last page once more.
"A very interesting girl,quiet," he murmured. "But fiery and strong-willed,Ambitious… but not cunning."
There was approval in his voice the kind of approval he shows when he genuinely liked a person and found them interesting.
He closed the file and stared into space.
Meanwhile, Orabella pushed open the door to her house, her shoulders heavy with exhaustion. The conversation in the car kept replaying in her head no matter how hard she tried to distract herself,she walked straight to her room as she wasn't in the mood to eat.
She tried to sleep but sleep didn't come after staring at the ceiling for awhile, she found herself doing the one thing she hadn't done since the day she first discovered it. She went down to the basement.
She walked straight to the wooden box and opened it,dust particles floated lazily as she reached for the old journal and headed back to her room;she sat on the bed resting her back on the wall with the book on her lap. Her fingers trembled slightly before she opened it again, turning pages she had already read and re-reading them over again
then she stopped at the entry regarding the man she met that day.
Reading from the beginning when she got to the last paragraph she paused using her finger to trace her father's handwriting
"Orabella is growing up so fast and I'm so proud of her. For the stranger I met, I don't know much about him, but I have this feeling I made the right decision… and I hope she does so too."
Her chest tightened.
She read the line again, slower this time, as if searching for a hidden meaning between the words. Her father had never been reckless whenever he made decisions she and she trusted him for that, he always weighed his decisions carefully.
So why agree to something like that?
"Did you see something in them?" she whispered softly as though expecting a reply
"Something I'm not seeing?"
She thought about the way Andre spoke, calm, composed,the aura surrounding him.The fact that he still came back even knowing her father was dead.He was certain and that certainty scared her more than the proposal itself.
She closed the journal slowly, conflicted thoughts tangling in her chest. It wasn't just about marriage anymore, It was about trying to understand her father's reasons, about knowing why he believed that she getting married into that family was the right thing.
She closed her eyes to sleep.
The house remained quiet as midnight crept in.
Miles away, Damien was deep asleep when his phone rang sharply, pulling him out of rest. He groaned slightly, reached for and answered without checking the caller ID.
"Yeah?"
"I have narrowed down your girl to three people."
His eyes snapped open immediately as he sat up, sleep gone in an instant.
"Try to get more details from your dad if possible," Vance continued. "My next call should be good news."
The line went dead again, leaving Damien staring at the ceiling, fully awake now.
Three people.
A faint, calculating smile tugged at his lips.
"So we're getting closer," he murmured into the darkness.