Chapter 14 – Clara

As soon as I walked into Damon's enormous office, the first thing I heard was Luca's laughter and Damon's sneezing. "I see Delilah got to you again," Luca muttered, still laughing. Damon let out a sarcastic laugh. "I'll shove my foot down your throat if you continue laughing," he threatened, silencing Luca immediately. I was tempted to ask about Delilah and his other sibling, but Damon didn't seem in the mood, so I quietly stood by the door.

"Why are you standing there? Do I have to pull the seat out for you, princess?" Damon said sarcastically. I rolled my eyes, walked to his desk, and sat down. He threw a file at me, the words "RULES TO SURVIVE" glaring back.

"What is this?" I asked. Damon furrowed his brow and turned to Luca, who was standing beside the desk. "Is she blind?" he asked. Luca shrugged, clearly trying to suppress laughter, making me sigh. I opened the file and began reading.

"Do not fall in love? Why is there such a rule?" I asked, turning to him. He raised his chin boastfully. "Every woman tends to fall in love with me, so I'm just making sure you won't be one of them, because I have no interest in being with you," he said. I scoffed. I didn't want him either.

"That rule applies to you as well," I muttered. He scoffed. "I can't even seem to like you," he mumbled. I glared at him, took a deep breath, and calmed myself.

"You are allowed to sleep with anyone you want or bring in any girl you want?" I asked. He nodded. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, just don't do anything in front of me. And I hope this applies to me as well, because I have needs," I said, a surge of anger I'd never felt before coursing through me. I knew the marriage was out of convenience, but having women over felt degrading.

"No," he said. My eyes widened. "No? What do you mean no?"

"That rule doesn't apply to you. You can be with whoever you want, but if you ever bring another man to my house, I'll decapitate him with my bare hands," Damon threatened. I huffed. "Then you're not allowed to bring any girl here either," I murmured. He tilted his head and scoffed. "This is my house; you're a guest here and therefore you have no say," he muttered. My anger flared. "Then there's no fucking need for this, since I'm a prisoner here with no free will," I muttered, closing the file and standing up, ready to walk out.

"Sit down; we are not done," he said. I rolled my eyes without turning to him. "I'm done," I muttered, reaching for the doorknob when someone yanked me from behind and slammed me against the wall. A gasp escaped my lips as I stared at Damon with wide eyes.

"No one walks out on me and lives to see the next day, Clara. Don't push me to be harsh on you," he muttered coldly, a chill running down my spine. I maintained a defiant look. "Okay, Alpha. Are we done?" I said formally. Something flashed in his eyes before he released me.

"No, we have to talk about the wedding, and you have to finish that file of rules," he said. I furrowed my eyebrows. "We are already married, right? What wedding?"

"The one you almost drowned yourself over last night," he said. My eyes widened. "I was just joking. We don't have to go; I don't want to go," I muttered, following him back to his desk.

"Too bad, we are going. I was given an invitation, I have to go, and you have to come with me as my wife," Damon said, sitting back in his chair. "You don't have to do anything; you're the Alpha King's son," I said. He grinned. "True, but I'd like to watch you suffer as you watched your dear ex-mate marry his fated. Sounds like a dream," he muttered. I frowned. "I'm not going."

"As a matter of fact, you have to. Despite my other reasons, Liam is being stubborn and hasn't rejected you yet; thus, his mark is still on your neck," Damon said. My eyes widened. I'd forgotten about Liam's mark. "That mark is going to cause a problem if my parents see it. My father was too busy drilling you last night to notice, but there's absolutely no reason he wouldn't notice it soon, and that's going to be a problem. Liam has to reject you," he said. My frown deepened.

"But he's getting married and will take Veronica as his mate. Wouldn't that make mine disappear?" I asked. Damon snickered. "How dumb are you? An Alpha can mark as many as he wants. He has to verbally reject you," he said. My frown deepened. "What if he doesn't reject me, what then?"

"You have to make him reject you, but if you can't, then I'll kill him," Damon said. My eyes widened in shock. "You wouldn't dare," I muttered through clenched teeth.

"He would," Luca said. Damon leaned back, tapping his pen on the desk. "You better come up with a plan to make him reject you. You're dismissed and carry the rules with you. Read every sentence because I'm not lenient to those who break my rules. I won't regard you as my wife then," he muttered, turning to a book. I clenched my fists.

Without saying another word, I ran out of the office and towards my room. I wasn't ready to face Liam and Veronica, to see how in love they were. I just wanted to move on. I slammed the door and cried into my pillow. I stopped only when my phone rang. I sniffled, reached for it, and furrowed my eyebrows at the unknown number. I almost didn't answer, but the person called again. As soon as I picked up, I heard a gasp. "My Clara, I've missed you," a voice said. I froze, eyes wide. Liam! …Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.