Triggered.
Before he could react, Eva gasped and rushed toward him, clearly horrified.
"I'm so sorry, sir! I'm so, so sorry!" she cried, her voice shaking as much as her hands. She grabbed a nearby napkin and began dabbing frantically at the spreading stain on his fitted white shirt.
The more she dabbed at his chest, the more it stung. Damien winced and instinctively pushed her away, standing up abruptly. Without a word, he began unbuttoning his shirt, his jaw tight with discomfort. As the fabric peeled away, the red, angry burn on his torso became visible.
Eva's hands flew to her mouth, eyes wide with horror. "I'm so sorry, sir. I, I didn't mean to.."
But strangely, something else flickered behind her concern, something she didn't expect. Her gaze briefly drifted to his exposed torso. Beneath the sting of the burn was a perfectly sculpted six-pack, the kind you'd only see on professional athletes or in glossy magazines. It caught her off guard, how someone so cold and guarded could look that effortlessly.. perfect and too sexy for a man.
And she had immediately remembered that night she would have given herself to him, two years ago, 'oh wow, was this what she had missed?'
Such weird thought had come to mind, and she almost screamed in disbelief, how could she even think of such nonsense.
She blinked and looked away quickly, cheeks flushing, guilt still etched into her face.
But, Damien caught it.
And for the first time that day, his lips almost curved into a smirk.
Almost.
"I'm so sorry, sir. I'll get some medication," Eva stammered, before hurrying off to grab the first aid kit.
Moments later, she returned and carefully unscrewed the ointment. Her hands trembled as she dabbed a cotton swab into the cream and reached for his burn. When she gently touched his skin, Damien flinched.
"I'm sorry!" she gasped, thinking she had hurt him more. So Eva immediately pulled her hand back, her eyes widening in alarm.
"I'm so sorry," she said softly, clearly thinking she'd hurt him. "I didn't mean to"
But Damian wasn't in pain.
That wasn't what made him flinch.
The bruises were nothing, barely more than scrapes. He'd endured worse and barely reacted. No, what caught him off guard was something far more intense.
Her touch.
It wasn't just kind, it was electric. When her fingers brushed his side to touch the injured part, he didn't feel pain he felt heat.
Perhaps it's something about the way she moved, so gentle, so careful, it was definitely doing strange things to him.
And now, as she knelt beside him, applying ointment in slow, delicate motions, he couldn't take it anymore.
Every time her skin met his, it was like a spark went off beneath the surface. Her hands were soft, warm, and disorienting. Her proximity, her scent, the concentration in her eyes, it was all too much.
She was trying to soothe him.
But all he could feel was the growing ache that had nothing to do with his injuries.
Whatever she was doing.. it was arousing him.
And fast.
His breath grew shallow. Muscles tense. Every swipe of her fingers left heat in its wake. She had no idea what kind of fire she was lighting inside him.
And worse?
She was completely unaware.
When Damien discovered that it was her featherlight touch doing that to him, he hissed, because that very moment Eva was making him feel exposed and vulnerable.
And he hated it.
"Enough!" he snapped, stepping back. "I get it, you're trying to kill me, aren't you? This is a setup, isn't it? "You were definitely sent by my enemies to finish me off, weren't you?"
Eva's eyes widened in panic. "N_ no! It's not like that, It was an accident, I swear! I didn't mean for any of this to happen. Please.. I'll take full responsibility."
"Responsibility?" he scoffed, his tone icy. "Are you even capable of that?"
Then, without thinking, he barked, "Fine. Go tender your resignation letter!"
Eva gasped, on the verge of tears, as her lips parted in shock. "I'm sorry, sir. Please.. it was a mistake. I didn't mean to hurt you. I promise it won't happen again," she said, her voice cracking, tears brimming in her eyes.
Damien stared at her for a long moment. And strangely, he couldn't hold her gaze. That look in her eyes, pure, devastated, reminded him too much of Tyler. He remembered the beach in Singapore, the exact way Tyler's eyes had shimmered with hurt that day.
Without another word, Damien grabbed his jacket and the documents from his desk, buttoned his shirt, and stormed out of the office.
Eva stood frozen, her mind spinning.
Has he forgiven me? Am I supposed to stay? Do I still need to write that resignation letter? Is he still angry? Should I check if he needs medical help?
Questions bombarded her mind like a wave crashing against rocks, no answers, only anxiety.
Later, as she sat quietly at her desk, trying to bury herself in work, the floor manager, Mr. Ben, approached with a serious expression.
"Eva, did something happen between you and the big boss?" he asked cautiously.
Eva's stomach dropped. Her voice came out small. "Why? What's going on?"
Mr. Ben sighed, then handed her a folded document. "You've been transferred to the Black-Codes Department."
Eva's eyes widened in horror. "No.. please, no."
The Black-Codes unit was every employee's nightmare. Located in the dim, windowless underground wing of the company, it was responsible for developing military-grade algorithms for high-level government projects. It was brutal. Ruthless. Suffocating.
Worse still, it was managed by Morgan.
There were whispered rumors that Morgan was less of a manager and more of a monster. Cold, merciless, and unrelenting, she was infamous for pushing her team beyond limits, no breaks, no mercy. People who worked under her either fell sick or disappeared into resignation. Some claimed Morgan didn't sleep, that she practically lived in the code lab, breathing fire and deadlines.
Everyone in the company got chills at the mere mention of being transferred to the Black-Codes Department. It was a place people were usually sent as punishment, a final chance to prove themselves before being quietly pushed out. If, by some miracle, they survived the workload and pressure, they might be allowed to return to their former roles. But that rarely happened.
More often than not, employees were terminated before they ever made it out.
Morgan, the woman in charge, was a legend, and not in a good way. Ruthless, sharp tongued, and known for her zero tolerance policy, she was feared across the company. She didn't just fire people, she broke them first. Stories about her firing staff on the spot, pushing people to the edge, and running her team like a military unit circulated like ghost tales. No one wanted to end up in her department.
Just the thought of working under Morgan sent shivers down Eva's spine.
She had always been on her best behavior, stayed professional, and followed every rule. Being sent there felt completely unfair, especially when she had so much on her plate already. Her mother was still in the hospital, and Eva could barely keep up with her personal life. The idea of juggling that with the chaos of the Black-Codes Department was overwhelming.
Mr. Ben sighed, his voice low and sympathetic. "It looks like the boss is upset with you for some reason. Or maybe.. this is the company's way of nudging you out. Either way, just hang in there, okay? You're one of our best. I believe he'll come around eventually."
He gave her a quick nod and set the transfer letter on her desk before walking away, leaving Eva staring down at the paper, numb, anxious, and filled with questions no one could answer.
Eva stared at it, her heart sinking.
How did it all go so wrong, this fast?
Then Cathy, her junior colleague who had been listening quietly nearby, hurried over to the visibly heartbroken Eva.
"The boss transferred you to the Black-Codes? But why?" she asked in shock.
Eva didn't respond. She just stared blankly at the letter in her hands, her expression heavy with disbelief and quiet pain.
"Don't feel bad, Eva," Cathy said gently, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "Like Mr. Ben said, I believe you'll be back here soon. Our department will surely realize how much you are being needed here okay."
Eva didn't say a word, but her mind was racing. She weighed her options silently. Deep down, she knew this transfer was Damien's way of punishing her for the incident in his office yesterday. Even after, she apologized, he had still gone this far, so petty, so cold.
But maybe, just maybe, this wasn't entirely a curse.
The Black-Codes unit was located in the lowest, most isolated floor of the company, the exact opposite of where she currently worked. This department she was in now was considered the elite zone, the very top of the skyscraper, where only the best employees worked side by side with the company's CEO. People fought tooth and nail to get promoted up here.
Everyone wanted to be here, everyone except Eva.
Right now, the last thing she wanted was to be anywhere near Damien Lopez. Maybe being sent away was a blessing in disguise.
So while her genuine friends whispered among themselves, clearly concerned for her, Eva quietly began gathering her things. Her heart still ached, but if moving to the Black-Codes unit meant getting out of Damien's orbit, then maybe it was exactly what she needed.
Let him have his revenge. He deserves it at least judging by everything she had done to him.
She would endure it, just like she always had.