29/05/2026
MARRIED TO AN ENEMY
PART 2
The changes started so slowly that Serena almost didn’t notice them at first.
That was the dangerous thing about Damien.
Nothing about him ever exploded immediately. He didn’t begin as a monster. He began as a man deeply in love. A man who remembered the smallest details about her, who kissed her forehead before leaving for work, who sent flowers to her office for no reason at all. Even his jealousy had once looked harmless. Passionate, even.
But somewhere between romance and obsession, something had shifted.
And Serena was beginning to feel it.
The rain hammered against the penthouse windows that evening while soft jazz music played quietly through the speakers. Serena stood barefoot in the kitchen, stirring pasta sauce while checking her phone occasionally. The atmosphere should have felt peaceful, but lately silence around Damien always carried tension hidden beneath it.
She glanced toward the living room.
Damien sat on the couch in grey sweatpants and a black T-shirt, staring down at his phone with an unreadable expression. The television played in the background, muted, untouched. He hadn’t spoken much since they returned from dinner nearly forty minutes ago.
Serena wiped her hands on a towel before walking toward him carefully.
“You’ve been quiet since the restaurant.”
Damien didn’t look up immediately.
“I’m fine.”
She sat beside him, studying his face.
“No you’re not.”
Still nothing.
Serena sighed softly and rested her head against the couch.
“Okay… what happened now?”
Damien finally locked his phone and turned toward her slowly.
“That waiter.”
Serena blinked.
“What waiter?”
“The one serving our table.”
She stared at him for a moment before realization finally hit.
“You cannot be serious.”
“He was staring at you the entire night.”
Serena let out a short laugh in disbelief.
“Damien, he literally asked if we wanted sparkling or still water.”
“And you smiled at him.”
The irritation in his voice caught her off guard.
“I smiled because he was speaking to me.”
Damien leaned back against the couch, jaw tight.
“You do this thing where you pretend not to notice when men are attracted to you.”
Serena sat upright slowly.
“What?”
“You like attention.”
The accusation hung heavily in the room.
For a second Serena genuinely didn’t know whether to laugh or get angry.
“Attention?” she repeated. “From a waiter?”
“You smiled too much.”
“Oh my God.”
She rubbed her forehead tiredly.
“You’re making this into something ridiculous.”
Damien’s expression darkened immediately.
“So I’m ridiculous now.”
“That’s not what I said.”
“You implied it.”
“Damien—”
“No, tell me.” He sat forward now, voice sharper than before. “Tell me why another man feels comfortable staring at my wife.”
Serena stared at him, stunned.
“My God, you hear yourself right now?”
Damien suddenly stood up from the couch and began pacing the room. The storm outside seemed louder now, the flashes of lightning illuminating his face every few seconds.
“You think men are innocent because they smile politely?” he asked bitterly. “I know how men think.”
“And I’m not responsible for how men think.”
“But you encourage it.”
That statement hit something inside her.
Serena stood immediately.
“Enough.”
Damien stopped pacing.
“You don’t get to accuse me of things every time somebody looks in my direction.”
His nostrils flared slightly.
“I’m your husband.”
“And I’m still an individual human being.”
The room fell silent.
A dangerous silence.
Serena suddenly became aware of how close he was standing to her now.
Too close.
His voice lowered.
“I don’t like people looking at what belongs to me.”
The words sent discomfort crawling through her chest.
Belongs to me.
Not loves.
Not cherishes.
Belongs.
She stepped back slightly without realizing it.
Damien noticed.
And strangely, that seemed to hurt him more than anger would have.
His entire expression changed almost instantly.
The tension melted away from his face and guilt replaced it so quickly it was almost frightening.
“Baby…”
He reached for her hand gently.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
Serena looked exhausted now.
“You’re suffocating me.”
Pain flashed across his eyes.
“I just care about you.”
“There’s caring and then there’s this.”
Damien shook his head slowly like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“So now loving my wife is a problem.”
“Why do you always twist things?”
His face hardened again.
“Because every time I express how much I love you, you act like I’m attacking you.”
Serena stared at him in disbelief.
“You call this love?”
Damien laughed once under his breath, but there was no humor in it.
“You know what?” he muttered. “Forget it.”
He grabbed his car keys from the counter.
“Damien—”
“I need air.”
Then he walked out, slamming the penthouse door so hard the picture frames near the hallway shook slightly.
Serena stood frozen in the middle of the living room.
The apartment suddenly felt too large.
Too cold.
Too quiet.
And for the first time since marrying Damien, she found herself wondering if Lucy had been right all along.
—
The next morning Serena woke up alone in bed.
The other side of the mattress was untouched.
She checked the time.
7:13 AM.
There was no message from Damien.
No missed calls.
Nothing.
A strange heaviness settled inside her chest as she got ready for work. Part of her was angry, but another part of her hated the silence between them. Damien had a way of making conflict feel unbearable, as though peace only existed when he was happy.
By noon, she was sitting at her office desk trying to focus on emails when her phone suddenly buzzed.
Damien Calling.
She hesitated before answering.
“Hello?”
“Who’s sitting beside you?”
Her eyebrows pulled together immediately.
“What?”
“Who’s beside you right now?”
Serena slowly turned in her chair.
Her female coworker sat nearby typing on her computer while two male colleagues stood near the printer talking.
“Why?”
“Just answer the question.”
A strange chill ran through her body.
She stood slowly and walked toward the office window overlooking the street below.
Then she saw it.
A black Mercedes parked directly across from the building.
Damien sat inside wearing dark sunglasses, staring upward.
Watching.
Her stomach tightened instantly.
“You’re outside?”
His voice softened immediately.
“I brought lunch for my wife.”
Minutes later he walked into the office carrying expensive takeaway bags while Serena’s coworkers reacted exactly the way he knew they would.
“Oh my God, he’s so romantic.”
“You’re lucky.”
“He’s obsessed with you.”
Obsessed.
Everyone kept using that word like it was something beautiful.
Damien smiled politely while greeting everyone, but Serena noticed the subtle changes in him the moment one of her male coworkers approached.
Marcus.
Tall.
Friendly.
Completely harmless.
“Nice meeting you, man,” Marcus said casually while shaking Damien’s hand. “Serena talks about you all the time.”
Damien smiled.
But his grip tightened around Marcus’s hand a little too long.
“Does she?”
Marcus laughed awkwardly.
Serena immediately sensed the shift in energy.
Damien released his hand slowly, eyes calmly studying him in a way that made Marcus visibly uncomfortable.
The rest of lunch passed with forced smiles and hidden tension, and by the time Serena returned home later that night, emotional exhaustion weighed heavily on her body.
She stepped out of the shower wearing silk pajamas while drying her damp curls with a towel.
Then she froze.
Damien sat quietly at the edge of the bed.
Holding her phone.
Her expression changed instantly.
“What are you doing?”
He looked up calmly.
“Who’s Marcus?”
Serena’s heartbeat slowed dangerously.
“My coworker.”
“He texts you a lot.”
“He texts everybody from work.”
Damien unlocked the screen again.
“This message says he enjoyed spending time with you today.”
“Because we all had lunch together.”
“At my invitation.”
Serena crossed her arms.
“You went through my phone?”
Damien stood slowly.
“I asked you a question.”
“And I answered it.”
His eyes darkened.
“You enjoy male attention too much.”
Serena laughed bitterly now, completely exhausted.
“This again?”
“You don’t see how disrespectful this is?”
“What’s disrespectful is you invading my privacy like I’m some criminal.”
Damien stepped closer.
“I protect what’s mine.”
“There you go again.”
Her voice cracked slightly this time.
“You don’t talk about me like I’m your wife. You talk about me like I’m property.”
For a moment Damien just stared at her.
Then quietly…
“You are mine.”
And suddenly Serena realized something terrifying.
He meant it.
