One Night Stand, Eight Surprises: Pampered by My CEO Husband --- - Chapter 149: Chapter 149

The island was quiet in that strange, sacred hour just after sunset, when the sky still glowed with lavender and the ocean murmured secrets only the wind could understand.
Arielle had just finished settling the kids into their fortress of pillows in the sunroom. Giggles had faded to yawns, and she kissed each forehead gently before padding barefoot down the hallway, drawn by the pull of solitude—and perhaps something else.
She didn’t mean to overhear.
She only meant to walk out onto the deck, maybe sit with her thoughts and the waves for a while. But as she passed the office door, slightly ajar, she paused.
Damien’s voice was low. Tense. Unlike the playful man who had spent the afternoon pretending to be a wedding officiant in socks and a bathrobe.
“No… I told you not to call me on this number.”
Silence. Then:
“She’s here. With the kids. I can’t talk long.”
Arielle’s heartbeat quickened. The door creaked slightly under her weight, and she caught a clearer whisper.
“No. That’s not what we agreed on, Luciana.”
Luciana.
The name slithered down her spine like a cold wind. She didn’t know anyone by that name.
Her body stiffened. She didn’t mean to listen—but now she couldn’t not listen.
Damien’s voice dropped even lower.
“She doesn’t know. And she can’t. Not yet.”
A pause. The sound of pacing.
“No, you listen to me—if this gets out the wrong way, I lose everything. We lose everything.”
Arielle stepped back quietly, pulse pounding in her ears. She moved like a shadow down the hall and out the sliding glass doors.
The wind kissed her skin, but it didn’t soothe her. The waves whispered things she didn’t want to hear.
She doesn’t know.
Not yet.
Not ever?
She sank onto one of the deck loungers, arms wrapped tightly around herself. The ocean glimmered darkly in front of her, but it no longer felt like peace. It felt like distance.
A minute later, the door slid open behind her.
Damien.
He didn’t see her at first. He exhaled hard and leaned against the doorframe, running a hand through his hair.
Arielle watched him silently. The man she had trusted with her soul now looked… distant. Tired.
Haunted.
She stood.
He jumped.
“Ari… I didn’t see you.”
“I gathered,” she said softly.
His mouth opened, then closed. He stepped forward. “You okay?”
“Am I?”
He blinked at her tone. “What’s wrong?”
She tilted her head. “Who's Luciana?”
The pause between them stretched too long.
Damien’s face went still. “You heard that.”
“I heard enough.”
He looked away. “It’s not what you think.”
“You don’t know what I think,” she said, stepping closer. “So why don’t you tell me?”
He hesitated again, and that, more than anything, terrified her.
“Damien…” Her voice broke. “Don’t lie to me.”
His jaw clenched. “She’s… connected to your hospital stay.”
The world tipped sideways.
“What?”
“I didn’t want to bring it up. Not while you were recovering. But something’s not right. She’s been reaching out. I told her to stop.”
“You told her I don’t know.”
He nodded slowly. “Because I don’t have all the answers. Not yet.”
Arielle stared at him, breath catching. “What happened at the hospital, Damien?”
He didn’t answer.
Not yet.
The ocean whispered louder now, waves crashing like heartbeats.
And somewhere in the silence between them, a door cracked open—into something darker, something buried.
Arielle didn’t step through yet.
But she would.
Because the truth was waiting.
And it was done being quiet.