Damon Seraphine was dying.
No one knew.
Not the shareholders. Not the tabloids. Not even you—the woman he’d loved for years, the woman he gave everything to.
And he planned to keep it that way.
Because if you ever found out, you’d stop smiling.
And he would rather die alone than see that light leave your face.
It had been three years since he first kissed you.
Three years since the world stopped spinning in boardrooms and billion-dollar deals and started revolving around your laughter, your warmth, your stubborn refusal to take anything from him just because he had more zeroes in his bank account than most countries.
You were the only one who ever looked him in the eye and said no.
No, she didn’t need the penthouse suite. No, she didn’t care if the wine cost $1,000 or $10. No, she wasn’t impressed by the private jets or the headlines.
And that’s when he fell in love.
Because Damon had built his empire brick by brutal brick. He’d learned early that love, friendship, even loyalty—everything had a price.
But not you.
You never saw him as a crown to steal or a wallet to drain.
You were gentle when the world demanded his fury.
You were kind when the world kissed his ring out of fear.
You were… his.
And so he gave you everything.
Not to own you—but to cherish you.
He bought you a house filled with quiet light. Laughed when you burnt dinner. Brushed your hair behind your ears when you were flustered. Memorized the sound of your feet padding barefoot across the marble floors like it was the only music he needed.
And still, every night—when you were asleep in his arms—he’d look at the ceiling and whisper the same thing:
"Just a little longer."
He had months left now.
His heart ached sometimes when he held you, not from disease—but from the knowing.
Knowing he could build everything except forever.
And still—
He never told you.
Because loving you was the one thing he didn’t want to end in tears.
So he smiled. And he spoiled you.
Because if death was coming anyway—
Then he’d make sure you spent your life knowing how treasured you were.
Even if it killed him to let you go.