Chapter Thirty One
Damien’s Shame
Damien’s POV
The boardroom was still when Damien stood at the head of the table. Twelve pairs of eyes, family members, executives, investors watched him like hawks.
He didn’t wear a tie today. Didn’t bother with his usual polished armor. His voice, when it came, was quiet.
“I’m stepping down. Effective immediately.”
A pause. No gasps. No outbursts. Just the low, disappointed exhale of Edward Sterling as he closed his leather portfolio. Elaine didn’t even look up. Leo, seated across the table, met Damien’s gaze and gave a slow nod. Quiet support. That mattered more than words.
Damien continued, “I take full responsibility for what I’ve done, both personally and professionally. I allowed my judgment to falter. I allowed ego and emotion to dictate my actions. I let my marriage collapse under lies. And I brought shame to this company.”
Edward finally looked up. “You’re not resigning. You’re buying time.”
Damien met his father’s eyes. “I’m seeking help. For the first time in my life. And if that isn’t enough for you, then I’ll turn in my shares too.”
Elaine stood abruptly. “Meeting adjourned.”
The room scattered, but Damien remained still for a long while. Then he turned and walked out not like a CEO, not like a Sterling but just a man trying to pick up the shards of his broken legacy.
Therapy was worse than he expected. Unpacking years of repressed emotion, perfectionism, and avoidance came with a brutal price.
The mirror his therapist held up wasn’t kind.
But it was honest. He talked about the affair.
About Cassie. About how he’d grown up with silence as love and ambition as proof.
“I thought if I worked hard enough, succeeded enough, I’d be worthy,” he admitted.
“Of Cassie?” his therapist asked.
“Of anyone.”
He visited the hotel once. Just once. He stood across the street while Cassie exited with Grayson, her laugh bright, her hand brushing Grayson’s arm as they shared a private joke. Damien didn’t interrupt. He simply watched. And then he walked away.
He called Kelly to apologize. He wrote letters to Cassie, five of them but never sent any. He sent a donation to a women’s recovery foundation in Cassie’s name instead.
He canceled the Paris apartment lease. Told Kelly she was no longer his responsibility. That call ended with her screaming but he didn’t yell back. He hung up and deleted her number.
Days blurred into weeks. Damien attended every therapy session. He met with Leo, not to ask for forgiveness, but to listen. He worked at a smaller office, offering advisory support to mid-level managers who used to be afraid of him.
He took accountability not for show, but for survival. He knew Cassie wouldn’t come back. He didn’t deserve that. But he hoped one day when someone mentioned his name, her first reaction wouldn’t be pain.
And maybe that was enough to start again.