CH 17 Harmony It was Monday morning , and she was sitting having breakfast at her kitchen counter when her phone rang . It was barely 7am , and she glanced at the caller ID , then frowned as she registered it was Damiens number . She had deleted him from her call list but not gone so far as to block the number . She didnt see a reason as to why he would ever call her again . They were over , done and dusted , hed ruined them , and had already moved on as well . Was out there being seen with Chloe on his arm , she had clearly been nothing to him at all . Three years of her life with him , and it meant absolutely nothing to that man . She sat and chewed on her mouthful of toast as she debated whether to answer the call . She had no reason to pick it up and speak to him , not after what he had done ; sabotaging her career path . She couldnt even fathom a reason as to why he would want to talk to her . It had been weeks now , and hed not cared once to contact her . Shed quit on the day , after showing him that footage of him and Chloe , even though hed tried to play dumb about it . She was no longer a part of his life , so there was no reason to call her , as far as she was concerned . She reached out and dismissed the call . She didnt want to talk to him . Returned her attention to her breakfast and flicked through the Christmas catalogue that was on her counter , shed not really gone out and bought herself anything yet , had now returned all the gifts shed purchased for his family , on the weekend . She wasnt about to have anything to do with the Blackwells ever again , there was nothing she wanted from any of them . She saw a message come through from him a moment later , an angry all capitalization message PICK UP THE BLOODY PHONE WE NEED TO TALK . She shook her head , there was nothing to talk about and when the phone rang again she dismissed it once more , he would get the message soon enough . That not only didnt she want to talk to him , she no longer had to . They were nothing to each other now . She couldnt think of a single reason as to why he would want to talk to her or be angry with her like that . Hed made his choice , and that choice was Chloe Silverton , his long time childhood friend . Well , Chloe could have him from now on , if she wanted him that badly , he was now hers . Her phone rang again , and she sighed as she looked at it , persistent bastard , she thought , as 1/5 CH 17 she once again dismissed the call , then just blocked his number so he couldnt call , she didnt need nor want to talk to him . Though she did now wonder just what he wanted after all these weeks , what was it that was making him call her so incessantly ? She frowned and looked around her apartment , got up and walked about as she thought about the gifts that man had given her over the course of the past three years . She walked into her bedroom and opened the draw of her dressing table and in there was a black velvet box . She picked it up and opened it , a pretty broach , but she also knew it was a family heirloom . He probably wanted it back , to give to Chloe for Christmas . She huffed a little , it was the only thing of real value she could think of . It was time for the rest of the clean out , she supposed . She , however , did not have an empty box in her apartment , pulled out her small carry on luggage and placed that box in there . She would send it all back to him , everything he had purchased for her over the years , she would keep nothing . She no longer had a need of it . If Chloe wanted her seconds she could have it all . She went through her , wardrobe and pulled out that white dress hed bought her , folded it up and put it in there , slid her hand along the items in there and pulled out her favourite cashmere sweater , a soft pink sweater that she actually really did like , folded it up and put it in there . Collected the two Silver photo frames hed given her , pictures of him and her already in them , though they were empty of photos now , and put those in there as well . There was a pretty cut crystal bowl . She walked about and looked at everything , anything hed bought , no matter how small it was , she would send it back to him . A clear statement that she was severing ties with him and there was no need for him to ever contact her again . She put the suitcase by the door as she went to pull on her winter coat and realised as she reached for it , Damien had bought her that as well . It was actually the first thing hed bought her , though it had only been when they were dating , not officially as a couple . Hed told her she didnt have a proper winter coat , and before theyd gone to that movie on their second date hed stopped and bought her this very coat . She huffed and took it off , folded it up and put it in that suitcase too , the bloody thing was hard to close now . She headed back into her bedroom to grab a new coat and didnt really have a long winter one , she realised , hadnt needed a second one , she didnt see a need to double up on things like that , though she knew Damien had half a dozen winter coats . All she had now was a button up cable knit sweater to pull over her suit , she looked down at 2/5 CH 17 + B Point her bare legs , nope , she needed long pants today if she had no proper winter jacket . She changed her skirt for a pair of slacks and then slipped that sweater on over the top . It wasnt exactly professional looking , but she could take it off when she got to the office . The building was warm inside . She was going to have to go out and buy a coat . That was not going to be cheap . She was walking from the car park to the office checking her bank balance to see if she could squeeze into her budget a new winter coat , when she was suddenly surrounded by people , all asking her rapid fire questions . Miss Preston , how do you feel about what Damein Blackwell did to you ? Do you know how long he was having an affair ? Was that engagement ring meant for you or Chloe Silverton ? Tell us how you feel ? Harmony stumbled to a standstill and looked at them all confused . She could see they were all reporters but didnt understand their sudden presence in her life . She looked at them all surrounding her and tried to take a step and push passed them , but couldnt . Are you going somewhere , Miss Preston ? Why the suitcase ? another asked . Are you running away ? Um … Im sorry I dont know what youre all talking about . She stuttered out . Then there was movement and the crowd was being pushed back , and a large hand curled around her arm , she looked up to find Garrett and his CEOs all standing in front of her , blocking her from view . Miss Preston will make no comment at this time . She heard Garrett state , and then she was being pulled along next to him , his three CEOs between them and the reporters . What is going on ? she hissed up at him . Still not understanding . Have you not seen the society pages of the paper this morning ? Garrett asked her as they stepped into the office building and his security all stepped up to bar the reporters from coming inside the foyer . No , I dont really look at the society pages . She answered honestly . It wasnt her thing , she didnt really care about peoples fashion or who was dating who in the rich and famous world of their city . She tried to get by quietly and unnoticed , for the most part , she was only ever in there herself , if she was seen with Damien and that was a him thing . Not a her thing, shed 3/5 CH 17 + B Point : rather not have been seen in there at all . He was looking down at her now . She watched him look at her woolen sweater and then the suitcase in her hand . Wheres your winter jacket ? Its freezing outside , and where are you going ? he asked as he motioned to her suitcase . Im not going anywhere . I didnt have a box to put things in . she addressed what she thought would be his most pressing concern , seeing that he was her boss and shed only been working for him for all of two days . My winter jacket . She sighed , that was a whole other issue , Ill be returning that to the person that purchased it for me , along with all the other stuff he gave me . she stated simply . Garrett nodded , and they were all walking once more . You cant get about the city in that , youll freeze to death . He muttered . Its not so bad , and I only need it from the car to the front door . She stated as they stepped into the elevator . He was staring at her once more As for the reporters . He stated , looking out at them all out there , You and Damien Blackwell , Chloe Silverton are all in the paper this morning . W … What ? she stuttered up at him , Why ? How ? she couldnt even seem to formulate words . Then it dawned on her that was why Damien was calling , hed already seen it , it was his first go to page , to see if he was in there . Liked seeing himself splashed in the papers . Recalled now the questions that had been fired at her from the reporters , and bit her lip . Thats why he called . She muttered to herself . Then she wondered just how bad it was ? Did Garrett now know the extent of her actual break up ? Was it going to be seen as something that would mar his own companys reputation ? Him by extension ? How bad is it? she murmured , dropping her eyes away from him . 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