"This..."
Evans stumbled backward, his eyes wide with shock. He took another step away from Damien, studying his face intently like he was committing every detail to memory.
Damien, pretending as if he wasn't crushing Blake's hand in his grip, spoke.
"Honestly, I'm honored to meet a member of the Evans family."
The small smile he'd kept hidden grew bigger.
When he finally released the bodyguard's hand, it hung at an awkward angle, bent and twisted in a way that shouldn't be possible.
Rose and her father, Lance, stood at a distance, still holding their breath in fear for Damien's safety.
They hadn't witnessed the actual result of the handshake. If they had seen Blake's mangled hand, they would have been absolutely flabbergasted.
Evans gritted his teeth so hard they might have cracked. He snapped his fingers sharply.
"Let's go."
He stormed toward the exit with his two bodyguards trailing behind him.
Lance and Rose looked at each other, blinking in surprise at the sudden departure. Wasn't Evans going to cause trouble for Damien just a second ago?
"It seems Evans is in a good mood tonight. Maybe that's why he spared Damien."
Rose smirked at her father's assessment.
"That's one lucky bastard."
Outside, Evans and his men moved briskly through the Caster estate grounds. Blake clutched his twisted hand against his chest, his face pale with pain.
The other bodyguard stared at him in complete shock.
"Blake, what the hell happened in there?"
The second bodyguard couldn't comprehend the situation.
Blake was known throughout the security industry as one of the strongest men alive.
"How did some random guy in pajamas do that to you?"
"I... can't... say for certain."
He turned to Evans.
"Young master."
Blake's voice was heavy under the pain.
"I was about to break his bones when his strength suddenly increased exponentially. It was like trying to crush solid steel."
He paused, glancing back at the mansion.
"I don't know who that man is, but he's definitely not a normal person. What are you going to do about Miss Rose?"
Evans pressed the button on his key fob, and a sleek Lamborghini parked among dozens of other luxury vehicles flashed its lights in response.
"Rose's family is currently drowning in debt. There's no way she can refuse the marriage proposal, not if she wants to save her father's company."
He slid into the driver's seat.
"As for that young man and his abnormal strength, he's probably a secret bodyguard hired to protect her. The Casters must have spent a fortune on him."
Blake nodded in understanding, though he wasn't entirely convinced by this explanation.
He and the other guard waited for Evans to settle into the Lamborghini before they climbed into a black escort vehicle and trailed behind him toward the estate gates.
Back inside the living room, Rose eyed Damien suspiciously, watching his every movement as he settled comfortably into one of the chairs.
Lance observed his daughter staring at their guest and wondered what their relationship actually entailed.
"Rose dear, you didn't properly introduce me to your friend, and yet he's already friends with Evans."
He chuckled softly.
Rose was still seething with anger at her father for giving up so easily to Evans's threats. Yet she understood there was nothing he could realistically do about the situation.
The Evans family held too much power, too much influence. So instead, she turned her anger on poor Damien.
"This guy?"
She gestured dismissively.
"His name is Damien. Nothing worth remembering."
She glared at him coldly.
"He's just some unfortunate person I picked up off the streets. I decided to give him a place to stay temporarily."
She waited to see Damien's expression shift, perhaps to anger or resentment. However, he only smiled gently, as if her insults bounced off him without leaving a mark.
"Yes, I'm just an unfortunate person, Mr. Caster. I really do appreciate your daughter's generosity in helping me."
Lance looked from Damien to his daughter, Rose, and back again. There was clearly something complicated happening between these two. He couldn't tell if his daughter wanted to help Damien or slap him across the face.
"Okay, so what's your plan? Don't tell me you aim to just lock him up in the eighth building indefinitely."
Rose smacked her lips together, and her eyes suddenly lit up with inspiration.
"Oh yes, before I forget."
She turned and ran upstairs, leaving both Damien and Lance behind in confused silence. They exchanged uncertain glances.
When she returned moments later, she carried a massive tome in her arms.
The book was so heavy and substantial that it made a resounding thud when she dropped it onto the coffee table.
Lance gasped when he saw the book's title emblazoned across the cover.
"Five Hundred Ways to Sell."
He looked over at his daughter with surprise and growing concern.
"Don't tell me you plan to make him a sales agent."
Rose smiled genuinely for the first time that evening, though the expression held something underneath.
Her eyes settled on Damien's face, which continued to project perfect innocence.
"That's exactly right, Father. Tomorrow I'm taking him to the company with me. I'll assign him as a junior sales agent, and if he does well, he might even get a promotion eventually."
Damien suddenly felt distinctly uneasy upon seeing that particular smile cross her features.
"What a creepy smile. She's a member of the border patrol and also works at a company. This second daughter of the Caster family is truly something else."
Lance flipped open the heavy book, making sure it was the same volume he remembered from his own business education.
"Five Hundred Ways to Sell is a comprehensive study of sales methodology and psychology. It takes even the smartest, most dedicated sales agents several years to properly learn and internalize this material."
He looked at his daughter with concern.
"If you give Damien this book tonight and take him to work tomorrow morning, you'll only be setting him up for complete failure and humiliation."
Rose laughed internally, though she kept her expression neutral.
"That's exactly right, Father. I plan to give him as much hell as I possibly can. Soon his facade will crack and break, and I'll discover his true purpose for being here."
Outside, however, she said,
"Dad, Damien here seems pretty intelligent. I'm sure he can handle studying a few hundred pages overnight to show his gratitude for giving him a job."
"But Rose, that's completely unreasonable..."
"It's fine, Mr. Caster. I can definitely handle a few hundred pages."
Damien grabbed the massive book and stood up to leave, surprising both Lance and Rose with his immediate acceptance.
Rose had fully expected him to protest or refuse the assignment outright.
"I sincerely appreciate the opportunity, Miss Rose. I hope to repay your kindness one day, young miss."
With that courteous statement, he walked out of the main mansion and headed back toward his separate residence in the eighth building.
Rose stared after him, her expression conflicted. She had wanted to see him angry, frustrated, trapped. Instead, he seemed almost pleased by the challenge.
"I wounder what he's thinking?" Does he see through my plan?"
She shook her head."No, that's impossible, he doesn't suspect a thing."
The next morning arrived faster than Damien expected. A gentle knock on his door startled him from his sleep. He had spent most of the night reviewing the sales manual, and his eyes felt heavy.
"Good morning, sir. The young miss asked me to pass along a message."
The maid's voice filtered through the door.
"You must get dressed and prepare to go shopping before departure to the company."
She then passed a simple but well-made outfit through the partially opened door.
Damien showered quickly and dressed in the clothes before heading downstairs from his guest quarters.
Rose was already parked in front of his building, leaning against a red Porsche.
Her attire was that of a corporate executive: a perfectly tailored black skirt and matching blazer that emphasized her professional authority. Her chocolate-colored hair was tied in an elegant bun.
"For someone so beautiful, she's always frowning," Damien thought as he approached the vehicle.
"What a waste of good features."
"Get in. We're going shopping first. Need to dress you up a bit so you look responsible and professional."
She didn't even spare him a glance as she spoke, sliding into the driver's seat.
He climbed into the passenger seat, and before he could even fasten his seatbelt properly, she gunned the engine.
The Porsche shot forward, speeding through the early morning streets of Bansha toward the shopping district.
Damien glanced at her profile as she drove.
Her jaw was set with determination, her eyes focused intently on the road ahead. She was planning something; that much was obvious.
The sales manual, the shopping trip, the job at her company—all of it was designed to test him, to break through whatever facade she believed he was maintaining.
"Let her play her games," he thought calmly.
"Every step she takes to test me only brings me closer to the Caster family's secrets. Soon enough, I'll have everything I need."
The city blurred past as they drove deeper into District Twelve's commercial heart.