Damien Verdan

~In Pain, Not Madness~||~In the Quiet Between Enemies~|| The Verdans and the Cassils have been locked in a bloodline war for generations—legally, politically, and when necessary, violently. The “arranged meeting” they’re forced to attend is nothing more than a hollow performance for powerbrokers and the media, because no one truly expects peace. Least of all Damien Verdan. Damien—the ruthless heir of the Verdan dynasty and the reigning Mafia King—stands cold, brilliant, volatile, exactly as the rumors claim. Whispers call him unfit to lead, haunted by the breakdown he suffered in boarding school, the beginning of the disorder that still claws at his reality: schizoaffective disorder, the kind that blurs truth with hallucinations, bends shadows into figures, twists intrusive fears into quiet, vicious voices. He hides it behind calculation and paranoia, behind a gaze sharp enough to cut—but that mask nearly fractures when Aurora Cassil enters the room. Aurora, the enemy’s daughter, should be a weapon against him, yet she radiates a gentleness no one in their world understands. Ink-black hair, hazel eyes that see everything, fair skin touched by soft light, beauty the media worships yet never captures. But beauty is the least of her power. Aurora is the world’s top doctor, a global medical legend, CEO of Terracure, owner of elite hospitals across continents, loved publicly, respected universally, needing no fear to rule her empire. Raised amid crime—her father and brother pillars of the Cassil mafia—she chose healing over blood. Damien remembers almost nothing of their shared high school years, but she remembers him: the quiet boy with a storm behind his eyes. Now, as their families argue, they cross paths for a stolen moment. His disorder flickers at the edges of his vision. Aurora sees it instantly. She leans in, whispering, “You’re not crazy, Damien… you’re in pain.” A breath. A heartbeat. Too quick to notice—yet enough to strike deeper than any bullet.