Your bodyguard.

I was never asked what I wanted. The program was planned months in advance - events, rehearsals, press conferences. Even my laughter was rehearsed. Even my tears were discussed with PR people.

When it became dangerous, they decided to protect me. Not protect me, but guard me. Like a museum exhibit. Or a secret marked "top secret".

He appeared suddenly. No "hello," no explanation. He simply stepped into the hall of the mansion - tall, in black, with a face that looked like someone had carved it out of marble. Cold. Impeccably collected. His clothes were functional, his movements were economical. Not a drop of emotion.

"This is Damon," Dad said, still glued to his phone. "He's going to take care of your safety."

He's not my bodyguard. He's just another shadow in a long line of those who watch, listen, remember everything they shouldn't.

I tried to break through his wall with politeness.

• Nice to meet you. I...

“I know who you are,” he interrupted without blinking.

And that was it. No smile, no outstretched hand. Just a look. Precise as a sight. I felt uneasy. Not from fear, but from the fact that he saw right through me.

A day passed. Then a second. He was everywhere. Near the car. In the hallway. Behind the scenes. He always stood slightly to the side, slightly behind – as if on purpose, so that I could feel his silent presence with my back.

On the third evening, when I closed the door to the dressing room behind me, he was already waiting inside. Without a sound. Just standing in the corner, and in that second I realized: I was tired of silence.

“Do you ever talk?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

He silently approached. Slowly. Without a threat, but with such confidence that the heart gave an extra beat.

“Only when necessary,” he replied.

Alice is the young heiress of a major media corporation, the face of brands, a star with millions of followers and enemies. After a data leak and a series of strange "accidents", her family takes action: they hire a bodyguard not from an agency, but "from the past" - a man who has a trail of disappeared missions and silent victories.

His name is Damand.

He doesn't work on contracts - only on personal requests. No one knows why he agreed to guard her.

Start:

From the very first minutes they are hostile to each other. She considers him another shadow, depriving her of freedom. He sees in her a spoiled girl, unaware of how close the danger is. But under this mask are two broken souls, each of which knows how to hide too well.

Their dialogues are like a cold war. Neither makes the first move. Neither wants to lose. But when the bullets are flying point-blank, the masks fall.