Chapter Eight — “Truth in the Quiet”

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• Only His On Paper   Chapter 49 — “What We’re Worth”

  Ava’s POVThe antiseptic sting in the air reminded me of every night I’d spent in hospitals, except tonight, the blood on the sheets wasn’t Lily’s. It was Damian’s.He’d walked in alone. No security, no suit, no press disguise. Just a streak of blood down his arm and something desperate in his eyes. He’d looked at me—only me—before sliding against the white wall outside Lily’s ICU room and saying nothing.I should’ve told him to leave.Instead, I told the nurse, “I’ve got it.”She blinked, uncertain. “You’re…?”“His wife.”Her mouth pressed into a tight line. She handed me the tray of gauze, thread, and antiseptic. No questions asked.“You need to let me look at that,” I said, quietly.Damian didn’t respond.So I turned. “Damian. Sit.”He hesitated, and then just like that night on the rooftop in Rome, the one he still pretended didn’t happen he listened. He lowered himself onto the stiff couch, his movements tight, the fabric of his shirt sticking to torn skin.Naomi had stuffed a me

• Only His On Paper   Chapter 48 — “The Switch”

  They were trying to take my sister.And I would burn the world down before I let them.The streets blurred as I ran. Rome didn’t care what I was fighting for. The lights didn’t flicker in fear, the cars didn’t pause for grief. But my body did. Just enough to remember how much I hadn’t done.I hadn’t visited her. I hadn’t checked the files. I hadn’t listened when Andreas warned me.The hospital came into view, cold and tall against the sky. I burst through the sliding doors, past the front desk, barely hearing someone shout behind me.Elevator? Too slow.I took the stairs.Three at a time, almost falling once, barely breathing by the time I hit the ICU floor. My palm slammed into the double doors, and—A guard blocked Lily’s room.No badge I recognized. No kindness in his face. Just static silence.“I’m her sister,” I snapped. “Let me through.”He didn’t flinch.I opened my mouth again—but a voice beat me to it.“She’s listed on the new emergency file. You’ll want to double-check.”I t

• Only His On Paper   Chapter 47 — “Collateral Damage”

  Ava’s POVI didn’t move for a long time.Just stood there in the penthouse, lights off, my reflection barely visible in the glass. Romeoutside, blurred and bright, like the city refused to care that everything was falling apartinside this apartment.Because this wasn’t just smoke and mirrors anymore.It was war.And I was already losing.Naomi’s voice cut through the silence like a crack splitting glass.“Guys. You need to see this.”There was no one else here. Just me. And her. And the air between us felt too still.I turned slowly. She stood by the kitchen island, pale, phone in one hand, laptop glowingcold light across her face.“Helena just called an emergency board vote,” she said. “Effective immediately. She’snominating herself as interim CEO.”I blinked. “She can’t.”“She can,” Naomi said tightly. “If she has enough voting shares. And she does.”“No,” I breathed. “She had… what, seven percent?”“She had seven percent.” Naomi’s voice was sharper now, her fingers flying acros

• Only His On Paper   Chapter 46 — “Smoke And Mirrors”

  Ava’s POVHe just looked at me.Silent.And this time, I didn’t know if he believed me.I took a step forward, slow, deliberate. My heart had already cracked once tonight, and I wasn’t sure how much more it could take.“You said all that stuff on the broadcast,” Damian said finally, his voice brittle, still staring at the grainy photo. “But this…”My face burned. “You think I could lie to the world like that, then come home and steal from you?”His silence wasn’t loud. It was worse. It was slow. Creeping. The kind that hollowed out the room.And I broke.“I stood there in front of millions of people,” I whispered. “I told them you were the first man who ever saw me. Who didn’t flinch when he found out I was broken? I told them I loved you—not because I had to, but because I couldn’t help it.”I stepped closer. “Do you really think I could say all that… and then lie to you like this?”He flinched then. A twitch in his jaw. Like the words were slicing through something carefully held.“

• Only His On Paper   Chapter 45 — “The Decision”

  “I’m not leaving you.”I said it like a vow, like maybe saying it enough could make everything else stop spinning.But they made me leave anyway.The guard tapped the glass, gave me that rehearsed, polite nod the kind that made it worse. I stood because I had to. Not because I wanted to. Not because I could.I walked out of that holding room with my fists clenched, nails digging into my palm to feel something that wasn’t heartbreak. I didn’t look back. I didn’t have to.Because he didn’t ask me to stay.Because he trusted I would.—The next morning, they let him go.Bail. Money. Quiet backdoor.But the media? They weren’t quiet.By the time I got back to the penthouse, three different headlines had already gone viral.“Kingsley Heir Arrested in Assault Probe.”“Damian Kingsley: Hero, Monster, or Just Rich Enough to Walk?”“Sources Confirm Marriage May Be Strategic Fraud.”Every photo they used was calculated, shots of him in cuffs, one where I looked hollow-eyed in court lighting, an

• Only His On Paper   Chapter 44 – “Burning Down the House”

  She just walked across the space and wrapped her arms around him.He exhaled, forehead resting against hers.“I didn’t stop him,” he said. “I wanted to. I tried. But he’s gone.”Ava closed her eyes. “We’ll find him.”“I shouldn’t have left you.”“But you came back.”And this time, she was the one holding him together.But the moment shattered too soon.Mark’s phone rang low, urgent. He stepped away to answer, voice tight.Damian barely had time to register the shift in Mark’s posture before two officers stepped into the hall behind them.“Damian Kingsley?” one asked. “You need to come with us.”Ava stiffened. “What?”Mark was already trying to intercept them. “You can’t be serious. He walked away. Ethan was the one who—”The lead officer held up a printed statement.“Anonymous tip. Blood on-site. Surveillance caught him entering the building alone. We have to bring him in.”Ava turned to Damian, panicked. “Tell them the truth.”But he didn’t say anything.Didn’t fight it.Didn’t even