LOGINDamian looked up at her, his eyes bloodshot. "Cassandra told me she didn't want to hurt you. But she had absolutely no choice."Aria broke down completely. She bent forward, covering her face, crying with an agonizing, raw grief. She was pregnant. She knew the terrifying, desperate instinct to protect a child. The realization of what Cassandra had been forced to do—destroying her own sister just to keep a gun away from her little girl's head—was horrific.Aria dropped her hands, wiping her wet cheeks frantically. She looked down at him in a total panic. "Is she... is Cassandra okay? Is her baby safe?""Yes," Damian promised immediately. "They are safe. When Sebastian came back, he figured out Marcus was the traitor. Sebastian pulled Cassandra and the baby out. They are hidden in a highly guarded safe house right now."Aria took a massive, shaking breath. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the chair, weeping quietly. "Thank God."She opened her eyes and looked back
"What?" Aria choked out. Her entire body started to shake. Her heart shattered violently against her ribs. She stared at him in absolute, raw horror. "No... no, she couldn't. She wouldn't do that to me."Damian kept his hands open and lowered, seeing the sheer devastation ripping through her. "I know you went to meet Cassandra behind my back, Aria. I know you visited her when she was in the hospital."Aria stared at him, trembling uncontrollably. She had kept that visit a secret, but right now, she couldn't even process that he knew. All she could hear was that her sister had helped ruin her life."She... she was part of it?" Aria sobbed, her voice breaking completely as the betrayal suffocated her. "Why? Why would she do that to me?"Damian looked at her, his dark eyes filled with absolute sorrow. "Because Cassandra has a daughter, Aria. A one-year-old baby girl."Aria stopped breathing. The air simply vanished from the room."A daughter?" Aria whispered, her voice barely making a so
Aria and Damian sat across from each other in the quiet study.The heavy silence stretched out between them. Neither of them rushed to speak. Aria kept her hands folded tightly in her lap, staring at the polished wood of the desk. Damian sat in his chair, completely still, just watching her and waiting.Finally, Aria took a slow, deep breath and looked up."Who wants to harm me?" she asked, her voice quiet but steady. "Who wants to hurt my child?"Damian let out a low, heavy breath. He looked at her pale face, knowing he could not hide anything from her anymore.He stood up from his chair. He walked around the large desk, but he did not pull up the other chair. Instead, he slowly lowered himself, getting down on his knees right in front of her on the hardwood floor.Aria froze. Her breath caught slightly, but she didn't move away.Damian reached out and gently took one of her cold hands in his. Aria looked down at his large hand covering hers. She let him hold it."We don't have a nam
Damian sat down in one of the plastic waiting chairs.His heart hurt. It was a deep, physical ache twisting in his chest. He wanted to be inside that room so badly. He wanted to hold her hand, look at the ultrasound monitor, and hear his child's heartbeat. But he couldn't. He knew he deserved to sit out here in the cold hallway. He was paying the price for his own arrogance.His phone buzzed in his pocket.Damian pulled it out. It was Sebastian. He answered it, leaning his elbows on his knees."Bash.""How is it going, hermano?" Sebastian’s voice came through the speaker, sounding tired but sharp."I am sitting in a hallway," Damian muttered bitterly. "She wouldn't let me inside the room."Sebastian sighed on the other end of the line. "I figured. Is she still ignoring you?""Always," Damian rubbed a hand over his face. "She ignores me, or she screams at me. Today she reminded me again I am not the father. I don't know what to do anymore.""You need to talk to her," Sebastian said blu
The next morning, the penthouse was quiet.Aria stood in front of the hallway mirror, adjusting the oversized sweater she had thrown on. It had been exactly a month since her last doctor’s appointment. Damian had booked the appointment with the best private gynecologist in the city, ensuring the clinic was heavily secured.She turned around to head toward the front door and stopped.Damian was standing in the living room. He was wearing a dark suit, his expression completely unreadable as he watched her walk out."The cars are ready downstairs," Damian said, his deep voice breaking the silence. "I am coming with you."Aria crossed her arms over her chest. "No, you aren't.""Aria," Damian said, stepping forward."I said no," Aria stated flatly. She didn't want to play this game today. "I will go with the security men. You are not coming."Damian froze for a second. His jaw tightened. "I need to go with you. I am the father too."The anger snapped inside Aria instantly. The exhaustion f
Aria’s smile vanished. Her jaw tightened instantly. "No. We have an agreement. He stays away from me."Rose frowned. "Aria... it's been a week."Aria snapped her head toward the teenager. "Whose side are you on? Seriously, Rose. Since the hospital, you keep pushing me toward him. Did he say something to you? Because my perspective hasn't changed. I'm not forgiving him.""I am on your side!" Rose defended quickly, holding her hands up. "I will always be on your side, Aria. I wanted to kill him for what he did to you.""Then why do you keep telling me to talk to him?" Aria asked, her voice cracking with pure frustration.Rose looked at her with a soft, profound sadness. "Because he has answers," Rose said honestly. "I am not telling you to forgive him. I'm not telling you to give him a second chance. It is entirely your call. But you are hiding in this room, Aria. He knows who framed you. He knows why someone tried to hurt the baby. Don't you want to know the truth?"Aria froze. The def
Damian watched the fire until the last scrap of paper was a black flake. Then he turned off the stove. He walked back to her, and for the first time, he looked truly terrifying. The mask of the businessman was gone; only the monster remained."I do not want your money, Aria," he hissed, leaning over
A freak heatwave had settled over the city like a suffocating shroud. Outside the black glass walls of The Obsidian, the air was thick, humid, and heavy enough to choke on. The asphalt of the streets below seemed to shimmer with heat, and the haze over the skyline turned the sun into a pale, sickly
"Get out," he growled.Aria scrambled backward, tripping over her own feet. "I... I didn't know... Cassandra said you were in meetings until six!""My meeting was canceled," Damian snapped. He didn't cover himself. He didn't look embarrassed. He looked furious that his sanctuary had been breached. "
December at the Hale estate was a high-budget performance art piece titled "The Perfect Family."The house was draped in heavy garlands of fresh pine that smelled of winter forests and old money. A twelve-foot fir tree dominated the foyer, dripping with crystal ornaments and thousands of tiny white







