Chapter 6: The Confrontation

~ EVANGELINE ~

The hall exploded after Damien's announcement.

Cameras flashed everywhere. Reporters screamed questions. People rushed toward the stage from all directions.

"Damien! How long have you known about Evangeline?"

"Is the marriage real or fake?"

Damien's security guards moved fast. They surrounded me and Damien in a tight circle and started pushing people back.

"Move! Everyone back!" the head of security shouted.

I stood frozen on the stage. My mind couldn't process what just happened.

Me? Married to Damien Blackwood?

"This way, ma'am." A guard touched my elbow gently. "We need to get you out of here."

Damien took my hand and pulled me toward the back of the stage.

Behind us I heard Jason screaming. "She's still my wife! That marriage is fake! Someone stop them!"

Victoria's voice joined his. "This is illegal! I'm calling Augustus! I'm calling the police!"

We went through a door backstage and down a long hallway. The noise from the hall faded but I could still hear them.

"Keep moving," Damien said. His hand was still holding mine.

We came out into a back alley where a black Porsche waited with its engine running. The door was already open.

"Get in," Damien said.

I climbed into the backseat and he slid in beside me. The door closed and the car took off immediately.

I pulled my hand away from his. "What just happened back there?"

"We'll talk tomorrow." Damien looked out the window.

"No, we'll talk now!" My voice came out too loud in the small space. "You just told thousands of people we're married! The whole world saw that! You can't just..."

"Eva." He turned to look at me. "I understand you're upset but now is not the time. There are reporters following us. We need to get you somewhere safe first."

“I—” He didn't even let me start nor finish before continuing.

"You'll stay at my penthouse tonight." It wasn't a question. "My security will make sure no one bothers you. Tomorrow morning we'll talk. I promise."

"I don't want your promises! I want answers!"

The car pulled up to a tall glass building. The driver went into an underground garage and stopped near a private elevator.

Damien got out and held the door open for me. "Eva, listen to me tonight. Tomorrow I'll explain everything."

I wanted to argue but I was exhausted.

We took the elevator to the top floor. When the doors opened, we stepped into a massive penthouse.

"The guest room is down that hall." Damien pointed to the left. "Second door. The kitchen is fully stocked so you can take whatever you need.”

He pulled a business card from his pocket and handed it to me. "My office address is there, come at ten tomorrow morning. We'll talk then."

"Damien..."

"Get some rest, Eva. You've had a long night."

He left through the elevator before I could say anything else.

I stood alone in his penthouse and was about to look around when my phone started buzzing in my purse stopped me. I pulled it out and the screen was filled with notifications.

"BLACKWOOD SCANDAL! Designer Evangeline Married to Ex-Husband's Uncle?!"

"Real Evangeline Revealed at Milan Fashion Week After Dramatic Confrontation!"

"Designer Caught in a Love Triangle Between Husband and His Uncle!"

Every major news outlet had the story. Photos of me slapping Veronica. Videos of Damien announcing our marriage. Close ups of the marriage certificate.

I opened social media and it was worse.

Thousands of comments. Hundreds of thousands.

Some people believed me.

[@fashionlover2024: Finally! I knew Veronica was fake! Evangeline is the real deal!]

[@designfanatic: That slap was ICONIC. She deserved it for stealing someone's work!]

But most people didn't.

[@truthseeker99: She's lying. Veronica has been Evangeline for months. This woman is just jealous.]

[@realitychecker: Another gold digger who married rich and now wants fame. Pathetic.]

[@veronicalover: Leave Veronica alone! This stalker needs to be arrested!]

I turned my phone off and threw it on the couch.

I walked to the guest room Damien mentioned and closed the door. The bed was huge and the sheets looked expensive.

I didn't sleep at all that night. Every time I closed my eyes I saw Jason's face when he tried to hit me. Victoria's face when she called me worthless. Veronica's face when I slapped her.

And Damien's face when he announced we were married.

*****

By morning I was exhausted and furious and done with all of it.

I turned my phone back on and found the address on Damien's card. Then I called a car service.

When I walked into Damien's office building, the receptionist's eyes went wide.

"Mrs. Blackwood! We weren't expecting you so early!"

"Where's his office?"

"Top floor. But he's in a meeting right now and..."

I walked past her to the elevator.

"Ma'am, you can't just..."

The elevator doors closed.

When they opened on the top floor, I walked straight to the double doors at the end of the hall. A nameplate read "Damien Blackwood, CEO."

I flung open the door without knocking.

"You lying bastard!"

Two men sat inside. I thought Damien was alone.

Even with the insult I threw at him, Damien sat behind his ridiculously big desk looking calm and unbothered.

His calm face made me even angrier. For a second I imagined strangling him until he turned purple.

The other man, almost as tall as Damien, sat with a whiskey in his hand. He looked amused and ready to enjoy whatever might happen.

Damien lifted his eyes and his lips curved into a small smile. "You’re here. It is pleasant to see you."

"Pleasant?" My voice came out high and shrill. "PLEASANT? Do you have any idea what you've done?"

The other man stood up and offered his hand. "I am Roman Hudson, Damien's business partner. You must be the famous Evangeline everyone's talking about."

I ignored his hand. "Get out."

"Excuse me?" Roman's eyebrows shot up.

"I need to speak with Damien. Alone. Get. Out."

Roman looked at Damien who nodded once. Roman grabbed his whiskey glass and headed for the door, but not before shooting Damien a look that clearly said ‘good luck with this one’.

The door clicked shut behind him.

I marched up to Damien's desk and slammed my hands down on the wood. "Why did you tell everyone we're married? We're NOT married! You had no right!"

"Are you finished?" Damien leaned back in his chair, completely relaxed.

"No, I'm not finished!" My whole body shook with anger. "My phone won't stop ringing! Reporters camped outside my hotel! They're demanding statements! Press releases! Proof of our marriage! Do you understand how insane this is?"

"Hmm." Damien tapped his fingers on the armrest.

"And the media!" I continued pacing because standing still was impossible. "Half of them think I'm lying about being Evangeline! They still believe Veronica! The other half are calling me a homewrecker for stealing Jason's uncle! My social media is a warzone! People are sending death threats!"

"Death threats?" Damien's expression hardened instantly. "Give me the accounts. I'll handle it."

"I don't want you to handle it! I want you to tell the truth! Tell everyone we're NOT married!"

"But we are married." Damien opened his desk drawer and pulled out a folder. He slid it across the desk toward me.

I grabbed it and flipped it open.

It was a marriage certificate with official stamps and my legal signature.

My signature? This man was insane! He forged my signature!

"This is fake!" I threw it back at him. "I never signed this!"

"Actually, you did." Damien pulled out his phone and showed me a video.

The video was dated three days ago. I was signing papers in my lawyer's office.

"Remember when you signed the divorce papers from Jason? My lawyer slipped the marriage certificate in with them. You signed it without reading."

My stomach dropped. As much as I appreciated his help at the fashion show, I didn't want to be tangled with any Blackwood ever again.

"You... you tricked me?"

"I protected you." Damien stood up and walked around the desk. "Jason's family wanted you destroyed. Your father wanted you dragged back home. Veronica wanted to steal everything you built. You were alone and vulnerable. The only way to keep you safe was to make you legally mine."

"YOURS?" My voice shook. "I'm not property! You can't just... just..."

"I can and I did." He stopped right in front of me, so close I had to tilt my head back to look at him. "And now that the world thinks we're married, they'll think twice before coming after you. The Blackwood name attached to me carries weight, Eva. People who wouldn't hesitate to destroy Evangeline Moreau will pause before touching Evangeline Blackwood."

"I don't want your name!" Tears burned in my eyes but I refused to let them fall. "I don't want your protection! I just want the truth!"

"I don't want your protection!" Tears burned in my eyes but I refused to let them fall. "I just want the truth!"

"The truth?" Damien leaned back against his desk, crossing his arms. "You don't even have a place to sleep tonight, Eva. Where exactly are you planning to go?"

"I'll figure it out. I always do."

"Will you?" His gray-blue eyes locked onto mine. "You think you can go back to that house? The one in both your names?"

I opened my mouth to argue, then closed it.

"That's what I thought." His voice was cold, matter-of-fact. "Your abusers are waiting for you there. And now that they know your true worth as Evangeline? They'll make your life even more miserable to get what they want and they will take even more than before."

"I have money," I said weakly as my chin lowered to my chest. "I can stay in a hotel till I can start over."

"Maybe you do." Damien tilted his head. "But how long will that last? A day? Two? Your trust fund doesn't unlock for weeks, Eva."

My eyes widened in shock. "How do you know about that?"

"I know everything about you." His expression didn't change. "I've known for a while now."

"You've been... digging into me? Why?"

"Protecting my interests." He pushed off the desk. "You just exposed yourself to the entire world as Evangeline Moreau. Which means your father now knows exactly where you are. How long do you think you have before he comes for you?"

"Stop," I whispered.

"You have nowhere safe to live, no real funds to survive on, and enemies on all sides." He stepped closer. "That's the truth."

I wanted to argue but he was right. Everything he said was true.

"So here's what I'm offering." Damien's voice dropped lower. "Marry me. For real this time. Not a trick, not a trap. A real marriage."

My mouth fell open. "What?"

"Marry me, Eva. Be my wife. And I'll make the entire world bend at your feet."

"You're insane." I stepped back, putting distance between us. "You're actually insane. Why would you want to marry me? You don't even know me!"

"I know enough." He moved closer, closing the distance I created. "I know you're brilliant. I know you're stronger than everyone imagined. I know you built a thirty million dollar brand while being hunted by your family and Jason. I know you deserve better than what life's given you."

"That's not... you can't just..." I couldn't form complete words. My brain stopped working properly.

If I wanted to access my money, all thanks to my father's connections, I couldn't. Somehow he found out I had money locked away. How he did, I don't know. But he did. Now he was claiming the inheritance my grandmother left for me was meant to be his. Since he provided the capital, I was meant to give him half of my unlocked funds.

"Think about it." Damien went back to his desk and pulled out another folder. "This is a contract. Read it. Take your time. No pressure."

"No pressure?" I laughed but it sounded crazy. "You forged my signature on a marriage certificate and now you're proposing for real and you say no pressure?"

"The contract protects both of us." He held it out. "Read it. Then decide."

I snatched the folder from his hand. "I'm not marrying you. I don't care what's in this contract. I don't care about your protection or your name or your money. I just want my life back! And I will get it!"

"Your old life is gone, Eva." Damien's voice was gentle but firm. "Jason made sure of that. Your father made sure of that. You can either build something new or keep running. Your choice."

"I sincerely hate you." The words came out before I could stop them.

"You don't have to." He smiled slightly. "But you want to. That's different."

The door slammed open and Roman stood there looking shocked. He had not left but had been listening to our conversation the whole time.

"Roman, I told you to leave." Damien's voice turned cold.

"I know but..." Roman looked between us, then focused on Damien. "Are you serious right now? Are you actually proposing? You, Damien Blackwood, the man who swore off marriage after what happened ten years ago, are proposing to a woman you barely know?"

"Yes." Damien didn't hesitate.

"Holy hell." Roman ran his hand through his hair. "I never thought I'd see the day. The great Damien Blackwood brought down by..."

"Roman." Damien's tone held a warning. "Shut up and leave."

"Fine, fine!" Roman held up his hands. He headed for the door again then stopped halfway. His hand was on the doorknob when he turned back around.

"Wait." Roman's expression turned serious. "If you're marrying her..." He glanced at me then back at Damien. "What about Lily?”