LOGINDamian’s POV
The silence after she left wasn’t peaceful.It was the kind that followed disaster — the quiet that comes when something sacred finally breaks.Damian sat in the dim glow of his study, the folder still open on his desk. The paper was creased, edges bent from where he’d gripped it too tightly.The clause stared back at him, mocking in black ink:> “Marital eligibility in accordance with the standards of the Cruz estate.”He hated every word of it.He hated himself more for letting those words come between them.The whiskey on his desk sat untouched. His reflection in the window looked nothing like him — hollow eyes, unshaven jaw, the ghost of his father’s shadow behind it all.He’d promised Amara no more secrets.And then he’d kept the one that mattered most.---Her voice still echoed in his head, quiet but devastating:> “You promised no more secrets.”Damian’s POVThe silence after she left wasn’t peaceful.It was the kind that followed disaster — the quiet that comes when something sacred finally breaks.Damian sat in the dim glow of his study, the folder still open on his desk. The paper was creased, edges bent from where he’d gripped it too tightly.The clause stared back at him, mocking in black ink:> “Marital eligibility in accordance with the standards of the Cruz estate.”He hated every word of it.He hated himself more for letting those words come between them.The whiskey on his desk sat untouched. His reflection in the window looked nothing like him — hollow eyes, unshaven jaw, the ghost of his father’s shadow behind it all.He’d promised Amara no more secrets.And then he’d kept the one that mattered most.---Her voice still echoed in his head, quiet but devastating:> “You promised no more secrets.”
Amara’s POVThe penthouse felt colder that night — too still, too perfect, as if the truth had stolen all the warmth from the air.Amara stood by the tall windows, the city lights stretching out beneath her like a map of everything she no longer recognized. Behind her, the door clicked open. Damian’s footsteps crossed the marble — steady, familiar, dangerous in their calm.She didn’t turn around.“You’re home early.” he said carefully.“So are you.” Her voice was quiet, steady. “Or maybe you never left.”A pause — sharp, heavy. Then: “Amara… what’s going on?”She turned, the folder in her hand — that folder — the one she’d found hidden behind his locked cabinet that afternoon. The gold Cruz family insignia glinted under the light. Confidential: Estate Clause 7B.“I was looking for the event contracts,” she said. “This fell out.”Damian froze. Completely. The stillness of a man who realized his secret wa
Amara’s POVMorning light cut through the blinds — pale, sharp, and far too honest.Amara sat at the edge of the bed, hands wrapped around a mug of coffee that had long gone cold. Damian’s side of the bed was still warm, the sheets still creased where he’d kissed her forehead before leaving.The same man who, just last week, had promised her: no more secrets.But promises were easy. Silence was easier.That one line she’d overheard — “the will’s clause still stands” — kept echoing in her head. No matter how much she tried to forget, it came back every time he smiled like everything was fine.She tried to pretend she hadn’t found the file, hadn’t seen the phrase “inheritance eligibility dependent upon marital alignment.” But once you’ve read something like that, it doesn’t fade. It lingers — like smoke after a fire.By the time she walked into the office, her mask was back on.Amara Lopez: PR Director. Composed. Sharp
Damian’s POV He hated coming here. The Cruz Family Estate Office sat on the 30th floor of an old downtown building — all glass, marble, and silence. It smelled like polished wood and money, the kind of place that worshiped legacy like it was law. The kind of place his father had adored. Damian hadn’t stepped inside for months. But now, standing in the lobby surrounded by portraits of past generations — men with sharp suits and sharper eyes — there was no avoiding it anymore. He was here to end something. Or at least try to. “Mr. Cruz,” said the receptionist in a smooth, practiced tone. “Mr. Alden will see you now.” Damian nodded and entered the office. Harold Alden, his father’s longtime estate lawyer, was waiting behind a mahogany desk. Gray hair, gold watch, the calm detachment of a man who’d spent decades translating greed into paperwork. “Da
Amara’s POVIt started like any other afternoon.Damian had been called into a meeting downtown, leaving her in his office to finish prepping the slides for their upcoming board presentation. He’d told her to use his workspace since it had better monitors — and better coffee.“Just don’t drown in spreadsheets.” he’d teased, pressing a quick kiss to her forehead before leaving.The room smelled like cedar and his cologne — clean, warm, a little sharp. Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, brushing over neat stacks of papers, framed awards, and the sleek desk that had seen more chaos than calm.Amara had always liked this room.It was where they’d fought, reconciled, dreamed — the nerve center of everything they’d built together.Until that day, when it became something else entirely.She was searching for a report — last quarter’s ethics compliance numbers — when she noticed the bottom drawer on the right side. It wasn’t locked, just slightly open, like someone had pu
Amara’s POVPeace wasn’t what Amara expected.It didn’t come with fireworks or grand declarations — just quiet mornings and softer nights.Three months after the accident, life had settled into a rhythm that almost felt normal. She’d wake up to the smell of coffee drifting through Damian’s apartment — too strong, always too strong — and he’d insist he needed it to survive another board meeting. They’d share breakfast by the window, the skyline spilling gold across the glass towers, pretending, just for a while, that the world outside didn’t exist.He’d ask how she was sleeping, if her back still hurt from therapy, if she wanted him to drive her to work.She’d roll her eyes and tell him she could walk just fine now.It was their kind of domestic — quiet, fragile, unspoken.At Cruz Holdings, their partnership had evolved into something balanced. Damian had learned to listen. He didn’t dominate meetings anymore — he’d lean back, hands clasped, and let her speak. The sharp, commanding CEO







