Chapter 7

Three days passed.

Three frustrating days.

For Damien, that was three days of receiving security reports about Aria whether he asked for them or not.

Or at least that was what he told himself.

He sat in his office on the top floor of Cole Group, staring at a document while his assistant stood nearby.

“Mr. Cole?”

Damien looked up.

“You haven't turned that page in ten minutes.”

“I’m reading.”

The assistant wisely chose not to argue.

A knock sounded against the office door.

“Come in.”

Noah entered carrying a folder.

The moment he sat down, Damien asked, “What happened?”

Noah raised an eyebrow.

“With what?”

“Aria.”

The answer came so quickly that even Damien seemed to realize it afterward.

Noah leaned back in his chair.

“You could at least pretend you were asking about business.”

Damien's expression darkened.

“Report.”

Noah opened the folder.

“She’s been applying for jobs.”

“And?”

“Rejected.”

“Why?”

Noah gave him a look.

“Seriously?”

Damien's jaw tightened.

Of course he knew why.

The internet still remembered the scandal surrounding Lily's accident.

Most companies didn't want trouble attached to their brand.

“Anything else?”

Noah hesitated.

“Yes.”

Damien immediately noticed.

“What?”

“She accepted help from someone.”

The room grew quiet.

“Who?”

“A businessman.”

Damien’s expression cooled noticeably.

“Name.”

“Ethan Vale.”

The name sounded familiar.

A young entrepreneur.

Successful.

Ambitious.

One of the rising stars in the business world.

Damien disliked him instantly.

“Why is he helping her?”

Noah closed the folder.

“You could ask Aria yourself.”

“I asked you.”

“And I’m telling you that I don't know.”

Damien looked back toward the window overlooking the city.

For some reason, the thought of another man helping Aria irritated him more than it should.

Much more.

Meanwhile, Aria sat across from Ethan Vale inside a quiet restaurant.

The meeting felt surprisingly normal.

Which itself felt strange.

No accusations.

No whispers.

No one staring at her like she carried a contagious disease.

Ethan reviewed several design sketches spread across the table.

“These are yours?”

Aria nodded.

Ethan looked genuinely impressed.

“You created all of these?”

“Yes.”

“Why haven't you shown them to anyone?”

Aria almost laughed.

“People weren't exactly interested in my hobbies.”

Ethan studied another page.

Luxury packaging designs.

Brand concepts.

Marketing ideas.

The work looked polished enough to belong to someone with years of professional experience.

“You've been wasting your talent.”

“That's one way to describe it.”

Ethan closed the sketchbook carefully.

“I meant what I said.”

Aria looked up.

“You deserve an opportunity.”

Before she could answer, her phone vibrated.

Unknown number.

Again.

The same pattern as before.

Aria ignored it.

Then it rang again immediately.

And again.

Ethan noticed.

“Everything okay?”

“Probably.”

But she wasn't entirely sure.

The calls finally stopped.

A few moments later, a text message arrived.

"LOOK BEHIND YOU."

Aria frowned.

Slowly, she turned.

Outside the restaurant's glass window sat a familiar black sedan.

Cole security.

Still watching.

She almost rolled her eyes.

Unbelievable.

Ethan followed her gaze.

“Are those reporters?”

“No.”

“Friends?”

“Definitely not.”

By evening, heavy clouds covered the city.

Rain began falling shortly after sunset.

Aria left the restaurant carrying a small folder of business proposals Ethan had given her.

The weather worsened quickly.

Within minutes, rain poured across the streets.

Most pedestrians hurried for cover.

Aria stepped beneath a bus stop shelter and waited.

Traffic crawled through the storm.

Lightning flashed across the sky.

Her phone buzzed.

Another unknown number.

This time she answered.

“What?”

Silence.

Then a familiar voice.

“You met Ethan Vale.”

Damien.

Of course.

Aria looked toward the rain.

“Do your security guards have nothing better to do?”

“You were supposed to be looking for work.”

“I was.”

“With him?”

“He offered me an opportunity.”

A pause followed.

Then Damien asked coldly, “What kind of opportunity?”

Aria laughed softly.

The sound surprised even her.

“You don't get to ask that anymore.”

The line went quiet.

Then Damien disconnected.

Just like that.

Childish.

Five minutes later, a black car stopped directly in front of the bus shelter.

The rear door opened.

Damien stepped out into the rain.

Aria stared.

“You tracked me?”

Damien ignored the question.

“Get in.”

“No.”

“You’ll get sick.”

“I'll survive.”

The rain intensified.

Water soaked Damien’s suit within seconds.

Yet he remained standing there.

Waiting.

Aria folded her arms.

“What exactly are you doing?”

Damien looked at her steadily.

“You met Ethan Vale.”

“There it is.”

“What does he want?”

Aria laughed again.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you care?”

The question lingered between them.

For a moment, neither answered.

Rain hammered the pavement around them.

Finally Damien said, “I don't trust him.”

“That's your problem.”

“He wants something.”

“Unlike you?”

His jaw tightened.

Aria stepped out from beneath the shelter.

“I don't owe you explanations anymore.”

She started walking.

Damien followed immediately.

The rain soaked both of them within seconds.

“Aria.”

She kept moving.

“Aria.”

Still walking.

Suddenly Damien caught her wrist.

Not roughly.

Just enough to stop her.

She turned sharply.

“What?”

For several seconds neither spoke.

Damien stared at her face.

At the wet strands of hair clinging to her skin.

At the stubborn look he knew too well.

Then something strange happened.

The anger he'd carried all afternoon suddenly shifted into something else.

Something harder to identify.

Something that made him step closer without realizing it.

Aria noticed immediately.

So did he.

The distance between them disappeared.

Rainwater dripped from his hair.

Neither looked away.

The city sounds seemed farther now.

Muted.

For one dangerous second, Damien forgot about Ethan.

Forgot about Lily.

Forgot about the divorce.

His gaze lingered on her face longer than it should have.

Only then did his attention flicker toward her lips.

Aria stopped breathing.

The realization hit both of them at the same time.

Damien nearly kissed her.

The thought slammed into him hard enough to break the moment instantly.

He stepped back first.

As if burned.

Silence crashed between them.

Then Damien released her wrist immediately.

His expression hardened again.

Cold.

Controlled.

Familiar.

“Go home,” he said.

Aria stared at him.

Then turned and walked away without another word.

Damien remained standing in the rain long after she disappeared around the corner.

For the first time in years, he found himself asking a question he didn't want answered.

If he hated Aria so much...

Why had he wanted to kiss her?

And why couldn't he stop thinking about another man standing beside her?