Chapter 2

For a moment, I just stared at Damien’s outstretched hand.

It felt like the entire room was holding its breath, waiting to see if the abandoned bride would really take the devil’s offer.

The whispering was relentless now.

“Is she going to—?”

“That’s Ethan’s brother…”

“This is about to get ugly…”

My father’s voice cut through the noise. “Clara.”

I turned my head. His eyes — usually so steady — were flicking between me and Damien, calculating, as though he already understood the unspoken meaning behind this offer.

“Not here,” my mother hissed under her breath, her fingers gripping my arm with surprising force. “We can discuss this privately.”

But Damien didn’t move. He stood solid as stone, hand still extended, expression carved from ice.

“If you wait,” he said, his voice calm and almost bored, “Ethan will win. He’ll walk away with your family’s dignity, and the rest of your father’s company. By the time the tabloids are finished, you’ll be nothing but a sad headline.”

I bristled. “And you think marrying you will fix that?”

A shadow of a smile touched his lips. “I don’t think, Clara. I know.”

The guests shifted in their seats. The tension was unbearable — like watching the opening moves of a very dangerous chess game.

“I…” My throat tightened. “This is insane.”

Damien’s gaze didn’t waver. “So was falling for my brother.”

The jab hit deeper than I wanted to admit.

I glanced again at my father — his shoulders slumped under the weight of silent defeat — and my mother’s perfectly painted face, tight with a fear she didn’t want the cameras to catch.

I had been raised to believe our family’s name mattered.

Today, it was ashes.

I didn’t take Damien’s hand.

Instead, I lifted my chin and said, “Fine. But we talk. Alone.”

A flicker of approval crossed his face. “Follow me.”

The noise from the ballroom faded as I walked after Damien, down a polished marble corridor lined with oil paintings of Vale ancestors — all of them staring down as if judging me.

He led me into a smaller side room — an office, dark and sleek, with a massive glass window overlooking the gardens. He closed the door behind us, shutting out the murmurs and cameras.

I turned on him. “Explain. Now.”

Damien removed his cufflinks with unhurried precision, as if we weren’t in the middle of the biggest scandal of my life.

“Ethan thinks he’s untouchable. He’s been a spoiled child since the day he could walk. Taking you from him will make him furious — and reckless. He’ll make mistakes. And those mistakes will cost him his inheritance.”

My pulse quickened. “So that’s it? I’m just… a weapon in your war?”

He met my eyes without flinching. “You’re more than that. You’re the only one who can hurt him where it matters.”

I laughed bitterly. “And in return?”

“In return,” he said, stepping closer, “I’ll wipe out your family’s debt. I’ll protect you from the press. And you’ll walk out of this looking untouchable.”

The air between us felt charged, like a storm was building.

But I couldn’t ignore the fine print. “What’s the catch?”

Damien’s smile was sharp enough to cut glass. “One year. Public appearances as my wife. You follow my lead, no questions asked. And when the year is over… we walk away.”

My heart thudded. “And what if I say no?”

He stepped even closer, until I could feel the heat of him. “Then Ethan wins. And trust me, Clara…” His voice dropped to a dangerous murmur. “…he doesn’t just want to ruin your name. He wants to ruin you.”

I hated that part of me believed him.

I hated that part of me wanted to see Ethan suffer.

I took a shaky breath. “You’re playing a dangerous game, Damien.”

His lips curved into the kind of smile men wear when they’ve already won. “I never play to lose.”

Before I could respond, there was a sharp knock at the door. My mother’s voice floated in. “Clara? The press is demanding a statement. What should we tell them?”

Damien looked at me, one brow raised, the faintest challenge in his eyes.

“Tell them…” I said slowly, never breaking his gaze, “…that the wedding is still on.”

The smirk that spread across Damien’s face was both infuriating and terrifying.

And somewhere deep down, I knew I had just stepped into something I might never get out of.