CHAPTER 4

Damian

The press conference was scheduled for tomorrow. Tonight, we had to look like a couple in love.

Harper stood on the balcony in a silk robe, staring at the city lights. She hadn’t spoken much since my mother’s visit. I couldn’t blame her. The Blackwood hatred ran deep, even I was tired of it.

I stepped outside and handed her a glass of wine. “You’re angry.”

“Observant,” she said dryly.

I leaned on the railing beside her. “My mother is… complicated. She’s been pulling strings since my father died. She wants control of the company. Of Lily.”

Harper glanced at me. “And you? What do you want, Damian?”

The question caught me off guard. No one asked me that anymore.

“Peace,” I said quietly. “For my daughter. For myself.” I looked at her. “And maybe, for one night, I wanted to feel alive again. With you.”

She swallowed. “That night… I didn’t know who you were.”

“Would it have stopped you?”

Her silence was answer enough.

I reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She didn’t pull away. The same electricity from the garden crackled between us.

“People are watching us now,” I murmured. “We have to sell this.”

She stepped closer until our bodies nearly touched. “Then sell it.”

I took a sip of my own wine and set the glass down. “Harper, talk to me. You have been quiet all evening. Is it just my mother, or is it everything? This whole fake situation?”

She looked out at the lights again. “It’s a lot. One minute I’m working in your company to find answers. Next minute I’m living in this penthouse and pretending to be your wife. It feels wrong. But your mother made it clear. She will take Lily if we don’t play along.”

I nodded. “She always plays dirty. I have fought her for years. After my wife passed, she tried to take over everything. Lily is the only good thing left in my life. I see how you look at my daughter. You are gentle with her. That means something to me.”

Harper turned to face me. “Lily is innocent. She asked me today if I would stay for her birthday. I didn’t know what to say. I told her we would eat cake together. But I feel guilty. She thinks this is real.”

“She needs that right now,” I said softly. “Even if it is pretend. Yesterday she drew a picture of all of us. You, me, and her. It was the first time she drew a family since her mom died. Can you keep being kind to her? At least while this lasts?”

“I am trying,” Harper replied. “She showed me her toys this afternoon. We played for a while. She is smart and sweet. But every time I get close, I remember why I came here. My mother lost everything because of your family. I promised her I would find the truth.”

I sighed and touched her shoulder lightly. “I looked into some old files after we signed the papers. There were bad deals back then. I did not know the full story about your mother. If there is something hidden, we can find it together. This marriage gives you access. But it also gives me a chance to fix things.”

Harper’s eyes met mine. “Fix things? You say that like it is easy. Your son Ethan keeps calling me. He left a message today saying I betrayed him. He thinks I planned this to hurt him.”

“Ethan is angry because he still cares about you,” I said. “He told me you two were close once. But he is like the rest of the family. He puts himself first. I warned him to stay away from you during this time. We cannot have more drama before the press conference.”

She shook her head. “This is all so messy. Last night with your mother felt like a warning. She called me a gold-digger. She said I would end up broken like my mom. Do you think she knows why I am really here?”

“Maybe,” I answered. “My mother knows everything that happens in this family. But she does not know you. She sees what she wants to see. You are stronger than she thinks. The way you stood up to Ethan at the gala showed me that. You did not back down.”

Harper gave a small smile. “I was so mad that night. Then I met you in the garden. You seemed different. Calm. Not like the others. I let my guard down. And now look at us.”

I smiled a little too. “Yes, look at us. Sharing wine on a balcony, pretending to be in love. But when I kissed you earlier in the garden that first night, it did not feel pretend. Did it feel real to you?”

She paused. “It did. That is what scares me. I should hate you. But when you talk like this, I see a man who is tired. Not just the cold CEO everyone fears.”

The city lights reflected in her eyes. I stepped even closer. “Then let us make the pretend feel real enough to survive tomorrow. The press will ask questions. They will want to see us happy. Can you act like you want to be here with me?”

“I can try,” she whispered. “For Lily. For the deal. But no promises after six months. We go our separate ways.”

“Six months,” I agreed. “But right now, in this moment, it is just us. No family fights. No secrets. Just this balcony and this feeling.”

We stood there talking more. She asked about my life before all the business pressure. I told her how much I missed simple days with Lily. She shared little stories about her mother and how hard things were growing up. The conversation flowed easier than I expected. Laughter even came once or twice.

I reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She didn’t pull away. The same electricity from the garden crackled between us.

“People are watching us now,” I murmured. “We have to sell this.”

She stepped closer until our bodies nearly touched. “Then sell it.”

I kissed her. Slow at first, then deeper. She melted into me like she had that first night, fingers gripping my shirt. For a moment, revenge and scandals and family wars disappeared. There was only her.

We barely made it inside before clothes started coming off. This time we knew exactly who we were. And it made everything more dangerous.

Later, as she slept against my chest, my phone lit up with a message from an unknown number.

I know what she’s really after. The files about her mother’s death weren’t an accident. Ask her about the letter.

I stared at the screen, heart pounding.

Harper stirred. “What is it?”

I deleted the message. “Nothing. Go back to sleep.”

But sleep didn’t come for me. The woman in my arms might be more dangerous than I thought.