MasukDamian's POVI am not a man who denies himself what he desires. If I wanted something, I took it.Ever since I was a boy—ever since I inherited the Sterling legacy from my father—I had a knack for strategizing, maneuvering around the things I wanted until they fell directly into my lap.I worked hard for what I aimed for, so when the victory finally belonged to me, I knew I deserved it. I earned it.I grew up taking the adage “where there’s a will, there’s a way” as my absolute gospel, and that was how I lived my life for as long as I could remember.Until her. Until Arabella.I never knew I possessed such capacity for restraint. I never imagined that for five long years, I would deny myself a woman like her.Sitting behind my black marble desk, the quiet hum of the high-rise office surrounding me, I pulled open the bottom drawer of my desk and withdrew a secondary, encrypted phone.I unlocked it, the dim screen illuminating the logo of a private messaging app I hadn't used in half a
10Damian’s gaze darkened, a storm brewing in his gray eyes. He opened his mouth to reply, but I held up a hand, refusing to let him speak."I caught my husband cheating on me less than twenty-four hours ago," I said, my voice trembling as the weight of the past day crashed over me."The man I was married to for three years was planning to divorce me months ago, and I completely had no idea. I haven't even begun to process that betrayal, and you're asking me to throw myself into another relationship?"I took a sharp, steadying breath, trying to anchor the wild fluttering in my chest."I can't do it, Mr. Sterling. Putting aside the fact that my soon-to-be ex-husband is your son, moving from him to you wouldn't be right—to either of us.""Arabella," Damian whispered, keeping his gaze locked on mine, his tone dropping into a soothing, unhurried cadence. "I am not asking you to accept me this very second. You asked what I wanted from you, and I gave you an honest answer."He took half a s
9My gaze remained glued to his designer tie, my heart hammering wildly against my ribs as I fought the urge to look up into his face. "W-what?""I want you, Arabella Morgan," Damian said, his voice dropping to a low, unyielding promise that resonated in the quiet room. "I want you as my woman."My composure finally cracked. Hearing those words spoken with such bold, unrestrained confidence sent a wave of shock through me. For a long, suffocating moment, I couldn't breathe, let alone form a coherent reply.I had spent three years knowing Damian Sterling as a distant, intimidating patriarch—a cold, domineering force who commanded every room he entered. I had never imagined him looking at me like this, stripped of all restraint."Is this how Mr. Sterling approaches every woman?" I rasped, trying to shield my rising panic behind a layer of skepticism."You're the only woman I've ever approached like this," he answered without hesitation.I swallowed hard, my throat parched. Desperate to
8 "Please, continue," Ethan said, taking a step back from the threshold, though he paused almost immediately. "Um, Dad, why did you suddenly decide to work out of this office today? I thought you didn't want to draw attention to the fact that this venture is under the Sterlings.""Do you have a problem with where I choose to work?" Damian asked, his deep voice rumbling directly above my head."Of course not, Dad," Ethan replied quickly, though a slight smirk lingered in his tone. "I just didn't expect you to be hiding a ‘beauty’ in your office. She must be a wild one—unlike that boring Arabella. She doesn't evoke a single feeling in me anymore."A cold thrill shot down my spine.Damian lowered his head until his lips were near my ear… "He says you're boring," he whispered, his voice low so that only I could hear as his lips brushed the shell of my ear, his breath hot against my skin. "Do you think we should give him a live demonstration?"I stiffened in his arms, my heart hammering v
I stared into Damian's knowing eyes, and every ounce of the excitement that had filled my chest just seconds ago evaporated into thin air. Suddenly, the pieces connected in my mind like puzzle pieces coming together. The two women in the coffee shop who had positioned themselves just close enough for me to hear their conversation. The way Mr. Ross had glanced at my sketches and signed the contract without a second thought. That brief call before the signing. Everything had unfolded so effortlessly that I had actually allowed myself to believe it was based on my own merit. It wasn't that I doubted my talent, but... ‘Wasn't this considered a calculated handout?’ ‘Wasn't this charity?’ "Why?" I rasped, my throat suddenly going dry. "Why did you buy them? Do you even have a use for these designs?""Arabella—" Damian began, his voice low and measured."Is this your way of giving me charity?" I interrupted, my pride flaring up despite my desperation. "Gods, Arabella, no!" Damian st
The morning heat beat down on the pavement as I walked out of my fifth jewelry house of the day, my feet aching and my arms heavy from clutching my leather portfolio.Every single door had closed in my face.Without a recognized brand or a prominent backer, the luxury brand managers barely glanced at my sketches. One boutique owner in the fashion district, one of Ethan's associates, had offered me a meager two thousand dollars for the entire collection—an insulting sum that wouldn't cover even a fraction of a single ICU dose for my mother.She hadn't even bothered to hide her contempt. Somehow, I felt that offer came from Ethan.By two in the afternoon, exhaustion settled deep into my bones. I slumped into a chair at a small corner cafe near the commercial district, ordering a cheap black coffee just to earn a few minutes of air conditioning.I set the black portfolio on the table and pulled out my phone, staring at the growing list of missed calls from the hospital billing department
“What happened to my father?!” Aria exclaimed.Kayden turned and found Aria behind him with a worried look on her face. ‘Shit! When did she follow him? He didn't even hear her footsteps.’ Realizing no one was answering her question, she tried to open the door wider to ask Mike herself, but Kayden
"Is that important? I nearly lost my and the baby's life there. Shouldn't you worry about that?" After having breakfast this morning and touring the mansion, she felt bored and decided to try some recipes she had seen online to pass the time. The truth is that even though she was practically the
An hour later, Kayden's mansion… Kayden and Aria descended the stairs to the living room area, and Aria froze seeing the men and women standing in a straight line in the hall. There were about 20 men and only three women. She turned to look at Kayden with a question in her eyes, but he just gave
About an hour ago, Kayden held his breath in anticipation of Aria's answer. He stared at the screen with intense concentration as if he didn't want to miss a thing. “I'm… Jayden, and I…” Kayden's heart was in turmoil as she began to speak but didn't complete her sentence. He eagerly awaited the r







