Chapter 2

Before Damon could return to the living room, Lyra stopped him with a question she immediately regretted.

“Do you find me attractive?”

Damon turned back toward the guest bedroom.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

His brows pulled together. “Why are you asking me that?”

Lyra lowered her eyes, ashamed of how desperate she sounded.

“Forget it.”

“I don’t think I can.”

“Of course you can.” A bitter laugh escaped her. “You don’t even know me.”

She sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms around herself.

Only hours ago, she had believed she was loved. She had been excited to wear her wedding dress and promise her future to Vito.

Now she knew he had only proposed because of her inheritance.

Worse, the stepsister Lyra had trusted all her life had helped him deceive her.

“Everything I believed in disappeared tonight,” she whispered. “The man I was supposed to marry doesn’t love me. My own sister was in his bed, laughing at me.”

Damon’s expression hardened, but he remained outside the bedroom.

Lyra blinked back her tears.

“I don’t want love. I don’t want promises. I just want one night when I don’t have to think about them.”

Understanding appeared in Damon’s eyes.

Still, he shook his head.

“No.”

The single word struck what remained of Lyra’s pride.

She quickly turned away. “I understand.”

“No, you don’t.”

Damon’s firm voice made her look at him again.

His eyes moved over her face, but there was nothing cold in his gaze.

“You are beautiful, Lyra.”

Her breath caught.

“But you’re in pain,” he continued. “If I cross that line tonight, you might wake up tomorrow with another regret.”

“I know what I’m asking.”

“You’re asking because the man you trusted made you question your worth.”

Lyra went silent.

Damon had understood what she could not explain.

“I won’t use your pain to get close to you,” he said. “You were betrayed tonight. I refuse to become another man who hurts you.”

His rejection should have embarrassed her.

Instead, his kindness broke through the last of her control.

Tears slipped down her cheeks.

Vito had claimed to love her, yet he had planned to steal her inheritance. Ruth had called her a sister while secretly sleeping with her fiancé.

Damon was almost a complete stranger, but he cared about the regret she might feel in the morning.

“Then don’t leave me,” Lyra whispered.

Damon became still.

“Please. I don’t want to be alone.”

His expression softened. He stepped closer but stopped before crossing the doorway.

“I can’t take away what happened,” he said. “But I can stay.”

“I just want the noise in my head to stop.”

After a brief pause, Damon held out his hand.

“May I come inside?”

Even now, he was asking her permission.

Lyra nodded.

Damon entered the room but did not sit beside her. Instead, he crouched in front of her, leaving enough distance to make it clear that she remained in control.

“May I hold you?” he asked.

Lyra could only nod again.

Damon slowly pulled her into his arms.

He did not touch her anywhere he should not. He did not try to kiss her or whisper empty promises. He simply held her while she cried.

Lyra gripped the front of his shirt as everything she had tried to suppress finally came out.

Her ruined wedding.

Vito’s lies.

Ruth’s betrayal.

Her father’s expectations.

The future she had spent years building had collapsed in one night.

Damon remained silent through all of it.

His steady heartbeat beneath her cheek slowly calmed her breathing.

For the first time since hearing Vito’s cruel confession, Lyra felt safe.

After several minutes, Damon loosened his hold.

“Are you sure you want me to stay?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll stay.”

They returned to the living room, where the storm continued beyond the tall windows. Damon placed a blanket around Lyra’s shoulders and sat on the other side of the couch.

He left enough space between them to protect her comfort, yet he remained close enough that she did not feel abandoned.

Lyra wanted to ask why he was helping her.

Men like Damon did not usually spend their nights comforting strangers. He owned part of one of the most expensive hotels in the city. His staff followed his orders without question, and even his silence carried authority.

Yet he had asked nothing from her.

Exhaustion slowly became stronger than her questions.

Lyra’s eyes closed.

The last thing she heard was Damon’s quiet voice.

“You’re safe here.”

When Lyra woke, pale morning light was beginning to appear beyond the windows.

For a few peaceful seconds, she remembered nothing.

Then the truth returned.

Vito.

Ruth.

The inheritance.

Her wedding.

It had not been a nightmare.

She turned her head and found Damon asleep at the opposite end of the couch. One arm rested along the back, but even in his sleep, he had kept his distance from her.

Lyra watched him as an unfamiliar feeling settled in her chest.

It was not love. She barely knew him.

It was trust.

After what Vito and Ruth had done, trusting anyone felt dangerous. Yet she had fallen asleep beside Damon without fear.

She quietly stood and placed the blanket over him.

For a moment, she considered leaving a note.

Thank you.

Two simple words, but they did not feel like enough.

Lyra needed to leave before Damon woke. If he showed her more kindness, she might lose the courage to face what waited for her at home.

She took the private elevator down to the lobby and left without saying goodbye.

The storm had passed, but the cold morning air still carried the scent of rain.

Lyra turned on her phone.

Dozens of missed calls and messages filled the screen.

Her father.

Vito.

Ruth.

Her stepmother.

Again and again.

Where are you?

Call me immediately.

The makeup artist is waiting.

Everyone is looking for you.

The ceremony begins in a few hours.

Not one person had asked if she was safe.

No one had asked if something had happened to her.

They were only worried that she might ruin the wedding.

Lyra turned off the screen.

Since her car had been taken away after the accident, she called for a taxi and gave the driver her family’s address.

Her chest tightened when the house came into view.

White ribbons decorated the gates. Fresh flowers covered the entrance, and rows of chairs filled the garden. Workers moved between the tables while musicians prepared near the ceremony platform.

Everything was ready.

From the outside, it looked like the perfect wedding.

Only Lyra knew that every flower and ribbon had been arranged around a lie.

The taxi had barely stopped when the front door opened.

Her father marched toward her.

For one foolish second, Lyra waited to see relief on his face.

It never came.

“Where have you been?”

There was no hug. No question about whether she was hurt. Only anger.

Vito and Ruth appeared behind him.

Together.

Vito was still dressed in yesterday’s clothes. Ruth had changed, but Lyra could not stop herself from looking down at her feet.

She was no longer wearing the white shoes.

“Lyra!” Vito hurried toward her. “Thank goodness you’re here. We’ve been calling you all night.”

He reached for her hand.

Lyra stepped back.

Vito froze.

Fear appeared in his eyes for only a second, but Lyra saw it.

Good.

Let him be afraid.

“Where did you go?” he asked carefully.

Lyra walked past him without answering.

Her stepmother waited inside the house with several wedding planners and makeup artists.

“You should have answered your phone,” she scolded. “The entire schedule has been delayed.”

She pointed toward the stairs.

“Go upstairs and take a shower. Your makeup artist has been waiting since dawn.”

Everyone stared at Lyra as though her late arrival were the greatest disaster that could happen that day.

She looked at the flowers, the wedding invitations, and the framed photograph of her and Vito beside the stairs.

Then she said the words that ended everything.

“There will be no wedding.”

Silence fell across the house.

Vito’s face lost its color.

“What did you say?”

Lyra turned toward him.

“I will not marry you.”

Her father’s expression darkened. “Have you lost your mind?”

“No. I think I finally found it.”

“You disappeared the night before your wedding, and now you return with this nonsense? Our relatives are already here. Business partners and reporters are coming. Do you know how humiliating this will be?”

Lyra looked at him in disbelief.

She had vanished all night, yet he still had not asked if she was all right.

His reputation mattered more than his daughter.

Ruth approached with false concern on her face.

“She must be overwhelmed,” she said gently. “Lyra, you’re probably frightened because everything is happening so quickly. That’s normal.”

Lyra slowly turned toward her.

Ruth had hugged her at the dress fitting. Hours later, she had climbed into Vito’s bed and mocked the words Lyra had spoken while wearing her wedding dress.

“No,” Lyra said. “I’m not frightened.”

Ruth’s smile weakened.

“I know exactly what I’m doing.”

Vito moved closer. “Lyra, whatever is wrong, we can discuss it privately.”

“There is nothing left to discuss.”

His jaw tightened. “You can’t cancel our wedding without giving me a reason.”

Lyra almost laughed.

He wanted a reason so he could build a lie around it. If she revealed what she had heard, he and Ruth would deny everything.

They might even accuse her of misunderstanding them.

Lyra would not give them the chance.

“You don’t deserve an explanation.”

Vito flinched.

Ruth’s face became pale.

They were both wondering how much she knew.

Let them wonder.

Her father stepped between them.

“That is enough. Go upstairs and get ready. You will marry Vito today.”

“No.”

His eyes widened. Lyra had rarely defied him before.

“What did you say?”

“I said no.”

“If you refuse to marry him, you will disgrace this entire family.”

“I would rather disgrace the family than destroy my life.”

Her father pointed toward the front door.

“If you walk out of this house today, you are no longer my daughter.”

The threat hung in the air.

Once, those words would have terrified her.

Lyra had spent years trying to become the daughter he wanted. She had obeyed him, protected the family’s reputation, and accepted a life chosen by everyone except herself.

Still, she had never been enough.

Ruth had betrayed her.

Vito had used her.

Her father cared more about wedding guests than her safety.

Lyra lifted her chin.

“I choose not to marry him.”

Her father’s voice turned cold. “Then leave.”

Lyra held his gaze. “I will.”

Vito rushed toward her. “Lyra, don’t make a decision you’ll regret.”

She looked directly into his eyes.

“The only thing I regret is trusting you.”

His expression changed.

Lyra did not wait for him to respond.

She walked upstairs, entered her bedroom, and locked the door.

Her wedding gown hung near the window.

For months, she had imagined Vito’s face when he saw her wearing it. Now the sight of the dress made her feel nothing.

Lyra pulled a suitcase from the closet and packed her passport, bank cards, important documents, money, and several changes of clothes.

She removed her engagement ring last.

The diamond caught the morning light as she held it between her fingers.

Vito had placed it on her hand while promising to love her forever.

Another lie.

Lyra left the ring on top of the wedding invitation bearing their names.

Then she closed her suitcase and carried it downstairs.

Everyone was still waiting.

Her father stood near the door with his arms crossed.

“So you mean it?”

“Yes.”

Her stepmother shook her head. Ruth watched in stunned silence, while Vito looked as though he were struggling to control his anger.

Lyra walked past them.

She continued through the garden, past the white chairs, flower-covered arch, and aisle she would never walk down.

Leaving hurt.

But for the first time in her life, Lyra was choosing herself.

When she reached the gate, she stopped.

A black luxury car was parked across the street.

Its rear window slowly lowered, revealing familiar blue eyes.

Damon.

Lyra’s breath caught.

How had he found her?

His gaze moved to the suitcase in her hand before returning to her face.

Lyra looked over her shoulder.

Her family watched from the windows. Vito had stepped into the garden, and Ruth stood a few feet behind him.

They were all waiting for Lyra to surrender.

She turned away from them.

When she looked at Damon again, he was already stepping out of the car.

He held a large envelope in one hand.

“You left before my staff could give you the accident report,” he explained. “Your address was on the vehicle registration.”

Lyra glanced at the car. “You delivered it yourself?”

“I wanted to make sure you were safe.”

The simple answer touched her more than it should have.

His gaze shifted toward the decorated house.

“Am I interrupting a wedding?”

“No.” Lyra tightened her grip on her suitcase. “There is no wedding anymore.”

Damon studied her face, but he did not ask for an explanation.

Instead, he opened the car door.

“Do you need a ride?”

Before Lyra could answer, Vito shouted from behind her.

“Lyra!”

She did not turn around.

She looked at Damon. “Last night, you only told me your first name.”

Something unreadable passed through his blue eyes.

“Damon Blackwood.”

Lyra froze.

Blackwood.

Everyone in the city knew that name.

The Blackwood family controlled hotels, banks, construction companies, and some of the largest properties in the country. Damon Blackwood rarely appeared in public, but stories about his wealth and power filled business magazines.

He was not simply a wealthy hotel owner.

He was one of the most powerful men in the city.

Lyra looked from Damon to the open car door.

“What is a man like you doing outside my family’s home?”

His eyes held hers.

“Waiting for you to decide where you want to go.”

Once again, he was giving her a choice.

“Lyra, get away from him!” Vito shouted.

She finally glanced back.

Vito stood at the gate, his face twisted with anger. Ruth and her parents were behind him.

They had expected Lyra to return to them.

They had expected her to remain obedient.

They were wrong.

Lyra turned back to Damon.

Then she climbed into his car.

Damon closed the door and walked around to the other side.

Vito reached the street just as the car began to move.

“Lyra!”

She did not look back.

She left behind her wedding, her family, and the man who had planned to steal her inheritance.

Lyra believed she was finally free.

She had no idea that getting into Damon Blackwood’s car would tie her to a secret powerful enough to change both their lives forever.