Chapter Nineteen — “Buried Scars”

So close.

The words stayed in my head. I stared at the spot where Damian had just been. I could still feel the moment at dinner, his hand almost touching mine. That pause. That heat. The way he didn’t pull away, not because he didn’t want to, but because he didn’t know if he should.

Now he was gone. And Lily was in danger. None of it felt real.

I stood from the floor, phone tight in my hand. The screen was dark now, but I still saw the photo. Lily is in the hospital. Tubes. Oxygen. And that awful message.

Protect her. Or I will.

He was back. And this time, he wanted me to know.

I didn’t even have time to think before I heard footsteps. Damian came down the hall. His face was hard to read.

His eyes went to me. Then to my phone.

“I talked to Mark,” he said.

I nodded. “Someone got into her room.”

He looked tense. “Security said no one without access came or left.”

“They wouldn’t catch him,” I said. “He’s careful. Always has been.”

Damian raised his eyebrows. “Who?”

“Ethan.”

The name felt like ice between us.

He didn’t look surprised. Just sharper.

“What makes you sure?”

“Because this is what he does. Threats that sound like offers. Warnings dressed like help. That message? It wasn’t a warning. It was control. He’s letting me know he’s watching.”

Damian’s jaw tightened. “You should’ve told me this before.”

I let out a short laugh. “Told you what? That my ex might come back? That he used to make me feel like I was losing my mind?”

“You should’ve told me what he did.”

“Would you have believed me?”

“Yes.”

“No.” My voice rose. “You would’ve thought it through, figured out how it might hurt you. Maybe you’d still help, but not because you believe me. Because it fits your plan.”

“You really think that’s all I care about?”

“I think that’s all you let yourself care about.”

He watched me for a second. Then I said the one thing I hadn’t told anyone.

“He kept me away from everyone. Friends. Family. Even myself.”

Damian didn’t speak.

“He emptied my accounts,” I said. “Even Lily’s. When I pushed back, he said if I ever embarrassed him again, I’d never see her.”

Damian’s eyes were dark.

“I stayed longer than I should’ve,” I said. “I was scared. I didn’t know who I was anymore.”

And when I left… I paid for it.

“You hid all this because you thought it was safer?” he asked.

“Yes. When I’m the one holding the truth, at least I know what it can do.”

He stepped forward. “You’ve been lying to me since the start.”

“I’ve been trying to stay alive.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“I barely trust myself,” I said. “You don’t know what it’s like. He made people believe I was the crazy one.”

“Were you?”

It hit me hard. Not because it was cruel. But because I’d wondered that too.

“I didn’t think so,” I said. “But he made me believe I was.”

Damian let out a breath. “Why didn’t you come to me when it started again?”

“Because I didn’t know if I was trading one cage for another.”

He stared at me.

“You married me to protect your business,” I said. “You said love had nothing to do with it. You gave me Lily’s safety like it was a deal. You treat me like I’m either useful or a problem. So no, I didn’t think you’d care.”

“You think I’m like him?”

“No,” I said quietly. “You’re worse.”

That landed hard.

“At least he acted like he loved me,” I said. “You don’t even fake it.”

Damian’s face didn’t move, but something changed in the air.

“I do what I need to keep things safe,” he said.

“You keep things locked.”

“So what now?” he asked. “You want me to say sorry for the choices you made before me?”

“I want you to stop acting like I owe you for surviving.”

His voice turned cold. “You think this is survival? You’re in a mansion. With guards.”

“Don’t act like that’s the same as freedom.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “You call him dangerous, but you still keep quiet.”

“Because talking never saved me,” I said, louder. “Every time I told the truth, I got hurt worse. And you… you already see me as weak.”

Damian’s eyes flicked away just for a second. Like something in him flinched. 

But when he looked back, his face was steel

“Then maybe you should’ve picked someone stronger,” he said.