Real Daughter

Chapter 3

Ravenna's POV

This couldn't be happening.

While my heart was bleeding, Damien stood, pulled her close, and kissed her in front of everyone.

In front of me.

I couldn’t hear the music anymore. Just the blood rushing in my ears.

They walked off the stage hand in hand, not one glance in my direction. It was like I’d been erased.

Abruptly my legs moved.

I don’t remember deciding to, but my feet were already carrying me toward the restricted area behind the stage.

I felt so many things at once — anger, pain, and worse, denial.

“Ma’am, you can’t go back there,” a security guard blocked me with his arm.

“That’s my boyfriend!” I snapped.

“Please step back.” The guard said, his face twisting in irritation.

I let out a sound that didn’t feel human. “Damien!” I shouted over the noise. “Damien!”

My voice echoed so loudly that I drew attention but I didn't care.

The guard grabbed my arm. “Ma’am, calm down.”

“Don’t touch me!” I jerked away, nearly losing my balance. “Damien!”

He paused mid-laugh, finally drawn to the sound of my voice.

Our eyes met.

For a second, just a second, I saw recognition.

Then resentment.

He leaned toward Lilith, whispered something in her ear, and walked over slowly, like I was an inconvenience.

“What is this?” he demanded when he reached the barrier.

I stared at him. “Tell me that was a prank.”

He frowned. “What?”

“Tell me that proposal was a stupid stunt. Tell me you didn’t just humiliate me in front of everyone.”

People nearby had gone quiet. Phones were pointed in our direction now.

“Ravenna,” he muttered under his breath, “not here.”

“Not here?” My voice cracked. “Where would you prefer? In our house? In our bed where you made love to me?”

He glanced at the security guard. “Let her through.”

The guard hesitated, throwing me a look then stepped aside.

I walked toward him, my legs trembling.

“Look at me,” I pleaded. “Tell me it was a mistake.”

His expression hardened as he pushed me deeper into the hallway away from the paparazzi to a more secluded area. “You’re embarrassing yourself.”

“Embarrassing myself?” I laughed, shaking him off me. “You proposed to another woman.”

“And?”

He asked callously like we were discussing the weather.

“And?” I repeated, disbelief flooding my chest. “I’m your girlfriend.”

He dragged a hand down his face. “You’ve been unbearable for months.”

“Because I was recovering from surgery to save your life!”

“Lower your voice,” he whispered through gritted teeth as someone walked past.

“No, I won’t.”

He leaned closer, his tone sharpening. “Why do you always have to make everything dramatic?”

“Dramatic?” I shot back, my anger spiking. “You gave my ring to that stupid woman!”

In one sharp motion, his palm collided with my jaw.

SLAP.

My head snapped to the side, the world spinning as I tasted blood.

“Don’t you dare insult my wife.” He barked.

I stared at him in disbelief, my cheek burning.

“You slapped me?” I whispered.

“You forced me to react.”

My chest tightened so painfully I could barely breathe. “I stood by you. I almost died for you.”

He let out a humorless laugh. “No one asked you to.”

Those words landed deeper than the slap. 

He stepped back and looked me up and down, slow and cruel. “Did you really think this was going to last?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” My hands balled into fists by my side as I forced back tears.

He gestured vaguely toward me. “Look at you.”

My stomach dropped.

“How can a man of my status marry a woman like you?” Every word sent a dagger to my heart. “I have left you. No one wants a fat pig!”

The words came out of Damien’s mouth so casually, so cleanly, like they hadn’t just sliced through me.

Heat flooded my face. I became painfully aware of the fabric stretched across my stomach. Of how visible I suddenly felt.

He knew how insecure I was about my weight yet he didn’t care, using it to crush my heart.

I couldn’t hold them back anymore. Tears burned my eyes, blurring his face. “Where was this attitude when I saved your life?”

His jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t deny it.

“I’ve been plus size my entire life,” I continued, my chest heaving. “Why didn’t you reject me three years ago? Why now?”

Why now, after I had poured everything into him?

After I had used my father’s business connections to build his brand?

After I had convinced sponsors to give him a chance when no one knew he was a racer?

Why now, when he finally was at the top of his game? 

He rubbed his temples, disappointment written all over his features. 

“This fat pig used her father’s company to build you up from nothing!”

He let out a short laugh. “Your father’s company?”

“Yes. My father’s…”

“Adoptive father,” he cut in sharply.

I blinked.

That was beside the point.

“That doesn’t matter,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s still my company.”

Damien’s expression hardened.

“Was,” he corrected.

I stared at him. “What?”

“It was your company,” he said slowly, like he was explaining something simple to a child. “Not anymore.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“What are you talking about?”

He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “You’re not the real heir, Ravenna.”

The world seemed to tilt. There was something in his tone that made it known there was something he wasn’t saying.

“You’re no longer the owner,” Damien said. “Because your father willed the company to his real daughter.”

“What are you not telling me Damien?” My voice dropped to a whisper. 

“The truth is his real daughter owns the company.”

His words didn't make any sense.

“Who is this daughter you’re talking about?” I demanded.

He didn’t answer.

He didn’t need to.

Footsteps echoed confidently against the marble floor as Lilith stepped into the hallway like she had been waiting for her cue. 

She smiled at me cruelly and my blood pressure went through the roof.

“Finally," she began, even though no one asked her to speak. “I have been dying to tell you this.”

I gawked at her astonished, the pieces of the puzzle fitting in now.

“You…” My voice broke. “You’re his…”

“Biological daughter?” She finished smoothly. “Yes.”

Lilith looked me dead in the eye.

“I’m back to take what's mine. I am the new owner of Thorne’s Renegades.”