Chapter Five: The First phase

The phone rang at 2:18 p.m.

Amara was in her suite, curled on the white linen sofa, sunlight spilling across the marble floor like liquid gold. She had been staring at the city, not seeing it—her mind drifting between memories of the past and the fragile future she was trying to build.

When her phone rang.

Mama.

She answered.

“Amara,” Lena said, voice tight, “you need to turn on Variety. Or Entertainment Weekly. Or any news site. Right now.”

Amara sat up. “What happened?”

“James and Lila,” Lena said. “They held a press conference this morning. Together. Hand in hand. Smiling like they’ve just found true love.”

Amara’s breath stilled.

“Go on,” she whispered.

“They said… they said that the man you married was wgo you cheated with. And that Lila was just there for him after you destroyed everything. And that… that they fell in love in the wreckage.”

Amara closed her eyes.

Of course.

They weren’t just covering their tracks.

They were rewriting history.

“I saw the videos,” James had said in the press clip Lena sent. “I saw her dancing. she had been cheating on me with that man all this while, and when they got married,It broke me.”

“And I supported him through all the betrayal” Lila had added, eyes glistening. “We didn’t plan this. But love doesn’t follow plans.”

Amara’s hands clenched.

they were lying,

But the world didn’t care about truth.

It cared about the story.

And theirs was clean. Tragic. Romantic.

Hers? A scandal.

A slut. A liar. A failure.

“And it gets worse,” Lena said. “I just got off the phone with my contact at Apex Entertainment.”

Amara opened her eyes. “Apex? What about them?”

“They want you to star in their new film. Eclipse. Psychological thriller. Big budget. International release.”

Amara’s heart pounded. “okay? i knew about that—”

“Lila’s the lead,” Lena cut in. “You’re second lead. Amara… why would they even consider you? After everything? After the scandal? After the cancellations? Apex doesn’t sign fallen stars. They sign legends.”

Amara exhaled slowly. “Because Damian has shares in the company.”

Silence.

Then: “Damian? Your husband? The man whose men kidnapped you from our home and brought you back married?”

Amara winced. “They didn’t kidnap me, Mama. I went with them willingly. I chose this.”

“And why? i dont understand” Lena’s voice cracked. “Why would you marry a man you barely know? Why would you leave your home, your life, your mother—for a man who lives like a ghost in a tower?”

Amara closed her eyes.

She wanted to tell her.

She ached to.

But the truth was a blade—sharp, dangerous, capable of cutting everyone it touched.

“I can’t explain it,” she said softly. “Not yet. It’s… complicated.”

“Complicated?” Lena repeated. “Amara, im you’re mother and agent. You were drugged. You were thrown to the wolves. And now you’re married to a man no one knows, living in a penthouse like a prisoner, and suddenly you’re getting second lead in a major film? And you expect me to believe it’s just coincidence?”

“It’s not coincidence,” Amara said. “It’s opportunity. And I’m taking it.”

“And what does he get?” Lena asked. “What does Damian want from you?”

Amara didn’t answer.

Because she knew.

He wants to study her.

He wants relief from what is happening to him.

He wanted her.

But she couldn’t say that.

Not yet.

“I wish I could tell you,” she said, voice breaking. “I do. But I can’t. Not right now.”

There was a long silence.

Then, gently: “Then at least let me meet him.”

Amara opened her eyes. “What?”

“I want to meet your husband,” Lena said. “I don’t care if he’s a billionaire. I don’t care if he owns half of Manhattan. He’s married to my daughter. He’s shaping your life. And I deserve to look him in the eye. To see if he sees you—not just the scandal, not just the woman who can fix his world, but you.”

Amara swallowed.

She wanted her mother to meet Damian.

She needed it.

But Damian’s secret wasn’t just his.

It was hers now.

And if it got out?

it was against her nda plus Damian had told her why it can't get out, His uncle—a ruthless board member of Blackwell Biotech—had been waiting for a weakness. A vulnerability. If he found out Damian’s body couldn’t handle human contact, he’d use it. He’d claim Damian was unfit to lead, seize control of his parents’ company, destroy everything he’d built.

“No,” Amara said. “I can’t promise that.”

“Why not?” Lena asked.

“Because… it’s not just about trust,” Amara said. “It’s about survival. His. Mine. If certain things get out… it could destroy us both.”

Lena was quiet. Then: “I’m your mother, Amara. You don’t have to protect me from the truth.”

“I know,” Amara whispered. “And I will tell you. When I can. But until then… I’ll see what I can do.”

She ended the call.

And sat in the silence, heart pounding, grief and rage twisting in her chest.

They had taken her body.

They had taken her future.

They had taken her name.

But they hadn’t taken her voice.

Not yet.

Damian was in his office, as she expected.

The door was slightly ajar, the low hum of the climate control the only sound. He sat at his desk, reviewing a document, his profile sharp in the dim light.

Amara knocked.

“Come in,” he said.

She stepped inside.

He looked up. “Amara.”

She closed the door behind her. “My mother wants to meet you.”

Damian didn’t react at first. Then he set the document down. “And you told her?”

“I told her I’d ask. She wants to understand why I’m doing this. Why I married you. She thinks… she thinks I’m being used.”

“And are you?” he asked, voice calm.

“No,” Amara said. “But she doesn’t know that. And I can’t tell her why. Not the real reason.”

Damian stood, walking to the window. “If she knows about my condition… it gets complicated. My uncle sits on the board of Blackwell Biotech. He’s been waiting for a weakness. If he finds out I’m allergic to human touch—that my body attacks every contact—he’ll use it. He’ll claim I’m unstable. Unfit. He’ll take everything my parents built.”

Amara nodded. “I know.”

“So I can’t tell her the full truth,” Damian said. “Not yet.”

“But you’ll meet her?” Amara asked.

He turned. “Yes. I’ll meet her. I’ll explain what I can. That we’re in a partnership. That I respect you. That I’m helping you rebuild. But I won’t mention the condition. Not unless you’re sure she can keep it.”

Amara exhaled. “She can.”

“Then I’ll have Niles schedule it.”

She looked at him—really looked.

And for the first time, she saw not just the billionaire, not just the man behind the walls.

She saw the weight he carried.

The loneliness.

The fear.

The quiet desperation.

“Thank you,” she said.

He nodded. “Is that all?”

“No,” she said. “Lila and James held a press conference. They’re calling their affair a love story. They exposed how we really met and they are claiming that she was just comforting him.”

Damian’s jaw tightened. “Let them talk.”

“But they’re winning,” Amara said, voice breaking. “They’re the victims. I’m the villain.”

“For now,” Damian said. “But you’re not here to play victim. You’re here to outshine them. To remind the world who you are. And when the time comes… we’ll expose them. But not yet. First, you take the stage. You play your role. You make them see you.”

“im sorry i couldnt get you the lead” Damian said. “I fought for it. But they gave it to Lila because of the ‘sympathy factor.’ They think she’s the one who’s been wronged. I couldn’t change that.”

She looked at him. “But you got me the role at all. That’s more than anyone else would’ve done.”

He didn’t smile. But something in his eyes softened.

“Then we’ll make the second lead unforgettable.”

She turned to leave.

But as she stepped toward the door, her heel caught on the edge of the thick Persian rug.

She stumbled.

Instinctively, Damian reached out.

His hands caught her arms, steadying her.

They froze.

Amara’s breath hitched.

His grip was firm. Warm. Human.

And he didn’t pull away.

They stood like that—close, too close—his hands on her bare arms, her body just a breath from his. The air between them thickened, charged with something neither could name.

She looked up.

His eyes were wide. Not with fear.

With wonder.

“I… I forgot what this felt like,” he whispered.

Amara’s heart pounded.

Not from the fall.

From this.

From the way his thumbs brushed her skin. From the way his breath warmed her forehead. From the raw, unguarded look in his eyes—the look of a man who had spent a decade in silence, in isolation, and had just remembered what it meant to feel.

“I’m sorry,” he said, but he didn’t let go. “I shouldn’t have—”

“No,” she whispered. “It’s okay.”

He searched her face. “Does it… bother you? When I touch you?”

She thought of James—his hands, always possessive, always demanding.

Of the stranger in the hotel—his weight, his violence.

Of the world, calling her a slut for something she hadn’t even remembered.

Then she looked at Damian.

At the way he held her—careful. Reverent.

At the way he asked before he touched.

At the way he looked at her now—not with hunger, but with awe.

“No,” she said. “It doesn’t bother me.”

For a heartbeat, neither moved.

Then, slowly, he released her.

Stepped back.

The moment shattered.

“I should go,” Amara said, voice unsteady.

He nodded. “There’s something else.”

She waited.

“The Apex investor gala is next week. They’re raising funds for Eclipse. It’ll be televised. Every major studio head, producer, critic will be there. And they expect you to attend.”

Amara tensed. “With you?”

“Yes,if you dont mind” he said. “I’ll walk the red carpet with you. Stand beside you during the announcement. Then I’ll leave. I won’t stay long. I’ll avoid contact. But for those few minutes… you need the exposure”

Her breath caught.

“I Understand, but you don’t have to do that” she said. “I can go alone.”

“I know,” he said. “But you shouldn’t have to.”

She looked at him—really looked.

And for the first time, she saw not just the billionaire, not just the man with a secret.

She saw the loneliness.

The man who hadn’t shaken a hand in ten years.

Who hadn’t hugged his father.

Who hadn’t brushed fingers with a lover.

And yet, he was offering to stand in the light—for her.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He didn’t respond.

But something in his eyes shifted—a crack in the ice.

She turned and left.

The Awakening

Back in her room, Amara stood by the window, the city glittering below.

She thought of Damian.