Did I Make The Right Choice?

Amara’s POV

The door slammed open so hard the sound shook through me. My chest rattled like the walls had taken the hit.

I whipped my head toward it, pulse jumping.

The man who walked in didn’t belong to this office. He wasn’t staff, and he definitely wasn’t here to deliver coffee or paperwork. He carried himself differently. Tall. Shoulders wide, posture straight. A dark coat rested over him, the kind you notice before you notice the person. He walked in like he didn’t need an invitation.

Then his eyes landed on me.

Cold gray. Almost silver. I froze. The weight of that look held me where I stood.

“Interrupting something?” His voice was smooth, steady. But it made my skin tighten, like danger hidden under calm.

Lucian stiffened beside the desk. His jaw locked as he said, “You’re early.”

The man smirked, easy and relaxed. “Didn’t know I was supposed to run on your schedule, cousin.”

Cousin.

The word hit me hard.

So this wasn’t a stranger. This was family.

His eyes slid back to me, slower now, as though he wanted to take his time. “And who’s this?” His mouth curved. “Doesn’t look like your usual distraction.”

Heat rushed up my throat. My answer shot out before I could think. “I’m not his distraction.”

He blinked, then gave a small laugh, like I’d just made his day. “Fiery. Not your type at all, Lucian.”

Lucian’s voice dropped, hard and sharp. “Damian. Out.”

Damian.

So this was Damian.

The way he moved was nothing like Lucian. Lucian carried stillness. Control. Damian was different. He looked relaxed, casual, as he walked deeper into the room. His fingers went into his pockets. He didn’t seem bothered at all that he was being ordered out.

There was similarity in the jaw, in the sharp mouth. But the energy was different. Lucian felt like stone. Damian felt like someone who liked breaking stone apart.

He stopped close to me. Too close. My stomach twisted as his eyes swept over me slowly, like he was making sure he wouldn’t forget.

“Does she know what she’s walking into?” His voice was calm but the question landed like a threat.

My throat tightened. “Excuse me?”

He leaned his head. “Lucian’s deals. They sound good at first. But they don’t end the way you think. He’ll promise you the world, but you’ll ….” He left the rest hanging. His smirk said enough.

“Enough.” Lucian’s voice snapped across the space, sharp enough to cut.

I flinched.

Lucian stepped forward, placing himself in front of me. His body blocked Damian’s view, solid and unyielding. His presence was too close, charged with anger—and something else I couldn’t put a name to.

Damian chuckled, low. “Touched a nerve?”

Lucian’s jaw flexed. “Leave.”

The silence stretched. Damian looked at me one last time, his stare slow and heavy, like he wanted me to remember it later. Then he gave a mocking bow.

“As you wish. But don’t say I didn’t warn her.”

He turned and left, calm as though the room wasn’t full of tension. The door shut softly behind him.

But he didn’t feel gone. His words stuck to me, clinging like smoke.

Lucian stayed in front of me, shoulders tense, his whole body wound tight. He didn’t move for several seconds. His jaw worked like he was grinding back words.

Finally I whispered, “Your cousin?”

His eyes were still hard when he looked at me. “Stay away from him.”

I swallowed. “He didn’t look like he planned on staying away from me.”

Lucian’s lips curved, but it wasn’t a smile. “Then don’t encourage him.”

My anger flared. “I didn’t encourage him! I was just standing here!”

“You spoke to him,” Lucian said flatly. “That’s enough for him.”

The sharpness stung. My chest burned as my voice rose. “So now I’m not even allowed to talk? I walked into this room to announce that I'm pregnant, you threw me a deal that I still couldn't fathom, and now you are playing like—"

“You’re not just going to be my employee,” he interrupted, his tone as hard as steel. Eyes flashed with mine. “You’re the future mother of my child. And that gives me permission to take care of what belongs to me.”

The words hit.

My fists balled up. “I’m not yours.”

Something flashed in his eyes. Too quickly for me to decipher. Then he looked away, and poured himself a glass. The liquid splashing against glass broke the silence. It was peaceful. Too peaceful.

“Whether you like it or not,” he told her, his tone subdued, “you’re in my world now. And in my world, men like Damian prey around the periphery they smell weakness at. Don’t give him one.”

I hated the way he said it. Like a rule already written. Like I didn’t have a choice.

But Damian’s words wouldn’t leave me.

Lucian’s deals never end the way you think.

Lucian turned back toward me, a glass in his hand, his expression cold again. “So, what’s it going to be, Amara? Do we have a deal?”

My lungs squeezed tight. My brain screamed to leave. To run. But then Selena’s face came to me. Her worried eyes. The bills stacked on the counter. The empty fridge. And those two pink lines on the test. A reminder of the life already inside me.

I wasn’t just choosing for me.

I was choosing for the baby.

My lips trembled, but my voice came out steady. “Yes.”

Something flickered in his eyes. For a heartbeat, his expression softened. Then it was gone.

“Good.” He set the glass down. “You’ll move into my estate tomorrow. My driver will pick you up in the morning. Don’t be late.”

Shock went through me. “Tomorrow?”

His gaze held mine, firm and certain. “The sooner the better.”

The words sat heavy in my chest.

I wanted to scream. To fight. To say no. But my throat wouldn’t open. My body felt pinned in place.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow I would step into Lucian Draxen’s world.

And once I did, there’d be no way out.