Chapter 9

I Refuse to Run

"Lily!"

My scream echoed through the mansion.

I pushed past Damian before anyone could stop me.

The front door was wide open.

Rain poured from the sky, soaking the marble steps.

"Lily!"

Nothing.

The driveway was empty.

No footsteps.

No car.

No sign that anyone had been there.

It was as if she had vanished.

I stood in the rain, breathing hard, my heart pounding so violently it hurt.

Behind me, Damian's voice broke through the silence.

"Angela."

I didn't turn around.

"Don't."

"I need you to come inside."

I laughed bitterly.

"Inside?"

I spun to face him.

"You want me to go back inside after someone stole the only thing my mother ever left for me?"

His jaw tightened.

"I'll get it back."

"How?"

He didn't answer.

"Exactly."

I wiped my tears with the back of my hand.

"For hours you've been telling me to trust you."

"You've asked me to marry you."

"You've promised to protect me."

"But every answer you give leads to another secret."

His eyes never left mine.

"I know."

"No, you don't."

I stepped closer until only a few inches separated us.

"If you knew..."

My voice cracked.

"...you would have handed me that letter the moment we met."

Silence.

Cold.

Heavy.

Painful.

Finally, Damian spoke.

"I made the wrong choice."

The admission caught me off guard.

He looked genuinely regretful.

"I thought keeping you in the dark would keep you safe."

"It didn't."

"No."

He lowered his head for a moment.

"It only made you hate me."

"I don't hate you."

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

His eyes lifted to mine.

"I don't know you well enough to hate you."

I took a shaky breath.

"But I don't know if I can trust you either."

For the first time since we'd met...

I saw relief in his eyes.

"As strange as it sounds..."

"That's the most honest thing you've said all day."

A tiny laugh escaped me.

I wasn't even sure why.

Maybe because honesty felt rare today.

Maybe because I was exhausted.

Maybe because, despite everything...

He wasn't pretending to be perfect.

A black umbrella appeared over my head.

I turned.

It was the older housekeeper.

"Miss Angela," she said gently.

"You'll catch a cold."

The kindness in her voice almost broke me.

I whispered a quiet thank you.

When we returned inside, Damian's grandmother was waiting.

She looked furious.

"This has gone far enough."

No one answered.

She looked directly at Damian.

"End this."

"I'm not ending anything."

"You'll destroy this family."

"No."

His voice was calm.

"The truth will."

Her face turned pale.

"You've said too much."

"I haven't said enough."

I frowned.

"What truth?"

The old woman looked at me with an expression I couldn't read.

Pity.

Fear.

Guilt.

Perhaps all three.

Then she reached into her handbag.

Without warning, she placed an old photograph on the table.

"Look at it."

I picked it up.

It showed a beautiful young woman smiling beneath a flowering tree.

She looked... familiar.

Very familiar.

My breath caught.

She looked exactly like me.

Only older.

"My mother..."

I whispered.

Then I noticed someone standing beside her.

A young man.

Tall.

Dark-haired.

His arm rested protectively around her shoulders.

I slowly looked up at Damian.

His face had gone completely still.

I looked back at the photograph.

The young man...

Had Damian's eyes.

"Who is he?"

No one answered.

My pulse raced.

I looked from the photograph to Damian again.

"Tell me."

His lips parted.

Before he could speak—

The front gates burst open.

A convoy of black vehicles rolled into the estate.

One after another.

Luxury SUVs.

Security cars.

A limousine.

The servants froze.

Even Damian's grandmother looked alarmed.

The butler rushed inside, pale as a ghost.

"Mr. Kingsley..."

He struggled to catch his breath.

"They're here."

Damian's expression hardened instantly.

"I told them not to come."

"They said they weren't asking for permission."

The front doors swung open.

A tall, silver-haired man entered with the quiet confidence of someone who owned every room he walked into.

His gaze swept over everyone before stopping on me.

For a long moment...

He simply stared.

Then his eyes filled with emotion.

He took one slow step toward me.

And said seven words that turned my world upside down.

"...She has her mother's eyes."