All Chapters of Ruin Me, Blackwood: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

Dominic’s POVThe first rays of dawn filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows of my office, casting a cold light on the sleek surfaces and polished steel that surrounded me. The city below was waking, but my mind was restless, consumed by the quiet storm that had settled inside me overnight. Amelia’s words from the night before echoed relentlessly—words filled with hope, but also fragility. Trust. No more walls. Could I really tear down the fortress I’d built around myself? Could I dare to let her see the parts of me I’d hidden away for so long?I reached for the untouched glass of whiskey on my desk, but the sharp sting of the liquid was nothing compared to the ache in my chest. Years of pain, loss, and betrayal had sculpted the man I’d become—gritty, ruthless, and unyielding. Vulnerability wasn’t a luxury I could afford, especially not with her.The truth was, Amelia didn’t know what she was stepping into. She saw the surface—the cold, demanding CEO, the hard edges. But beneath

Dominic’s POVThe penthouse felt suffocating tonight, though it was the height of luxury — sleek glass walls, minimalist decor, the kind of place that should inspire power and control. Instead, it felt like a cage. A cage I built myself, brick by brick, to keep the chaos of my past locked away. But the past had a way of seeping through the cracks, and tonight, the cracks felt wider than ever.I stood by the windows, looking out at the city that never truly slept. The twinkling lights below were like distant stars, cold and unreachable, yet impossible to ignore. I wanted to believe I was untouchable — a Blackwood, invincible and relentless — but beneath the carefully curated facade, I was unraveling. The confession I’d made to Amelia last night clung to me like a second skin, raw and vulnerable.Her eyes had held something I wasn’t used to seeing — understanding, but also something fierce, something that challenged the very core of who I was. It was terrifying and intoxicating all at o

Amelia’s POVI didn’t want to come here tonight. Honestly, I should have stayed in my apartment, hidden away from the chaos of Dominic’s world and the storm raging inside me. But something pulled me back — that fragile thread of hope we’d spun yesterday, the promise that maybe we could be broken together instead of alone.The elevator ride up to his penthouse felt endless, my heart pounding louder with every floor. I kept my hands clenched tightly in front of me, trying to tame the rush of nerves that felt like a wild tide threatening to drag me under. When the doors slid open, the soft hum of the city below was swallowed by the quiet tension inside.Dominic was already there, pacing near the floor-to-ceiling window, silhouetted against the glowing skyline. His broad shoulders were tense, jaw clenched tight like he was holding back something fierce. But when his eyes landed on me, the hardness that usually cut like a blade softened, if only for a flicker.“Amelia,” he said quietly, vo

Amelia’s POVThe soft, golden light of dawn slipped through the curtains and painted the room in warm hues, casting long shadows that seemed to dance slowly across the floor. For a fleeting moment, the world felt gentle — quieter than I’d expected after the storm Dominic and I had ignited the night before. I lay still beside him, tracing the rise and fall of his chest, the steady rhythm of his breathing anchoring me in the present. It was the kind of peace I hadn’t realized I’d been craving, the fragile calm that follows the chaos of a long battle.But beneath the surface of that quiet moment, my mind was anything but calm. It churned with doubts, fears, and questions that refused to be silenced.Dominic had let me inside the fortress of his life — a place no one else had breached. He had peeled back layers of anger, pain, and control to show me the man underneath, and it scared me in ways I couldn’t fully understand. His scars were more than skin deep; they were etched into his soul,

Amelia’s POVThe apartment was swallowed in darkness when we finally stepped inside, save for the faint amber glow leaking through the blinds—city lights struggling to keep the shadows at bay. I paused at the door, the weight of the night pressing down on me like an invisible shroud, thick and suffocating. The air smelled faintly of leather and something else—Dominic. It clung to him like a second skin, the scent of power mixed with a dangerous undercurrent I could never quite name.He moved ahead of me, methodical and silent, the tension in his broad shoulders as palpable as the storm raging inside his eyes. The man who commanded boardrooms and controlled empires now seemed like a caged animal pacing restlessly in a gilded cage. Watching him unravel in these rare, quiet moments was both mesmerizing and terrifying.I swallowed the lump in my throat, feeling raw and exposed beneath the weight of everything unsaid. The night air, heavy with secrets and half-formed confessions, hung betw