All Chapters of Married Twice, Loved Once : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The night was velvet-smooth, the city below glowing like a bed of diamonds scattered across darkness. Aria lay stretched across her silk sheets, her hair spilling in soft waves around her face as she lazily scrolled through Instagram.Every post was her.#AriaCarterCross was trending.Photos of her handshaking with Mr. Reed, headlines calling her “The Billion-Dollar Beauty” and “Carter Group’s Secret Weapon.”She tilted her head, a slow grin curving her lips.“Aria baby, give them sleepless nights,” she murmured to herself, laughing quietly as she double-tapped a few of her own fan edits.Her reflection gleamed in the phone screen—calm, confident, dangerous.In my past life, she thought, I was so naive. So desperate to be loved. I worked myself to the bone just to make Damian proud, just to be seen.Her smile hardened, turning razor-sharp.Now, I make the headlines. Now, I am the story.She threw her phone onto the bed, stretched like a satisfied cat, and whispered into the dim room,

Damian Cross had been awake since dawn. The mansion was silent no footsteps, no noise, just the faint hum of the air conditioning and the quiet war playing out in his mind.He sat at the edge of his bed, staring at nothing in particular, his thoughts circling like vultures. “She thinks she can behave any how under my roof?”His jaw tightened. Aria had always been unpredictable but lately, she’d become impossible.The way she smiled when she annoyed him. The way she dismissed his rules like they were background noise.She was a storm beautiful, infuriating, unstoppable.His phone buzzed on the nightstand, dragging him out of his thoughts. The name flashing across the screen made him pause.Grandma Eleanor.He answered immediately. “Good morning, Grandma.”“Morning, my boy,” came her warm, commanding voice — still strong despite her age. “I hope I didn’t wake you.”“No, ma’am. I was up.”“Good. Because I wanted to tell you I’ll be coming to visit. It’s been too long since I saw you.”

Silence pressed against the room like a living thing. Damian Cross stood there cold, unmoving his gaze fixed on the woman by the window. Aria Carter. His wife. His enemy. His biggest distraction. The faint silver of moonlight fell across her figure, catching the glimmer of her hair, the defiance in her eyes, and the venom wrapped in that soft, almost wistful voice. “I’ll make you fall for me, Damian Cross,” she whispered, unaware that he was watching. “Just so I can break you the way you broke me.” Something in him snapped. She turned slightly—too late. Their eyes met. For a heartbeat, neither spoke. The air grew thick with tension, the kind that teetered between hate and something dangerously close to desire. Damian’s voice came low, smooth, and deadly. “Repeat that.” Aria blinked, her pulse spiking. “What?” He took a slow step forward. Then another. “Go on. Say it again, sweetheart. The part about breaking me.” Her mouth went dry, but she stood her ground. “Maybe you

The sun had barely risen when Aria’s eyes fluttered open. The faint glow from the curtains painted golden streaks across the room, where Damian still lay fast asleep beside her — looking deceptively calm for a man who drove her insane.Aria sat up slowly, brushing her tangled hair back, eyes sharp and thoughtful.“What’s really going on, Aria?” she whispered to herself. “Don’t mess things up now. You’ve got too many snakes to deal with — Vivienne, Sophia, that so-called celebrity who thinks she’s relevant, and this fool lying here like he owns peace.”She glanced at Damian’s sleeping face and muttered under her breath, “You look harmless when you’re quiet… pity that it’s a lie.”Swinging her legs off the bed, she stood, stretching. “I need a new plan,” she murmured. Her mind was a battlefield — every thought a weapon, every memory a warning. “I haven’t heard from Sophia in a while. That snake’s been too quiet… and I know her silence means she’s up to something.”Aria grabbed her phone

Aria’s phone buzzed again. She sighed, reaching for it—But Damian was faster.He snatched the phone, glanced at the name flashing on the screen—Lucas Walter—and his jaw tightened like stone.Without a word, he hurled the phone onto the couch.“Hey!” Aria protested. “That’s my—”“Distraction,” he said darkly, closing the distance between them again. “And I don’t like competing with exes.”Aria crossed her arms, lips curling. “Compete? Damian, you barely qualified for the game.”He gave a low chuckle, that dangerous, lazy kind that sent heat crawling up her neck. “You talk too much for someone whose lips were trembling a minute ago.”She gasped, scandalized and maybe a little impressed.“Oh, wow. The great Mr. Cross has jokes now? What’s next, a sense of humor?”Damian leaned in, voice dropping to a husky whisper.“Maybe. Or maybe I just prefer to let my actions do the talking.”Before she could retort, his hand slid behind her neck and his mouth found hers again—slow this time, delibe