All Chapters of RUTHLESS HEARTS COLLIDE : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

81 Chapters

CHAPTER 11 — THE SABOTAGE BEGINS

Arielle spent the day in the mansion trying to blend into the silence.The staff still watched her like she was a stray animal Damian had accidentally dragged in. Eyes followed her through the halls, curious, distrustful, waiting for her to make one wrong move.Her breathing incident at the gala had already become rumor. She’d overheard some maids whispering,“She fainted. Embarrassing.”“Mr. Blackwood had to carry her out.”“She’s too fragile for him.”Arielle closed the pantry door and leaned against it, pressing her palms into her eyes. Her chest felt tight again, not panic, just pressure.There was no room to collapse in this house.Not when she had Emma to save.Not when the marriage wasn’t real.Not when Damian himself was unpredictable, cold one moment, strangely attentive the next, then ice again.She needed to stay invisible.But the universe had other plans.---The crash began quietly, an echo of heels on marble.Arielle straightened as the footsteps approached, confident a

CHAPTER 12 — DAMIAN PROTECTS HER

Arielle didn’t sleep, She couldn’t. Her poverty photos spread across the internet like wildfire, retweeted, reposted, edited, mocked. Memes. Commentaries. Vicious captions like knives. “Damian married a charity case.” “She grew up in the slums. Class doesn’t lie.” “Gold digger. Social climber. Opportunist.” Every time she refreshed, there were more. By dawn, she sat curled on the couch in the dim living room, a blanket around her trembling shoulders, the blue morning light painting her face with ghosts. Her phone buzzed nonstop until she shut it off. She felt stripped bare. Exposed. A spotlight thrown on her ugliest years. She thought the worst part was the humiliation. But the real worst part was knowing Emma might see it. That the little girl she was fighting to save would now see her big sister dragged across the world like entertainment. Arielle buried her face in her hands. She didn’t hear Damian approaching until his shadow fell over her. He looked different. St

CHAPTER 13 — ONE BED, ONE STORM

The mansion was too quiet. Arielle had never noticed how large, echoing, and hollow the place felt until she returned from the board meeting, heart cracked, cheeks still wet from tears she pretended weren’t tears. She replayed Damian’s words over and over, each repetition a blade twisting deeper. She means nothing, She’s just a tool. Her chest tightened, Her throat ached. She knew this marriage wasn’t real, that she wasn’t supposed to expect warmth or loyalty or care, but hearing it spoken aloud, in that cold voice… That broke something. She walked straight past the kitchen, past the curious stares of staff, and went upstairs without stopping. She couldn’t face anyone. She couldn’t risk running into Damian. Not when she was this raw. Not when she still felt the echo of humiliation and betrayal burning under her skin. But the moment she reached the bedroom hallway, the universe turned cruel. Thunder cracked like a whip across the sky. A sudden storm, violent and unrelenting

CHAPTER 14 — DANGEROUS ATTRACTION

waking up tightly wrapped around Damian wasn't what she imagined, the guy is too cold for that.For a moment, she forgot where she was. All she felt was warmth, strong, solid, steady warmth, wrapped around her like a shield she didn’t deserve. Then the thunderless silence reminded her, the storm had passed. The nightmare had happened. And she had made a mistake. She had comforted Damian Blackwood.she's fully awake now , and there he was, asleep beside her in the dim light. The man who terrified CEOs, ruined business empires, and spoke to her like she was disposable… lay and hug her tightly like something fragile he was afraid to lose. His arm was over her waist. His breath, warm against her neck. His hand, God, his hand, gently resting on her stomach, as if even in sleep he was subconsciously holding her close. Her heart lurched. They were married on paper. Practically strangers. And yet he looked… peaceful. Vulnerable. Human in a way she had never seen before. Arielle careful

CHAPTER 15 — THE FIRST CRACK

For the rest of the day, Damian avoided her. Not obviously, he didn't hide, didn’t retreat, didn’t even dismiss her. He simply… moved strategically, like a man refusing to acknowledge the current running under his skin. Every time Arielle stepped into a room, he found a reason to step out. Every time she walked beside him, he put an extra inch of distance between them. The message was clear. We got too close. He’s shutting down. Arielle didn’t blame him. After last night’s storm, after waking in his arms, after that moment in the elevator when he almost, almost lost control… Yeah. She needed distance too. But the universe didn't agree. By evening, they returned to the mansion. The sky outside was pale gold drifting into evening blue, the kind of peaceful dusk that made everything feel softer. But inside the mansion, the atmosphere was tense and brittle, held together by thin threads neither of them dared touch. Dinner was quiet. Too quiet. Damian sat at the head of the tabl

CHAPTER 16 — FRAGILE PEACE

Arielle woke up with the feeling of something heavy sitting on her chest, not fear, not confusion, but the weight of what happened yesterday she keeps replaying Damian voice in her head, “Don’t leave.” His hands gripping her arms like a drowning man clinging to air. His body curling toward her as though she were the only safe thing he had. Arielle had barely slept after that. She spent the remaining hours convincing herself, over and over, that it meant nothing. That it was a moment of weakness he’d already forgotten. That the ice in him would return by today. It had to. She couldn’t afford softness. Not when Emma’s life depended on her keeping her head straight. Not when this entire marriage was a contract, not a romance. So she slipped out of bed early, careful trying not to wake him, and dressed quickly, No makeup, No fuss, She just needed to breathe. But when she stepped out of the bedroom, she stopped short. Damian was already awake. Sitting on the edge of the living

CHAPTER 17 — THE HOSPITAL VISIT

Damian didn’t wait for Arielle to answer. The moment he saw her face, pale, streaked with tears, breathing shallow and uneven, something inside him snapped. He crouched down, hands gripping her arms with a steady but careful strength. “Arielle. What happen? who hurt you?” She shook her head, unable to form words, her breath tumbling out in panicked little gasps. Damian didn’t ask again. He simply lifted her to her feet with surprising gentleness, guided her toward his car, and opened the door like she might break if he moved too fast. “Get in,” he said quietly. She didn’t argue. She couldn’t. Within seconds, the car was moving, fast, smooth, controlled. Damian’s usual icy composure was replaced with something sharper, Focused, Protective, As though nothing else in the world mattered except getting her where she needed to be. Halfway there, Arielle finally whispered, “we need to go to the hospital, They said… Emma’s liver levels dropped. The surgery… they need to move it up,

CHAPTER 18 — DAMIAN’S OFFER

The doctor’s words kept echoing in Arielle’s skull long after he left the room. Fifty-fifty. Hope for the best… prepare for the worst. It felt like someone had reached into her chest and squeezed, not enough to kill, but enough to make breathing an act of sheer willpower. Emma slept peacefully, unaware of the storm waiting for her in the morning. The soft rise and fall of her little chest should have soothed Arielle. It didn’t. It only made her tremble harder. She wrapped her arms around herself, staring at the child she had raised, protected, fought for. The child she could lose. A hand touched her back. She startled, glancing up, and found Damian standing behind her, His eyes were darker than she had ever seen, He looks devastated. “Arielle,” he said softly. Almost gently. She swallowed. “I can’t… I can’t lose her. She’s my whole world. I...” Her voice cracked, and she turned away so he wouldn’t see. But Damian wasn’t the kind of man to let her hide from him. He stepp

CHAPTER 19 — LIAM'S VISIT

Arielle woke up to the soft hum of the hospital machines and the faint scent of antiseptic still clinging to the air. Her eyelids felt heavy, her body stiff from sleeping in the plastic chair beside Emma’s bed.For a moment, she forgot where she was.Then the memories came crashing back,the doctor’s grim expression, damian’s quiet confession, emma’s weakened breathing.Her heart tightened.She shifted, stretching the soreness in her neck, only to freeze when she noticed the silhouette across the room.Damian.Still in the same clothes from the night before, slumped in the corner chair, head tilted against the wall, long legs stretched out carelessly, as though he owned even the floor he slept on, His arms were folded, but his posture wasn’t cold like usual, It was tense, As if he had stayed awake for hours before exhaustion finally forced him under.Arielle stared.Damian Blackwood, her stern, emotionally locked husband, had spent the entire night here.Her breath caught, She should

CHAPTER 20 — The Crack Between Them

Arielle didn’t stop walking until she reached the far end of the hallway, where the windows overlooked the quiet parking lot. The sunlight was too bright for how heavy her heart felt. She pressed her palms against the cold glass, exhaling shakily.How could he think that?How could Damian, of all people, accuse her of something so cruel, so ridiculous, today?Her chest tightened, fury and hurt swirling together until she couldn’t tell the difference.Behind her, footsteps approached… then stopped halfway, hesitant.Damian.She didn’t turn.He didn’t speak at first, That alone was strange. Damian was a man who filled silence because silence gave power to others.But now?Now he stood behind her, hands in his pockets, jaw clenched, breathing uneven.“I shouldn’t have said that,” he muttered finally.Arielle laughed once, bitterly. “You think?”He flinched, just barely, but she saw it in the reflection on the glass.“I was wrong,” he added, voice quieter.She turned slowly, He looked… di

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