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I should have walked away.Instead, another camera flashed, and Damien Blackwood held the car door open like he already knew what I would choose.“Five seconds, Elena.”“I don’t take orders from Blackwoods anymore.”“Good. Then consider it advice.”Voices grew louder behind me.“Elena! Did Adrian cheat?”“Is the wedding cancelled?”“Who is Damien Blackwood to you?”That last question made my stomach drop.I climbed into the car.Damien followed.The door shut, and the shouting disappeared.Silence.For the first time since finding Adrian with Sabrina, nobody was asking me to forgive anyone.I looked at Damien.“Why were you at my wedding?”“My father invited me.”“Adrian didn’t?”“My brother would rather choke.”Despite myself, I almost smiled.My phone vibrated.MOM.I ignored it.Then Adrian called.Decline.A message appeared.Where are you?Another followed.Come back before you make this worse.I laughed bitterly.Damien glanced at me.“What?”“He thinks I’m the one making things

For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.“You were with my father?”“Yes.”“Three days before he died?”Damien nodded.My father had been dead for four years.Four years of grief, and somehow Damien Blackwood had been part of his final days.“You knew him?”“Very well.”“Then why have I never heard your name?”“That’s complicated.”I laughed bitterly.“Everything about you is complicated.”“Elena—”“No. You brought up my father. Explain.”Damien walked toward the windows.“Years ago, when I left the Blackwood family, my father made sure every door closed behind me.”I knew that story.Damien had walked away from Blackwood Holdings and built his own company.At least, that was the public version.“Your father helped me,” he continued.“How?”“He introduced me to people willing to listen when nobody wanted to take a meeting with Richard Blackwood’s disobedient son.”That sounded like Dad.“So you were friends?”Damien looked at me.“He gave me a chance when my own family wanted me to fail

“Only four people know.”Damien’s voice had lost every trace of amusement.“You, me, Claire and whoever is performing the ceremony tomorrow.”I folded my arms.“Apparently five.”Damien called Claire.She returned almost immediately.“Who booked the ceremony?” he asked.“I did.”“Who did you tell?”“No one.”“Not even Cole?”“No.”Damien’s expression hardened.Claire looked between us.“What happened?”“My father knows.”Her face changed.“That’s impossible.”“Apparently not.”My stomach tightened.“Could Adrian have told him?”“Adrian didn’t know until five minutes ago.”“He could have called him immediately.”“He could.”Damien didn’t sound convinced.Claire checked her tablet.“I’ll find out.”When she left, silence settled over the penthouse.I suddenly became very aware that I was standing in a stranger’s home, planning to marry him tomorrow.“This is insane.”Damien looked at me.“Which part?”“All of it.”I gestured between us.“This morning, I had a fiancé.”“A terrible one.”

“Elena!”Adrian pounded on the door again.“Open it!”Damien didn’t move.Neither did I.“How did he get upstairs?” I whispered.“He shouldn’t have.”Another knock shook the door.“Elena, I know you can hear me!”Damien reached for his phone.I stopped him.“Wait.”His eyes narrowed.“You don’t owe him a conversation.”“I know.”“Then let security remove him.”I looked at the door.Yesterday, I would have avoided the confrontation.Today, I was tired of running.“I want to hear what he has to say.”Damien studied me.Then stepped aside.“My choice, remember?”His jaw tightened.“Your choice.”I opened the door.Adrian stood outside.His tie was gone. His hair was messy, and his eyes were wild.The moment he saw me, relief crossed his face.“Elena.”Then he saw Damien behind me.The relief vanished.“What the hell are you doing here?”I almost laughed.“This is his home.”“I’m not talking to you.”“Then leave.”Adrian stepped forward.Damien immediately moved between us.“Take another

I stared at Damien.“What do you mean, stop my wedding?”“Victoria asked to meet me three nights ago.”“The woman your father wanted you to marry?”“Yes.”“And you went?”“She had information about your marriage.”My stomach tightened.“What information?”Damien handed my phone back.“She heard our fathers discussing the Hart-Blackwood merger.”“Our fathers?”“My father and hers.”“And?”“Your marriage to Adrian came with business provisions you weren’t told about.”A chill ran through me.“What provisions?”“After the marriage, Blackwood Holdings would gain significant influence over Hart Industries.”“My mother would never agree to that.”“Are you certain?”I opened my mouth.Nothing came out.Mom had wanted me to marry Adrian even after discovering Sabrina.She had called his betrayal a personal problem.“What else did Victoria tell you?”“That documents would be presented after the wedding.”My mind flashed to Mom’s call.There are documents you need to sign.Routine authorization