Chapter 5: Damage Control
970 Words
Aria woke up to her phone blowing up.
Missed calls. Texts. Articles.
All with the same photo plastered across the screen: Damien’s hand on her waist, his lips pressed to her temple, her eyes closed like she’d wanted it.
“VOSS CEO SECRETLY MARRIES MYSTERY WOMAN”
“IS THIS THE END OF DAMIEN VOSS’S BACHELOR ERA?”
“WHO IS MRS. VOSS?”
She threw the phone on the bed and groaned.
Perfect. Day one of “keeping it low-key” and they were already trending.
A knock at the door made her sit up.
“Breakfast,” Damien’s voice came through, carefully neutral.
She opened the door to find him in a suit, hair still damp from a shower, holding a tray like it was any other morning. Like he hadn’t almost kissed her in a parking garage last night.
“You’re up early,” he said, stepping inside.
“So are you,” Aria replied, crossing her arms. “Did you see the news?”
Damien set the tray down and picked up her phone, scrolling through the headlines with infuriating calm.
“Expected.”
“Expected?” Aria gaped at him. “Damien, the whole world thinks we’re in love.”
He handed her phone back. “Good. That’s the point.”
“That’s not what I meant!”
Damien’s eyes flicked to hers, dark and serious.
“Then what did you mean, Aria? Because from where I’m standing, you looked pretty happy in that photo.”
Heat rushed to her face.
“That was for the cameras.”
“Was it?” he asked softly.
Before she could answer, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, jaw tightening.
“Board meeting in twenty. They want to see us. Together.”
Aria exhaled. “Of course they do.”
The boardroom was silent when they walked in.
Twenty pairs of eyes tracked them from the moment Damien’s hand found the small of her back at the door. Every whisper, every glance, every barely-hidden smirk.
Vivian was there too, sitting right in the front row, looking far too pleased with herself.
“Congratulations are in order, Mr. Voss,” the head of the board said, steepling his fingers. “A surprise marriage. I trust it won’t interfere with the merger.”
Damien pulled out Aria’s chair for her before sitting down. A small gesture, but it didn’t go unnoticed.
“It won’t,” he said smoothly. “If anything, it stabilizes things.”
Aria forced a polite smile, playing the part. “My husband and I are fully aligned on the company’s future.”
“Husband”. She still hated how easily the word came out now.
Vivian leaned forward, red lips curving.
“Of course. It’s just so sudden. We all know how private Damien is. To marry someone we’ve never met… it makes people wonder.”
Her eyes slid to Aria, sharp and assessing.
“What exactly do you do, Mrs. Voss?”
Aria met her gaze head-on.
“Biomedical engineering. MIT. I work in R&D at Voss Corp.”
Vivian blinked. She hadn’t expected that.
Damien’s hand brushed Aria’s under the table. A silent good job.
The meeting dragged on, questions about the merger, about PR, about whether this marriage was “permanent.” Damien answered everything with clipped precision, never letting go of Aria’s hand under the table.
By the time it ended, Aria’s palm was sweating.
As they stepped into the hallway, Vivian fell into step beside them.
“Impressive,” she said lightly. “You’ve gotten good at playing wife.”
Aria stopped walking.
“And you’ve gotten good at playing bitter ex.”
Vivian’s smile faltered.
“Careful, sweetheart. Damien gets bored easily.”
Damien stepped between them before Aria could respond.
“That’s enough, Vivian.”
His voice was low, dangerous. The board members scattered like roaches.
Vivian laughed, shaking her head.
“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you when she leaves you again.”
She walked off, leaving the hallway too quiet.
Aria turned to Damien, chest tight.
“Does she know?”
“Know what?”
“That you left me three years ago.”
Damien’s jaw clenched. He didn’t answer.
“Damien.”
He looked at her then, really looked at her.
“Not here.”
He took her elbow and guided her toward his office, ignoring the stares.
Once the door shut behind them, the mask slipped.
“You can’t keep doing this,” Aria said, voice shaking. “You can’t keep pretending like nothing happened. Like I’m not still angry.”
“I’m not pretending,” Damien said quietly. “I’m trying to fix it.”
“How? By dragging me into your mess? By making me your wife on paper?”
“By giving you a choice this time,” he said. He stepped closer, close enough that she could see the exhaustion in his eyes. “I didn’t give you one before. I was a coward. I’m not now.”
Aria swallowed hard.
“And if I choose to walk away?”
Damien’s throat bobbed.
“Then I’ll let you go. But not until you hear why I left.”
The room went still.
A knock at the door interrupted them.
“Mr. Voss, the press is outside. They want a statement.”
Damien didn’t take his eyes off Aria.
“Tell them no comment.”
He reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered.
“Dinner tonight. Just us. No cameras. No contracts. Just talk.”
Aria stared at him, heart pounding.
“And if I say no?”
“Then I’ll ask again tomorrow,” he said simply.
The door opened before she could answer.
And once again, the moment was gone.
- Writer
