CHAPTER 10: Sign The Deal...or Walk Away
597 Words
Arielle stood on the rooftop of Black Enterprises, the wind whipping her hair, the city burning beneath her heels.
She wasn’t crying.
Not anymore.
The headlines were everywhere.
Her face. Ezra’s name.
The shame. The gossip. The betrayal.
Damon had pulled the custody case—but not to protect her.
To own the narrative.
He didn’t want justice. He wanted dominance.
And she was done being pushed around.
Downstairs, the elevator dinged.
She turned—and there he was.
Damon Black.
Sharp suit. Sharper glare. Cold heart still dripping with power.
“You leaked it,” she said.
“No,” he replied. “But I let it spread.”
“Why?”
He stepped closer. “Because now the world knows he’s mine.”
She flinched.
“You think this is love?” she spat.
“I already told you. I don’t love.”
“No,” she whispered. “You destroy.”
They stood there, broken and burning, until he pulled a folder from inside his coat and held it out.
“What’s this?”
“Your new contract.”
She didn’t move.
“You work for me. You live in my penthouse. Ezra gets full security, education, insurance. Everything he deserves.”
“And what do you get?” she asked bitterly.
He stepped closer.
“I get control.”
Her chest rose sharply. “And if I say no?”
He didn’t blink.
“Then I walk away. And I let the world eat you alive.”
She opened the folder with trembling fingers.
The contract was clear. Brutal. Intoxicating.
Every clause said the same thing:
“You belong to me now.”
That Night…
Arielle sat in her apartment, contract open on the table.
Ezra sat across from her, coloring.
He looked up suddenly and said, “Is Mr. Damon mad at me?”
She froze. “No, baby. He’s just… big.”
Ezra tilted his head. “He looks like a dragon. But his eyes are sad.”
Her throat closed.
Then he said the one thing Damon would never recover from:
“I think he forgot how to hug.”
Arielle’s heart cracked in half.
Hours Later…
She showed up at Damon’s penthouse.
Rain-soaked. Fierce. Barely breathing.
He opened the door in a robe, glass of whiskey still in his hand.
“Changed your mind?” he asked coolly.
She shoved the contract into his chest.
“I’ll sign. But on my terms.”
His brows lifted.
“I want my own room. I want final say in Ezra’s schedule. I want your media team off my back. And I want you to admit this isn’t about custody—this is about me.”
Silence.
Then…
“I don’t want to admit that,” he said. “Because if I do…”
He stepped closer. His voice dropped.
“…I’ll never be able to let you go again.”
They stared at each other—breathing hard. Rain dripping from her hair. Whiskey burning in his eyes.
She whispered, “Then don’t.”
And before either of them could think—
He kissed her.
Hard. Desperate. Like he was drowning and she was air.
It wasn’t sweet.
It was years of pain.
A thousand unsaid words.
Four years of missed moments and broken hearts and buried desire.
His cold hands gripped her waist.
Her fingers tangled in his hair.
She gasped against his lips—
And then he broke the kiss.
“You’re still signing the deal,” he said, voice raw.
She smirked.
“And you’re still broken.”
- Writer
