CHAPTER 5 : THE EX
1140 Words
The living room felt too small.
Ryan stood by the window. Jeans. Old hoodie. The same one he wore the day he walked out of the hospital.
Richard stood beside him, smiling like he’d just won.
And Damian stood in front of me. A wall.
“Sir,” the security guard said. “Mr. Vance insisted on bringing him. Said it was about the vote.”
“Get out,” Damian said. His voice was low. Dangerous. “All of you. Except him.”
He pointed at Ryan.
Richard protested. “Damian, the board has a right—”
“Out,” Damian repeated. One word.
They left. The door closed.
Now it was just us. Me. Damian. And Ryan.
Ryan looked at me first. Then at the ring on my finger. Then at Damian.
“Well,” Ryan said. “This is new.”
“Don’t,” I said quickly. “Don’t do this here. Not with Liam upstairs.”
Ryan laughed. No humor in it. “Liam. Right. Your son. Our son.”
Damian moved. Just an inch. But it was enough. He was between me and Ryan now.
“What do you want, Carter?” Damian asked.
“Money,” Ryan said bluntly. “I saw the news. Half a million dollars. That’s a lot of money, Ava. For a kid you said you couldn’t afford alone.”
My face burned. “That’s not—”
“It’s charity,” Damian cut in. “My wife needed help. I gave it.”
“Wife,” Ryan scoffed. “Married for a week and you’re already calling her wife? Please. I know her. She’s desperate.”
“Watch your mouth,” Damian said.
“Or what? You’ll buy me off too?” Ryan stepped closer. “Look, I’m not here to cause problems. I’m here because I’m Liam’s dad. And I deserve to be in his life. And I deserve a cut of that money.”
“You left,” I said. The words came out sharp. “When the diagnosis came. You said you couldn’t do it. You left.”
“I was scared,” Ryan said. “I’m not anymore.”
“Liar,” I whispered.
Damian turned his head slightly. Looked at me. “Ava.”
“Don’t,” I said. “Don’t defend me. I can do this.”
I faced Ryan. “You gave up your rights when you walked out. You don’t get to come back because there’s money now.”
Ryan’s eyes narrowed. “Is that what this is? Money? You selling yourself to this guy?”
Slap.
I didn’t realize I’d done it until my hand was stinging.
Ryan’s head snapped to the side.
The room went silent.
Damian hadn’t moved. But his hands were fists at his sides.
“You don’t get to talk to her like that,” Damian said quietly. “Ever again.”
Ryan rubbed his jaw. “She hit me.”
“I’d do it again,” I said.
Ryan looked between us. Then he smiled. Ugly. “This is fake. The whole thing. You think the board doesn’t know? Richard told me everything. The contract. The 6 months. The money.”
My blood went cold.
Damian didn’t flinch. “Then you know there’s nothing you can do.”
“I can tell Liam,” Ryan said. “I can tell him his mommy sold herself. I can tell him his ‘daddy’ is just paying the bills.”
“Don’t you dare,” I said.
“Make me,” Ryan said.
Damian moved faster than I’d ever seen. He had Ryan by the collar in one second, shoved against the wall.
“Touch her,” Damian said, voice like gravel. “Talk to him. Come near this family again, and I will ruin you. I will take everything you have, everything you will ever have, and I will make sure you spend the rest of your life regretting today.”
Ryan struggled. “Get off—”
“Damian!” I grabbed his arm. “Stop. Liam can hear.”
Damian froze. He let go. Ryan stumbled back, gasping.
For a second, Damian looked at me. Rage. Fear. Something else.
Then he stepped back. Composed himself.
“Security,” he called. “Escort Mr. Carter out. And Mr. Vance. Permanently.”
Two guards came in. Grabbed Ryan.
“You can’t do this!” Ryan shouted. “I have rights! I’m his father!”
The door closed behind him.
Silence.
I was shaking.
Damian turned to me. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. You’re shaking.”
“I said I’m fine!” The words came out louder than I meant.
Damian ran a hand through his hair. “The vote is in an hour. Richard will use this. He’ll say I’m violent. Unstable.”
“Then let him,” I said. “You did it for me.”
“I did it for me,” Damian corrected. “Because I couldn’t stand him talking to you like that.”
He walked to the bar and poured whiskey. Didn’t drink it.
“The contract says 6 months,” he said quietly. “But I don’t think I can watch you with him. Even for a day.”
“Damian—”
“No. Don’t.” He finally drank. “I knew this was a bad idea. Getting involved. Caring.”
“You don’t care,” I said. It hurt to say it.
Damian laughed, bitter. “Don’t I? I threatened a man in my own home. I’m about to lose my company for you. I brought a sick kid into a board meeting.”
He set the glass down. Looked at me.
“That’s not business, Ava. That’s something else. And it terrifies me.”
My phone buzzed.
`Richard: The board is convening now. Final vote. Care to make a statement, Mr. Blackwood?`
Damian read it over my shoulder.
He took my hand. His was cold.
“Come on,” he said. “We’re going to that meeting. And we’re going to win.”
“What if we don’t?”
“Then we run,” Damian said simply. “With Liam. And we don’t look back.”
He pulled me to the elevator.
As the doors closed, my phone buzzed again.
`Unknown: She’s lying to you. Ask her about the first night. Ask her what she really signed.`
I deleted it.
Damian didn’t see.
The boardroom was full. 12 men. Richard at the head.
And in the center of the table: a copy of our contract.
Damian saw it too. His grip on my hand tightened.
“Let’s begin,” Richard said, smiling.
*[END OF CHAPTER 5]*
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