The night he came back

chapter 3 I Always Find What’s Mine

Aiden sat in the back of the car, one arm resting against the window, the other wrapped around his thigh as the city passed by in a blur of movement and noise.

He didn’t like being out of control.

He especially didn’t like not knowing.

Where she lived. What her last name was. What demons haunted her eyes when she thought no one was looking.

The fact that she had slipped from his bed like a secret made his jaw tighten with quiet fury not at her, but at the world that made her believe she had to run.

He remembered the tremble in her fingers when he first touched her, the way her lips parted like she wanted to speak but had no voice.

Who broke you, Serena?

Who made you think you weren’t worth staying for?

His phone buzzed in the seat beside him.

Leonard Head of Security

You asked for surveillance. We traced her movements from Crimson Lounge. She left alone at 6:08 AM. Caught a cab. Tracked to East End, 12th and Elgar. Can send full footage if needed."

Aiden didn’t even hesitate.

Send me everything. I want a name. I want a history.”

The message was delivered. The man leaned back into the seat, eyes focused, dark and unreadable.

This wasn't an obsession.

It was instinct.

He knew something deeper was happening, something fate didn’t intend to be one night.

And Aiden Cross never let go of anything that mattered.

At damise Enterprises.

Damian leaned back in his leather chair, legs crossed, a lazy smirk playing on his lips as his assistant poured him a fresh espresso.

Across from him sat Lila his business development director and the woman responsible for the nuclear-level fallout of his marriage.

She was perched on the edge of the conference table, legs crossed, heels clicking lightly against polished wood.

“I got the board to approve the Montenegro contract,” she said, her tone smug. “No thanks to that i***t Elias trying to stall negotiations.”

Damian sipped his coffee without looking at her. “Elias has always been a bleeding heart. He thinks being decent means being right.”

lila laughed softly. “That’s why you’re CEO, and he’s still playing at ethics.”

He finally glanced at her then, sharp hazel eyes narrowing.

“I don’t need you insulting my brother.”

Lila rolled her eyes but softened her tone. “Of course not. Sorry. He's just been icy lately. I think he’s still mad about Serena.”

At the sound of his ex-wife’s name, something in Damian’s jaw ticked.

“She made her choices,” he said flatly. “She lied. She cheated. She made herself irrelevant.”

“Exactly,” lila said quickly. “And you’ve moved on. You don’t need that kind of weakness.”

Weakness.

That word dug under his skin for some reason he couldn’t name.

He’d seen the messages. The pictures. Vanessa had shown them to him with tears in her eyes, claiming Serena had betrayed him. Claimed she was doing it to protect him.

Still the memory of Serena’s pleading voice haunted him.

Damian, please. Look at me. That’s not real. She’s lying

He buried the thought.

Serena had left. That was all he needed to know.

He was about to return to his laptop when a knock came at the glass door of his office.

The secretary’s voice cut in nervously. “Mr. Damian, there’s a man here to see you. He doesn’t have an appointment, but

“I said no interruptions,” Damian snapped.

But the door was already swinging open.

And then everything in the room went quiet.

Because standing there in a dark tailored suit, an expensive watch glinting beneath the cuff, was a man who radiated something no one in that office could name but everyone felt.

Power.

And danger.

Aiden .

lila smile faltered.

Damian frowned. “Who the hell?

Aiden stepped forward slowly, ignoring the gaping staff in the hallway behind him. “You’re Damian Wolfe.”

Damian stood, frown deepening. “That’s right. And you are?”

“Aiden Cross.”

The silence turned heavy.

lila mouth parted slightly. Everyone knew the name. Billionaire. Private investor. Business empire spanning three continents. Rumors of political ties. And ruthless as sin.

Damian recovered quickly. “Well. This is a surprise.”

“Is it?” Aiden replied coolly.

“You don’t have a meeting scheduled.”

“I didn’t come for business.” His tone was laced with calm threat.

Damian moved from behind the desk, eyes narrowing. “Then what do you want?”

Aiden smiled without warmth. “Information.”

“I’m not in the business of giving that away.”

“That’s fine,” Aiden said. “I don’t mind taking it.”

The tension rose like a storm brewing in a sealed. Lila stepped forward, her voice dipped in honey. “Mr. Cross It's such an honor to finally meet you. We’ve admired your acquisitions. Perhaps we could talk in private.

“Don’t,” Aiden said, eyes flicking to her with the chill of a knife. “You don’t want to speak to me. Trust me.”

She flushed, offended, but intimidated enough to back off.

Damian crossed his arms. “You walk into my office, insult my staff, and demand answers? That’s bold.”

Aiden smiled again. “I didn’t insult anyone. Yet.”

He paused, then took one slow step closer. “I’m looking for a woman. She was yours. And judging by the lies hanging off every person in this building, you didn’t deserve her.”

Damian’s expression went hard.

“Her name’s Serena.”

Silence fell like glass shattering.

Damian didn’t speak at first, just stared. “You know Serena?”

Aiden’s gaze sharpened. “I do now.”

lila face twisted slightly.

“How Do you know her?” Damian asked, slower this time.

Aiden’s voice dropped, dark and intimate. “The kind of knowing that keeps a man up at night.”

Rage flared across Damian’s face.

lila stepped in, voice sharp. “She was toxic. Manipulative. She slept around while she was married to Damian.”

Aiden turned his full attention to her then. “You’re Lila, I assume.”

Her lips twitched into a forced smile.

“I’ve heard of you.”

She preened.

“Manipulator. Liar. Homewrecker,” he added smoothly.

Her face paled.

He stepped closer to Damian, lowering his voice.

“If I find out that any of what I suspect is true if she was set up, used, abandoned.I’ll destroy you.”

Damian laughed coldly. “You’re threatening the wrong man.”

“No,” Aiden said calmly. “I’m threatening the right one. And I’m not threatening. I’m promising.”

He adjusted his cuff and turned away, pausing only to look over his shoulder.

“Oh, and Damian?”

“What?”

“She didn’t cheat on you.”

Then he walked out, the weight of his words echoing in the stunned silence behind him.

Back in his car, Aiden leaned forward as Leonard called in through the vehicle’s speaker system.

“We pulled her full name Serena Williams. Divorced from Damian Wolfe three weeks ago. Worked in publishing, but she’s been on leave since the proceedings started. No job now. Apartment on the east side. Want us to make contact?”

Aiden’s jaw tightened.

“No,” he said. “I’ll go myself.”

“Understood.”

Aiden stared out the window, eyes dark and locked with purpose.

Now he had her name.

Her story.

And soon he’d have her.

Serena sat on the edge of the couch, clutching a cup of tea that had long since gone cold.

Aiden stood by the window, watching the city lights. He hadn’t said much after she let him in. Not at first.

It was like they were both holding their breath.

“I don’t even know why I let you in,” she finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes, you do,” he replied, still facing the glass. “Because you didn’t really want to let me go.”

Serena’s throat tightened. “It wasn’t about wanting. It was about surviving.”

He turned, leaning one shoulder against the wall, arms crossed. His expression was unreadable.

“Do you think I’ll hurt you?” he asked.

She didn’t answer.

He nodded slowly, as if that was confirmation enough. “I’m not him.”

“That’s easy to say when you don’t have anything to lose.”

Aiden’s gaze sharpened. “I already lost you once. I’m not doing it again.”

Serena blinked, caught off guard. “You don’t even know me.”

“I know the way your hands trembled when I touched your waist,” he said. “I know you sleep curled up like you’re trying to disappear. I know you flinch when someone asks what happened to your marriage. And I know you would’ve stayed in my bed if the world hadn’t taught you to run first.”

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

He crossed the room slowly until he was in front of her, kneeling down, eye level. His voice softened.

“I’m not asking you to trust me, Serena. I’m asking you to let me try.”

A long silence stretched between them.

Her hand, still clutching the tea, trembled slightly. She set the cup down, letting out a shaky breath.

“I was married to a man who made me feel invisible,” she said. “And when I tried to defend myself, they treated me like a villain. Like I’d seduced him, lied to him, and destroyed everything.”

Aiden’s brow furrowed. “They didn’t even give you the benefit of the doubt?”

“They didn’t need to. Vanessa handed them photos, fake messages even a fake voicemail she scripted. She cried in front of his family and told them I’d slept with a client.” Her voice cracked. “And they believed her. Every word.”

Aiden’s jaw clenched. “And Damian? He didn’t question it?”

Serena gave a bitter laugh. “No. He was too busy protecting the family name.”

Aiden sat beside her now, closer than before, but still not touching. “And what about you? Who protected you?”

Her silence answered for her.

Until now no one had.

“I thought Elias might,” she whispered. “He tried. But he’s just the younger brother. They don’t listen to him either.”

Aiden studied her for a moment, then reached out slowly giving her time to pull away.

She didn’t.

His hand closed around hers.

“You don’t have to carry this alone anymore.”

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears.

“I’m not asking you for anything,” he continued. “I’m not here to trap you or fix you or demand something you can’t give. I’m here because when you left that morning, you took something with you.”

Serena’s heart pounded. “What did I take?”

“My peace.”

Her breath caught.

“I’ve built empires,” Aiden said quietly. “I’ve walked into rooms full of kings and killers and never blinked. But I haven’t been able to sleep since the night you left. That has to mean something.”

Serena looked away, overwhelmed.

“Don’t run from this,” he added.

“I’m not running,” she whispered. “I’m… scared.”

“Good,” he said. “It means this matters.”

She finally looked at him, truly looked at him and saw no judgment. No expectation. Just the man who had kissed her like she was worth remembering and touched her like she wasn’t broken.

Her walls cracked just a little more.

“Okay,” she said.

Just one word. But it was everything.

Aiden nodded, rising to his feet. “Do you need anything?”

Serena blinked. “What?”

“I’m ordering groceries. Your fridge is empty. Also, your security is terrible. And I’m changing the locks.”

She stared at him. “You’re serious?”

He pulled out his phone, already tapping into his assistant’s number. “Dead serious. You let people in like you’re not worth guarding.”

Her lips twitched. “You’re intense.”

“I know.”

She chuckled softly.

“You’re also bossy.”

Aiden looked up, completely unapologetic. “That’s non-negotiable.”

Serena rolled her eyes, but her heart felt lighter.

Elsewhere, that same night.

Damian tossed the tumbler of whiskey onto the desk and stared into the dark.

The words Aiden Cross had left him with echoed in his skull.

She didn’t cheat on you.”

He didn’t believe it.

He couldn’t.

Because if Serena hadn’t cheated then he had destroyed their marriage for nothing.

And if that was true then Vanessa

His phone buzzed. He grabbed it without thinking.

Vanessa

“You okay? I noticed you were quiet today. You know you can trust me.”

Damian stared at the message.

For the first time in months, he didn’t respond.

He just set the phone down and poured another drink.