CHAPTER NINE: The Side He Chose
1259 Words
Aria POV
I should have stayed behind.
That thought repeated itself at least twenty times during the drive.
Instead, I was sitting in the backseat of Damian’s car while London rushed past outside the tinted windows.
Across from me, Damian looked infuriatingly calm.
As if he weren’t about to walk into a media storm.
As if he weren’t about to confront his younger brother in front of half the country.
As if none of this mattered.
But I was beginning to understand Damian.
His calmness wasn’t indifference.
It was control.
And when that control slipped
People got hurt.
I glanced at him nervously.
“Tell me what you’re planning.”
“No.”
I sighed heavily.
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.”
Of course it wasn’t.
I folded my arms and looked away.
The city lights reflected across the window while anxiety tightened painfully inside my chest.
This was a mistake.
A terrible mistake.
Luca had already spent the entire afternoon rewriting our marriage for public consumption.
If Damian walked into that press conference and made things worse
The headlines would never end.
The car slowed.
My stomach dropped immediately.
We had arrived.
Outside the convention center, reporters crowded every available space. News vans lined the streets. Camera crews rushed between entrances.
The entire city seemed obsessed with the De Luca family.
And unfortunately
I was now part of the attraction.
One of Damian’s security guards opened the door.
Instantly, flashes exploded.
Questions followed.
“Mr. De Luca!”
“Is it true you’re involved with Aria Moretti?”
“What do you think about Luca’s statements?”
“Are you supporting your brother?”
The last question caught my attention.
Because Damian didn’t answer it.
Instead, he turned slightly toward me.
And held out his hand.
The gesture shocked me.
For a second, I simply stared.
So did every reporter.
The world seemed to pause.
“Aria.”
His voice was low.
Steady.
Patient.
I looked from his hand to his face.
Then back again.
My pulse accelerated.
This wasn’t accidental.
This wasn’t casual.
This was deliberate.
Damian knew exactly what cameras were seeing right now.
And he was doing it anyway.
I swallowed hard before placing my hand in his.
The moment our skin touched, something shifted inside me.
Heat.
Awareness.
Dangerous awareness.
His fingers closed gently around mine.
Firm.
Protective.
Certain.
The reaction from the media was immediate.
Questions erupted louder than before.
Camera flashes became blinding.
But Damian didn’t release my hand.
Not once.
Instead, he guided me through the crowd.
And for the first time since this nightmare began
I didn’t feel alone.
The realization unsettled me.
Because somewhere along the way, Damian had become the person I instinctively looked for when things fell apart.
That probably wasn’t healthy.
At all.
Inside the convention center, the atmosphere was chaotic.
Reporters rushed between rows.
Producers whispered frantically into headsets.
Everyone seemed confused.
Apparently nobody had expected Damian to show up.
Good.
Neither had Luca.
A member of Damian’s team approached immediately.
“They’re inside.”
Damian nodded.
“Has he finished speaking?”
“Not yet.”
Interesting.
A strange smile touched Damian’s mouth.
The expression made me nervous.
Very nervous.
Because it looked like a man who knew exactly when to strike.
He glanced down at me.
“You don’t have to come in.”
The concern surprised me.
Again.
Lately, Damian kept surprising me.
“I’m already here.”
His eyes studied my face.
Making sure.
Checking.
Always checking.
Finally, he nodded once.
Then together, we entered.
The room went silent.
Instantly silent.
Hundreds of heads turned toward us.
Every camera followed.
Every reporter stared.
And standing at the center of it all
Luca froze.
The expression on his face was almost worth coming.
Almost.
Shock.
Confusion.
Anger.
All at once.
He had expected control.
Instead, Damian had just walked into his narrative and stolen it.
The realization was obvious.
Luca’s jaw tightened visibly.
“What are you doing here?”
The microphone carried his voice throughout the room.
Damian remained calm.
As always.
“Correcting misinformation.”
A murmur swept through the crowd.
Luca laughed harshly.
“You mean creating more of it?”
The brothers stared at each other.
The tension was immediate.
Palpable.
Years of rivalry crackled between them.
I suddenly understood why family dinners always felt strange.
This conflict had existed long before me.
Long before the marriage.
Long before the scandal.
Damian stepped forward.
One movement.
Nothing dramatic.
Yet somehow the room belonged to him instantly.
Power.
Pure power.
Without even trying.
A reporter stood abruptly.
“Mr. De Luca, are you involved with Aria Moretti?”
Straight to the point.
The room held its breath.
So did I.
Beside me, Damian’s expression remained unreadable.
His gaze shifted toward the crowd.
Then toward Luca.
Then finally
Toward me.
My pulse stumbled.
The look lasted only seconds.
It still felt intimate.
Dangerously intimate.
Then Damian answered.
“No.”
The room erupted.
Questions flew immediately.
People shouted over one another.
The disappointment was almost visible.
Reporters wanted scandal.
Instead, they received denial.
Except, Damian wasn’t finished.
He raised a hand.
Silence returned.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
Then he spoke again.
“But I am supporting her.”
The room froze.
Every camera focused.
Every microphone lifted.
Across the stage, Luca’s face darkened instantly.
Good.
Let him feel uncomfortable for once.
A reporter jumped up.
“Why?”
Damian’s eyes turned cold.
Because unlike Luca, He wasn’t performing.
“Because she was betrayed.”
The room went completely silent.
My breath caught.
For a moment, I couldn’t move.
Couldn’t think.
Couldn’t process what had just happened.
Damian had said it publicly.
Openly.
Without hesitation.
Without protecting the family name.
Without protecting Luca.
He chose truth.
And somehow
He chose me.
Another reporter spoke.
“Are you saying your brother cheated?”
Luca immediately stepped forward.
“That’s not what”
“Yes.”
Damian’s interruption landed like a bomb.
The room exploded.
Questions.
Shouting.
Chaos.
But I barely heard any of it.
Because my attention remained fixed on the man standing beside me.
The man risking his reputation.
His family.
His relationships.
All to defend me.
Why?
The question echoed endlessly inside my head.
Why?
Then Damian spoke again.
And this time
He looked directly at me.
Not the cameras.
Not the reporters.
Me.
“Some people spend years taking loyalty for granted.”
The room gradually quieted.
His eyes never left mine.
“They mistake kindness for weakness.”
My heartbeat accelerated painfully.
Every word felt personal.
Targeted.
Real.
“Eventually they learn what they’ve lost.”
Silence followed.
Heavy silence.
The kind that changes things.
And suddenly I wasn’t looking at Damian De Luca the billionaire.
Or Damian De Luca the CEO.
Or even Damian De Luca the ruthless older brother.
I was looking at a man.
A man whose walls had cracked just enough for me to glimpse something underneath.
Something dangerous.
Something emotional.
Something that looked alarmingly like heartbreak.
The realization stole my breath.
Then Luca spoke.
And destroyed the moment completely.
“You’ve wanted her for years.”
The accusation echoed across the room.
Every reporter froze.
Every camera focused.
Every person waited.
My pulse stopped.
For the first time since arriving
Damian looked genuinely caught off guard.
Not by the accusation.
By the fact that Luca had said it out loud.
The silence that followed felt endless.
And suddenly
For the first time, I desperately wanted to know the answer.
- Writer
