CHAPTER THREE: The Proposal
885 Words
Aria POV
The rain outside London blurred the city into streaks of silver and black as Damian’s car cut silently through the streets.
Neither of us spoke for several minutes.
I sat stiffly in the passenger seat, Damian’s jacket wrapped tightly around my shoulders while humiliation replayed endlessly inside my head.
Pregnant.
Isabella was pregnant.
Every time the thought resurfaced, my chest tightened so hard it physically hurt.
Beside me, Damian remained unreadable.
One hand rested loosely against the steering wheel while the city lights flashed across the sharp lines of his face. He looked painfully composed for a man who had just witnessed his younger brother destroy a marriage publicly.
But maybe nothing affected Damian.
That was the frightening thing about him.
He always seemed untouched.
Controlled.
Emotionless.
“You should stop blaming yourself.”
His voice broke through my thoughts suddenly.
I looked at him sharply. “I wasn’t.”
“You were.”
I looked away toward the rain-streaked window.
The silence stretched again before I finally whispered, “Was I really that blind?”
Damian’s jaw tightened slightly.
“No.”
“But everyone knew.”
His grip on the steering wheel shifted almost imperceptibly.
“Not everyone.”
I laughed bitterly. “You did.”
He didn’t deny it.
That hurt more than I expected.
“You could’ve told me.”
Damian finally glanced at me.
And for the first time tonight, something raw flickered behind his grey eyes.
“You wouldn’t have believed me.”
The terrible part?
He was probably right.
I closed my eyes briefly.
God.
How had my life become this humiliating?
“You should hate him,” Damian said quietly.
“I do.”
“No,” he murmured. “You’re heartbroken. There’s a difference.”
His ability to read me so easily unsettled me deeply.
Luca had stopped noticing my emotions years ago.
Meanwhile Damian noticed everything.
The realization made my stomach twist strangely.
The car eventually stopped outside my apartment building.
I reached for the door immediately, desperate to escape the suffocating tension filling the space between us.
Then Damian spoke again.
“Divorce him.”
My hand froze.
Slowly, I turned toward him.
“What?”
His gaze held mine steadily.
“Luca will destroy you publicly to protect himself.”
Pain flashed across my face.
Because deep down—
I already knew that.
“He wouldn’t—”
“He already has.”
Silence.
Then Damian reached toward the dashboard and handed me his phone.
A news article filled the screen instantly.
DE LUCA WIFE CAUSES SCANDAL AT CHARITY EVENT
Another headline beneath it.
BUSINESS HEIR’S MARRIAGE COLLAPSING FOR MONTHS
And another.
WHO IS THE REAL MISTRESS?
My stomach dropped.
The comments underneath were even worse.
Gold digger.
Attention seeker.
Pathetic wife.
Poor Luca.
Tears burned my eyes instantly.
Damian took the phone back before I could keep reading.
“You see now?”
My throat tightened painfully. “This happened hours ago.”
“Scandals spread fast.”
I stared down at my trembling hands.
Everything was collapsing too quickly.
My marriage.
My reputation.
My life.
Then Damian said quietly—
“You deserve better than him.”
I laughed weakly. “You don’t even know me.”
Something dark crossed his expression.
“Yes,” he said softly. “I do.”
The way he said it made my pulse stumble unexpectedly.
Too intense.
Too personal.
I looked away quickly.
“You barely speak to me during family dinners.”
“That doesn’t mean I wasn’t paying attention.”
The tension inside the car thickened instantly.
I could suddenly hear every breath between us.
Every shift.
Every heartbeat.
Dangerous awareness crawled slowly up my spine.
I swallowed hard. “Why are you helping me?”
Damian stared at me for a long moment before speaking.
“Because someone should.”
That answer should have comforted me.
Instead, it made my chest ache.
Because for three years, nobody had chosen me.
Not really.
Not until now.
Then Damian spoke words that completely changed the direction of my life.
“Marry me instead.”
Everything inside me stopped.
I stared at him in shock.
The rain hammered harder against the windows while silence swallowed the car whole.
“What?”
His expression remained calm.
“You heard me.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’ve never been more serious.”
My breathing turned uneven.
This was insane.
Completely insane.
“You’re my husband’s brother.”
“Soon to be ex-husband.”
“You don’t even like me.”
Something dangerous flickered behind his eyes then.
Dark.
Possessive.
Almost offended.
“What gave you that impression?”
The intensity in his voice made heat rush unexpectedly through my body.
I stared at him, suddenly unable to breathe properly.
Damian leaned slightly closer.
“You need protection from what’s coming next,” he said quietly. “And I need a wife.”
“A fake marriage?”
“A contract marriage.”
The words felt surreal.
I shook my head immediately. “No.”
But even as I said it
My heart betrayed me.
Because somewhere beneath the fear…
A dangerous part of me wanted to know what it would feel like to belong to a man like Damian De Luca.
- Writer
