Chapter 5: No Choice
1387 Words
The rain continued to pour, soaking the empty alley in silver.
Ariana stared at the diamond ring resting inside the velvet box.
For a long moment, she forgot how to breathe.
“…What?”
Damien’s expression didn’t change.
“You heard me.”
Her eyes darted from the ring to his face, searching for any sign that this was some kind of cruel joke.
There was none.
She let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Are you insane?”
One of the bodyguards stiffened at her tone, but Damien simply closed the ring box with a soft click.
“I’ve been called worse.”
“I witnessed you murder someone!” Ariana snapped. “And your solution is to marry me?”
“My solution is to keep you alive.”
“I don’t need your protection!”
“No?”
His voice remained calm.
“Then explain the break-in at your apartment.”
The color drained from Ariana’s face.
“…How do you know about that?”
Damien slipped one hand into his pocket.
“Because I know everything.”
A chill ran down her spine.
He knew.
He knew someone had entered her home.
He knew where she lived.
How much else did he know?
“You’ve been watching me,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“Since the night you saw me.”
Ariana felt sick.
The black SUV.
The unknown phone calls.
The footsteps behind her.
It had been him.
“You were the one following me.”
“My men.”
She clenched her fists.
“You invaded my privacy.”
“I prevented others from reaching you first.”
“What does that even mean?”
Damien looked toward the rain-soaked street before answering.
“The man who died wasn’t an innocent businessman.”
Ariana remained silent.
“He betrayed my organization.”
“So you killed him.”
“I passed judgment.”
Her eyes flashed with anger.
“You’re talking about murder like it’s a business meeting.”
“It is.”
His answer came so effortlessly that it frightened her.
Damien took another step closer.
“You witnessed something that no outsider was ever supposed to see.”
“I didn’t ask to.”
“I know.”
“Then let me go.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
For the first time, his expression hardened.
“Because my enemies are already looking for you.”
Ariana frowned.
“What?”
“There are six mafia families operating in this country.”
He spoke as though giving a lecture.
“They all want one thing.”
“My empire.”
“And what does that have to do with me?”
“You saw their former ally die.”
She stared at him in confusion.
“The man who betrayed me was secretly working for another family.”
Realization slowly settled over her.
“If they find out I’m a witness…”
“They’ll assume you know everything.”
“But I don’t!”
“They won’t care.”
A cold silence stretched between them.
Damien continued.
“They’ll kidnap you.”
“They’ll torture you.”
“They’ll search for information you don’t have.”
“And when they realize you’re useless…”
He didn’t finish the sentence.
He didn’t have to.
Ariana understood.
She wrapped her arms around herself as if trying to chase away the cold.
“No…”
Damien watched her quietly.
“I’ve spent the last three days making sure no one reaches you.”
Her voice trembled.
“The break-in…”
“They weren’t my men.”
She looked at him sharply.
“What?”
“My men entered after they left.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
“They searched your room to see what the intruders were looking for.”
“So…”
He nodded once.
“Someone else already knows about you.”
Fear settled deep inside her chest.
Everything suddenly made sense.
The open window.
The scattered belongings.
Nothing stolen.
They had been searching for her.
Ariana shook her head.
“This can’t be happening.”
“I wish you were wrong.”
“I’m not.”
She turned away, trying to steady her breathing.
“There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t.”
“I can leave the city.”
“They’ll find you.”
“I’ll go abroad.”
“They’ll follow.”
“I’ll hide.”
“You won’t last a week.”
Every answer crushed another hope.
She spun around, tears filling her eyes.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you deserve the truth.”
She laughed bitterly.
“The truth?”
“You murdered someone.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been spying on me.”
“Yes.”
“You terrified my family.”
“I did what was necessary.”
She stared at him in disbelief.
“Do you ever regret anything?”
For the first time, Damien didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, he looked directly into her eyes.
“I regret that you were there that night.”
The sincerity in his voice caught her off guard.
He wasn’t apologizing.
But he wasn’t lying either.
Damien reached into his jacket and handed her a thin folder.
“What is this?”
“Read it.”
With trembling hands, Ariana opened it.
Inside were photographs.
The black SUV parked outside her apartment.
Two unfamiliar men entering through her bedroom window.
A picture of her leaving work.
Another of her boarding the bus.
Then…
A photograph of a man holding a sniper rifle on a nearby rooftop.
Her breathing stopped.
“W-Who is that?”
“A hired assassin.”
“He was waiting for you yesterday afternoon.”
Ariana nearly dropped the folder.
“No…”
“My men eliminated him before he could make his move.”
She looked at Damien in horror.
“You expect me to believe this?”
“You don’t have to.”
He gently took the folder back.
“But whether you believe me or not…”
He met her gaze.
“…they’re still coming.”
The rain had begun to slow.
The alley was silent except for the distant sound of traffic.
Finally, Ariana whispered,
“What do you want from me?”
Damien answered without hesitation.
“Become my wife.”
She closed her eyes.
“I don’t love you.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“I hate you.”
“I know.”
“I’ll never forgive what you did.”
“I understand.”
“Then why?”
His expression softened ever so slightly.
“Because once you become Mrs. De Luca…”
He paused.
“…every family in the underworld will know that touching you means declaring war on me.”
Ariana searched his face.
There was no deception.
No hesitation.
Only certainty.
“You’d use me as a shield.”
“I’d make you untouchable.”
She looked down at the ring in his hand.
Marriage.
To the devil himself.
It sounded insane.
Impossible.
Yet every other path Damien described ended with her family mourning her.
Tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
“What if I say no?”
Damien’s gray eyes never left hers.
“You’ll walk away tonight.”
Hope flickered inside her.
Then he quietly added,
“And I’ll spend every day wondering which of my enemies finds your body first.”
His words struck harder than any threat.
Not because they sounded cruel.
But because they sounded true.
Ariana’s knees weakened.
For the first time in her life…
She realized she had no good choices left.
Only impossible ones.
Damien extended his hand toward her.
“I’m giving you twenty-four hours.”
His voice remained calm.
“After that…”
He looked toward the dark city skyline.
“…your answer becomes my decision.”
Without another word, he turned and walked back to the waiting Rolls-Royce.
The door closed.
The convoy disappeared into the rainy night.
Ariana remained alone in the alley, clutching the image of the diamond ring in her mind.
One day.
Twenty-four hours.
To decide whether she would spend the rest of her life running…
Or become the wife of the most feared man in the country.
- Writer
