shattered by the bet

the safe haven

When Aria wakes up, she finds herself in a luxurious, heavily guarded mansion. Traumatized and defensive, she treats Damian with sharp rudeness, terrified of another rich man. Damian, used to people bowing to him, is fascinated by her defiance. He personally cooks for her, takes care of her wounds, and handles her anger with rare, tender patience. He realizes he is falling deeply in love with her innocence and raw honesty.

Aria (pushing a bowl of homemade soup away, glaring with tear-filled eyes): "I don’t want your money, and I don't want your pity! You're just like the rest of them. Rich, arrogant, thinking you can buy whatever you want! Let me go back to my mother!"

Damian (gently placing the bowl back, sitting on the edge of her bed, his voice surprisingly soft): "I am nothing like the boy who hurt you, Aria. I don't want to buy you. I want to heal you."

Aria (her voice cracking): "Why do you care? You're a stranger!"

Damian (leaning closer, his dark eyes melting with an unfamiliar warmth as he captures her gaze): "Because for the first time in my life, someone looks at me without fear or greed. Take your time to hate me, little one, but eat. You need your strength to fight me. And I rather enjoy your fight."