Chapter 6-You were right
1094 Words
Damian carried her through the penthouse like she might shatter.
He laid her on the black sheets of his bed. The same bed from last night. His hands hovered over her for a second, unsure where to touch without hurting her. Then he pulled the covers up to her chin. Tucked them in. Gentle. Careful.
Aria watched him through half-open eyes. Dizzy from the drugs. Heart pounding from fear.
He straightened. Turned away. His shoulders were rigid. The mask was back. Cold. Angry.
“Why were you there?” His voice cut through the silence. No preamble. No softness left. “Why were you in that hotel room with him, Aria?”
Aria tried to sit up. The room spun. She grabbed the sheets instead. “I told you. I was kidnapped. Outside the hospital. I didn’t go to him willingly.”
Damian laughed once. No humor. Just bitterness. “Kidnapped. Right. And he just happened to have a hotel room ready? And you just happened to end up on his bed? Again?”
“Damian—”
“Don’t.” He turned on her. Eyes dark. Furious. Hurt. “Don’t lie to me. Not after everything. Not after you signed that contract. Not after last night.”
Aria flinched. Tears burned her eyes. “I’m not lying. Check the hospital CCTV. Ask the caregiver. I was walking to my car and—”
“I don’t need CCTV to know you chose him,” Damian snapped. He paced to the window. Hands in his pockets like he was holding himself back from touching her. From shaking her. “You always choose him. Four years ago. Now. You say my name but you run to him.”
Aria’s chest caved in. “I never chose him over you. You left, Damian. You disappeared. I thought you forgot me.”
“I disappeared because you blocked me,” he said without turning. “Because you deleted every photo. Because when I came back, you were wearing his hoodie.”
The silence stretched. Heavy. Ugly.
Aria wrapped her arms around herself. The drug made her head fuzzy. Made her brave. “You want the truth? I was scared to love you. You were too much. Too intense. Too much Damian. So when you left, part of me was relieved. And I’ve hated myself for it for 5 years.”
Damian stilled. Didn’t turn.
“Then Mark was safe,” Aria whispered. “Safe and boring. And he still cheated. Because nothing is safe without you.”
Damian didn’t answer. He just stood there. Back to her. Breathing hard.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand. Once. Twice. Urgent.
He snatched it up. Read the message. His whole body went still.
Security had sent the hospital CCTV footage.
Damian hit play.
On the small screen: Aria walking out of the hospital at 7:42PM. Looking exhausted. Reaching for her phone. Then a van pulling up. Two men. A cloth over her mouth. Her body going limp. Her phone dropping to the pavement.
Damian watched it once. Twice. Three times.
His hand started shaking.
He turned around slowly. His face was blank. But his eyes. God, his eyes.
He saw it all now. The pale skin. The chloroform in her hair. The way she flinched when he reached for her seatbelt. The way she kept saying “I didn’t go to him.”
He’d been wrong.
He’d called her a slut this morning. He’d believed Mark. He’d carried her here thinking she betrayed him.
And all along, she’d been kidnapped. Drugged. Afraid.
Damian set the phone down very carefully. Like if he moved too fast, the truth would break.
He crossed the room in three steps. Dropped to his knees beside the bed. His hands came up to frame her face. Both hands. Like he was afraid she’d disappear if he let go.
“Aria,” he said. Her name came out broken.
She stared at him. Waiting for more anger. More accusations.
Damian’s thumb brushed her cheek. Then he did something he hadn’t done in 5 years.
He bowed his head. Pressed his forehead to hers.
“I was wrong,” he whispered. The words sounded torn out of him. “God, Aria, I was so wrong.”
Aria’s breath hitched. “Damian?”
“I thought you chose him,” he said against her skin. Voice shaking. “I thought after 5 years you’d still pick him over me. And I was so angry. So scared. So I hurt you instead.”
Aria’s tears fell now. Hot and fast. “You called me a slut.”
“I know,” he said. His voice broke. “I know I did. And I’ll hate myself for it every day for the rest of my life.”
His arms came around her. Careful. Desperate. He pulled her
against his chest like he was trying to put her back together with his hands. Like he was trying to take back every cruel word.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into her hair. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you. I’m sorry I became the man who hurts you instead of the man who protects you.”
Aria’s hands came up slowly. Hesitant. Then fisted in his shirt. She buried her face in his neck and cried. All the fear. All the drugs. All 5 years of missing him.
Damian held her tighter. Rocked her slightly. His lips pressed to her temple. Not demanding. Just sorry. Just there.
“I won’t let anyone touch you again,” he promised against her skin. “Not Mark. Not anyone. I failed you once. I won’t fail you again.”
Aria nodded against his chest. Couldn’t speak.
Damian pulled back just enough to see her face. His thumb wiped her tears away. Slow. Reverent.
“Forgive me,” he whispered. It wasn’t a command. It was a plea. The billionaire begging the girl he lost at 19.
Aria looked at him. Really looked. At the man who broke her heart and then broke down on his knees for her.
She lifted a shaking hand. Cupped his jaw. The same way he held her face last night.
“I do,” she whispered.
Damian closed his eyes like those two words saved him. His forehead dropped to her shoulder. He breathed her in. Relief and guilt and love all at once.
Outside the windows, Lagos kept moving. But in here, time stopped.
He’d been wrong. But she’d forgiven him anyway.
- Writer
