DAMIEN'S POV
She accepted.
I heard the words and understood them, but it still took a moment for them to fully settle. She didn’t hesitate. She didn’t ask for time. She didn’t look torn between choices. She chose power over me, clean and final.
That alone was enough to break something in me.
I had loved her. That was the part I couldn’t deny, no matter how foolish it made me look now. I had loved her quietly, steadily, believing patience would be enough. Believing that if I gave her time, if I didn’t pressure her, she would eventually see me the way I saw her.
Even now, standing in front of her with the decision already made, I knew the truth of myself. If she had chosen me—if she had said my name instead of the title—I would have pushed everything else aside. Duty, expectation, tradi
