MARRIED TO THE COLD PROFESSOR

# Chapter Ten: *Beneath the Mask*

**Toronto – One Week Later**

The university buzzed with scandal. Students whispered behind coffee cups, emails flew with subject lines like *“Did you hear?”* and *“The Cold Professor's Fall?”* And Amara? She walked the halls like a ghost.

Damian hadn’t called.

Hadn’t texted.

Not since the emergency meeting. Not since she told him she needed time to think. Not since the last message arrived on her phone: _"If you want the real story, meet me where it all started."_

The message was unsigned.

But Amara knew exactly where to go.

---

**Harborview Retreat Villa – Two Hours Outside Toronto**

It was where Damian had taken her the first time he’d confessed he was falling for her.

It was also where that infamous photo of him and Melanie had been taken.

She arrived alone, the wind slapping her coat against her thighs. The villa was mostly empty—off-season. But one suite had lights on.

She knocked.

The door opened.

And there she was.

**Melanie.**

Older now. Paler. More angular. But still striking.

> "You came."

Amara stepped inside without invitation. "You’ve been following me."

> "Watching. Protecting. It’s all the same when the truth is ugly."

> "What do you want from me?"

Melanie shut the door. "I want you to stop trusting him."

> "Why?"

> "Because the man you think loves you... doesn’t even know what love is."

> "Then tell me everything. Right now."

Melanie sighed. "He didn’t touch me. Not physically. But what he did emotionally? Mentally? He broke me. He used my ambition against me. Promised me a future in research, then left me out of the biggest project we ever developed."

Amara’s voice was calm. "Did you sleep with him?"

> "No. But I wanted to. That was my mistake. I mistook kindness for care. He was never yours either, you know. Not really."

> "I’m not here to fight over a man. I’m here for the truth."

Melanie walked to a small desk and pulled out a USB drive. She held it out. "Everything’s on here. Emails. Meeting logs. Recordings. You’ll see what he did. What he buried."

> "Why give it to me now?"

> "Because I’m tired of running. And you’re not just his lover anymore. You’re his blind spot."

---

**That Night – Damian’s Penthouse**

The moment he saw her at his door, Damian looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He reached for her, but she held up the USB drive.

> "She gave me this. Melanie."

His hands froze mid-air.

> "She’s back?"

> "She never left. She’s been watching us the whole time."

Damian stepped back. Ran a hand through his hair.

> "Can I explain?"

> "You better do more than that."

They sat in silence as she loaded the files on his computer. Dozens of documents appeared. Email chains. Meeting logs. Voice recordings.

Amara clicked play.

> [Recording: Damian] – _“If she gets in the way, we’ll remove her. Amara’s not part of the equation anymore.”_

She stared at the screen in horror.

Damian paused the playback. "That wasn’t about you. That was taken out of context. It was about a board decision. I was trying to keep you off the radar."

> "Why do you always protect me by pushing me away?"

> "Because losing you would kill me."

She stood abruptly, pacing.

> "You lied to me."

> "I protected you. Those aren’t the same thing."

> "And what if I say they are?"

He reached her in two strides, grabbing her wrist—not hard, just enough to stop her.

> "Then punish me. But don’t leave me."

She shoved him back. "You don’t get to beg."

> "Then take. Use me. Hate me. Just stay."

The tension between them snapped.

---

**Bedroom – Minutes Later**

They crashed into each other like a firestorm.

She ripped his shirt open, buttons flying. He spun her into the wall, mouth on hers, bruising and desperate.

> "You lied."

> "I did."

> "You broke me."

> "I’ll break for you."

He dropped to his knees, lifting her skirt, tearing her panties with one hand.

> "You don’t deserve this."

> "No. But you do."

He licked a stripe up her inner thigh. She gasped.

Then screamed.

She came twice before he even unzipped his pants.

He stood, lifted her in his arms, carried her to the bed, and entered her in one hard, unforgiving thrust.

She arched, cursed, clawed at him.

> "You’re mine," he growled.

> "I hate you."

> "Say it again."

> "I. Hate. You."

> "Then let me ruin you."

He took her on her knees.

On her back.

On the window overlooking the city.

Until her voice was gone and her body gave up.

They lay panting in the aftershock.

> "I still don’t trust you," she whispered.

> "Then stay until you do."

> "Or until you destroy me."

> "Or until I destroy myself loving you."

---

**Midnight – Balcony**

They sat wrapped in silence, sipping wine.

> "What will you do with the files?" he asked.

> "I haven’t decided."

> "You could end my career."

> "You could’ve ended me first."

> "But I didn’t."

> "Not yet."

She turned to face him.

> "So what now, Damian? Are we enemies? Lovers? Or both?"

> "We’re fire. We burn until there’s nothing left."

And she didn’t correct him.

Because maybe he was right.

---

*End of Chapter Ten**