Chapter 10: Face to Face
1019 Words
"Damian...?"
The name escaped Zara's lips like a fragile whisper.
For a heartbeat, the warehouse fell silent.
Then, from the darkness, a tall figure slowly stepped into the faint glow of the overhead lights.
Damian Kingsley.
Five years had changed him.
His jaw was sharper, his shoulders broader, and the warmth she once knew in his eyes had been replaced by quiet sorrow. Yet the moment his gaze met hers, Zara recognized the man she had loved... and the man she had sworn never to forgive.
Her breath caught.
"You..."
Damian took a cautious step forward.
"Zara, listen to me. You have to leave. Right now."
She let out a bitter laugh.
"Leave? After five years of silence, that's the first thing you have to say?"
His expression tightened.
"This isn't the time."
"No!" she snapped, her voice echoing through the warehouse. "You don't get to tell me what time it is anymore."
Her eyes burned with unshed tears.
"I waited for an explanation."
"I begged for one."
"You let me believe I meant nothing to you."
Damian's hands curled into fists at his sides.
"Every single day, I've regretted what happened."
"Then tell me why!" Zara cried. "Tell me why you destroyed our wedding!"
Before Damian could answer, a slow clap echoed from the shadows.
Clap...
Clap...
Clap...
Both of them turned sharply.
A man dressed in black emerged from the darkness, his face hidden behind a silver mask engraved with the familiar serpent wrapped around a dagger.
"So touching," he said mockingly.
"The lovers finally reunite."
Damian immediately moved in front of Zara.
"Stay behind me."
She stared at him in disbelief.
Even now...
He was protecting her.
The masked man chuckled.
"I've waited five years for this moment."
Damian's voice turned cold.
"What do you want?"
"The truth."
He tilted his head toward Zara.
"Or perhaps... she deserves it more than you."
With a snap of his fingers, several large screens hanging from the warehouse walls flickered to life.
Old security footage began to play.
The date displayed on the screen made Zara's heart stop.
Five years ago.
Her wedding day.
She took an involuntary step toward the screen.
"No..."
The footage showed the church exactly as she remembered it.
Guests smiling.
Flowers everywhere.
Then the doors burst open.
The mysterious woman entered carrying the little boy.
But this time...
The video continued beyond the moment Zara had walked away.
Her eyes widened.
"I never saw this..."
Damian closed his eyes.
"This is exactly what I was trying to prevent."
Zara stared at the giant screen, unable to tear her eyes away.
The footage continued.
The mysterious woman stood before the guests, clutching the little boy as she pointed accusingly at Damian.
"I've come to stop this wedding!" she shouted. "He's my husband, and this is our son!"
Gasps echoed through the church.
Then the camera shifted.
For the first time, Zara saw something she had never witnessed before.
Damian wasn't looking at the woman.
He was looking toward the back of the church.
His face had gone completely pale.
"What..." Zara whispered.
"What were you looking at?"
On the screen, a man dressed in black stood near one of the exits. His face was hidden beneath a cap, but the serpent-and-dagger tattoo on his wrist was clearly visible.
The stranger slowly dragged his finger across his throat while staring directly at Damian.
A silent threat.
Damian closed his eyes.
"They told me they'd kill you if I exposed them."
Tears filled Zara's eyes.
"You knew they were there?"
"I saw them before the ceremony began."
"Then why didn't you tell me?"
"Because they were watching every move I made."
The masked man laughed.
"How romantic."
"You finally understand, don't you, Zara?"
"He chose your life over your love."
Damian glared at him.
"Enough."
The masked man ignored him.
"Do you know what happened after you ran away from the church?"
He pressed a button on a small remote.
Another video appeared.
Zara watched in stunned silence as Damian chased after her.
He searched every street around the church.
He shouted her name over and over again.
Hours passed.
Rain poured from the sky.
Still, he kept searching.
By midnight, he had fallen to his knees on an empty sidewalk, his face buried in his hands.
"I never stopped looking for you," Damian said quietly.
"I searched for months."
"They made sure you could never be found."
Zara's vision blurred with tears.
All those years...
She had believed he simply let her go.
The masked man clapped slowly.
"A touching reunion."
"But sadly..."
He raised a gun and pointed it at Zara.
"...happy endings aren't part of our story."
Damian reacted instantly.
"Get down!"
He threw himself in front of Zara just as a deafening gunshot echoed through the warehouse.
Bang!
The bullet shattered a steel beam behind them.
Chaos erupted.
Several armed men rushed from the shadows.
Damian grabbed Zara's hand.
"Run!"
"What about you?"
"Go!"
He pushed her toward a side exit while Ethan and the security team burst through another entrance.
"Protect Miss Williams!" Ethan shouted.
A fierce exchange of gunfire filled the warehouse.
Zara stumbled toward the exit but stopped when she heard Damian grunt in pain.
She turned.
Her heart nearly stopped.
Damian was clutching his shoulder.
Blood seeped through his white shirt.
"Damian!"
He looked up, forcing a faint smile despite the pain.
"I'm okay."
But before either of them could move, the masked leader disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind only his chilling voice.
"This is only the beginning."
"We'll meet again very soon."
Police sirens echoed outside the warehouse as the remaining attackers fled through hidden exits.
The warehouse fell silent once more.
Zara rushed to Damian's side, dropping to her knees beside him.
For the first time in five years, she reached out and held his hand.
His fingers closed gently around hers.
Their eyes met.
Neither of them spoke.
There were still too many lies...
Too many unanswered questions...
But for the first time since the wedding that tore them apart, neither wanted to let go.
- Writer
