Fireproof
882 Words
The rain poured down in sheets, drumming against the windows of Damon’s penthouse like a warning from the heavens. Inside, the fireplace flickered low, casting warm light over the modern space, all steel, glass, and silent tension.
Celeste sat on the couch, legs folded under her, staring at a newspaper headline:
“CEO Damon Blackthorn’s Ex Fiancée Speaks Out: ‘He’s Not Who He Pretends to Be.’”
It was everywhere.
Alina had gone public.
---
“I knew she’d try to make noise,” Damon muttered, pacing. “I didn’t think she’d go this far.”
“She’s desperate,” Celeste said quietly. “She’s losing.”
He looked at her, surprised at her calm. “You’re not scared?”
Celeste folded the paper. “I’m angry. She’s trying to rewrite your story. And I won’t let her.”
He walked over, knelt in front of her. “How do you still trust me?”
She smiled softly, fingers brushing his cheek. “Because even when the fire’s burning, you’ve never tried to run. You fight. And I know you’d never let me burn alone.”
---
Elsewhere in the city, Ava stood in front of her mirror, staring at her reflection like it might offer answers.
Jace Monroe had, in fact, asked her out.
Sort of.
His exact words were: “If I take you out, will you stop pretending you don’t like me?”
The man was a walking ego. But damn it, he was charming.
And worse...sincere.
Her phone buzzed.
Jace: “Dinner. Tonight. Wear something dangerous.”
She rolled her eyes, smiling despite herself.
---
Celeste spent the afternoon at her favorite bookstore, escaping the chaos of headlines and flashing cameras. She ran her fingers along the spines of novels, finding comfort in the stories of others.
That’s where Evelyn found her.
“I thought I might find you here,” Damon’s mother said, approaching with a soft smile.
Celeste smiled, setting a book down. “Sometimes this is the only place that makes sense.”
Evelyn tilted her head. “You love him, don’t you?”
Celeste didn’t hesitate. “Yes. Deeply.”
Evelyn placed a hand over hers. “Then don’t let this world scare you out of it. You’re stronger than it.”
---
That night, Damon took Celeste to his private estate on the outskirts of the city, a place untouched by press, security, or past ghosts.
They walked the gardens under the stars, silent at first.
Then Celeste asked, “If you could do it all again… would you still have let her in?”
He paused.
“No. Because every wrong turn still led me to you.”
She nodded. “Then I can live with that.”
---
And miles away, at a rooftop restaurant lit with fairy lights, Ava and Jace shared wine and laughter, and their first real kiss.
It was warm, lingering, and dangerous.
Like fire.
---
The kiss broke gently, but the tension didn’t.
Ava pulled back slightly, her breath shaky. “So… that wasn’t bad.”
Jace smirked, voice low. “You taste like trouble.”
Ava rolled her eyes. “Don’t get cocky.”
“I’m just getting started.”
She leaned back in her seat, gaze softening. “I didn’t expect this to be real.”
He reached for her hand across the table. “Neither did I. But it is.”
For the first time, Ava let herself believe it.
---
Meanwhile, Celeste and Damon stood under the stars, the stillness of the estate wrapping around them like a protective cloak. The world felt distant out here, no noise, no headlines, just them.
He turned to her. “There’s something I want to give you.”
He pulled a small velvet box from his coat pocket. Not a ring, not yet. But something meaningful.
Inside was a necklace. Simple. Elegant. A tiny gold pendant shaped like a flame.
“It reminded me of you,” he said. “Unbreakable. Fireproof.”
Celeste smiled, touched beyond words. “Put it on me?”
He stepped behind her, fingers brushing her skin as he clasped it around her neck.
And in that moment, she felt safe.
Not because he promised to shield her from everything.
But because he promised to stand with her, no matter what came.
---
The next morning, chaos returned.
The media storm escalated. Alina appeared on a talk show, tears carefully placed, her words sharp.
“She’s just a phase. He’ll come back to me.”
Damon didn’t respond.
But Celeste did.
She posted a single photo on her private account, the necklace around her neck, her hand in Damon’s.
No caption.
The message was clear.
---
That evening, the Monroe brothers gathered for dinner, all six siblings under one roof again.
Ava sat beside Jace, teasing him relentlessly while the others looked on with amusement.
Celeste leaned close to Ethan. “They’re ridiculous, aren’t they?”
Ethan grinned. “Yeah. But he’s smiling like he hasn’t in years. You think she’s the one?”
Celeste nodded. “I know she is.”
---
But as laughter echoed through the house, a new message slipped into Damon’s inbox.
Unknown number:
“Thought you got rid of me? Think again....A.”
- Writer
