His for Six Months

Chapter 12: Torn Between Fire and Ash

Chapter 12: Torn Between Fire and Ash

(Burning for him, even if it destroys me)

The cold silence in the penthouse was deafening.

Aria sat curled on the edge of Cade’s designer couch, her knees hugged tightly to her chest, wearing only the oversized T-shirt he’d thrown at her after she’d stumbled back in, mascara smudged and soul shaken.

She hadn’t said a word since last night.

And neither had Cade.

He stood across the room, shirtless, hands shoved into the pockets of his slacks, his usually unreadable eyes now burning with accusation. His jaw clenched and flexed every few seconds like he was biting down the truth—or the scream he wanted to let loose.

“What happened last night?” he asked, voice low and dark. “Don’t lie to me, Aria.”

She flinched. Not because of his tone—Cade never raised his voice. That would be too easy. It was the restraint, the pain wrapped in control, that shattered her.

“I—I needed air,” she whispered, eyes avoiding his.

“You disappeared for six hours. You think I didn’t have someone follow you?” His voice was sharper now, cutting.

Her heart stuttered. Of course he did. Of course Cade Kingsley wouldn’t let her vanish without a trace. Especially not now, when his grip on her was tightening with every passing day.

“I went to Damon,” she finally said.

And there it was.

Cade turned, pacing, as if the confession physically slapped him.

“With him,” she added, because omission would be a worse lie.

His laugh was bitter, cold. “You went running to the man who plays god in backrooms and buries secrets with a smirk?”

Aria stood abruptly, bare feet padding across the floor toward him. “I didn’t sleep with him, Cade.”

He stopped and turned to her, eyes glassy with something too raw to name. “But you wanted to.”

The silence that followed was brutal. And honest.

She looked away, unable to deny it.

Damon had offered her escape. He’d offered her power, her own rules, her own terms. But Cade—Cade was something else. He was the fire that consumed everything. Including her.

“I’m losing you,” Cade said, barely above a whisper. “And I don’t even know if I ever had you.”

His vulnerability cracked her wide open.

“You have me,” she said, stepping closer. “But you never asked what that means.”

He tilted his head. “Then tell me. Tell me what I am to you. What this—” he gestured between them, voice catching “—even is.”

Aria swallowed hard. “It’s madness. It’s a storm. It’s me forgetting who I am just to feel something real.”

He took her hand gently, tracing his thumb over the delicate skin of her wrist. “Then let’s make it real.”

She froze. “What do you mean?”

Cade’s gaze turned molten. “Marry me.”