Chapter 12: Secrets Between Us
968 Words
The morning felt heavier than usual.
Ariana Valdez stood in her office, staring blankly at the city skyline. The events of the previous night replayed endlessly in her mind—Damian’s cold words, the way he looked at her like she meant nothing, and how easily she had walked away.
And yet… it didn’t feel like victory.
It felt like something had broken.
A knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts.
“Ma’am, there’s someone here to see you,” her assistant said hesitantly.
“Who is it?” Ariana asked, her voice tired.
“He said his name is Victor Cruz.”
Ariana froze.
Cruz.
The same last name as Damian.
“Send him in,” she said after a moment.
The door opened, and a man stepped inside—tall, composed, with sharp eyes that seemed to observe everything. There was something unsettling about his calmness.
“So you’re Ariana Valdez,” he said, his tone polite but distant.
“And you’re Damian’s…?” she asked carefully.
“Cousin,” he replied. “And someone who believes you deserve to know the truth.”
Ariana’s chest tightened. “What truth?”
Victor didn’t hesitate. “Your family destroyed ours.”
The words hit like a slap.
“That’s not true,” Ariana said immediately, her voice firm. “My father built everything we have with integrity.”
Victor let out a quiet laugh. “Is that what you’ve been told?”
Ariana felt her pulse quicken. “If you came here to insult my family—”
“I came here to warn you,” he interrupted. “Damian didn’t come back into your life by accident.”
Silence filled the room.
“What are you saying?” she asked slowly.
Victor met her gaze. “He married you for revenge.”
Ariana’s world seemed to tilt.
“No,” she whispered. “That’s not—”
“It is,” Victor said firmly. “Your father’s business decisions years ago led to the downfall of ours. Damian lost everything. His family’s name. Their reputation. Their future.”
Ariana shook her head, stepping back. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?” Victor reached into his coat and placed a file on her desk. “Then read it.”
Her hands trembled as she opened it. Documents. Old reports. Headlines from years ago.
Scandals. Mergers. Accusations.
And her father’s company—right at the center of it all.
Her breath hitched.
“This… this can’t be real,” she murmured.
“But it is,” Victor said quietly. “And Damian never forgot.”
Ariana looked up, her voice barely steady. “Then why tell me this?”
“Because,” Victor replied, “you’re the only one who doesn’t know you’re being used.”
By the time Ariana left the office, her thoughts were a storm of confusion and pain.
She didn’t know what to believe anymore.
Her father.
Damian.
The marriage.
Was everything built on a lie?
That night, she returned to the penthouse.
Damian was already there.
Standing by the window.
Waiting.
“You’re late,” he said, though his voice lacked its usual edge.
Ariana didn’t respond.
She walked toward him slowly, the file still clutched tightly in her hand.
“We need to talk.”
Damian turned, his expression unreadable. “About what?”
Ariana placed the file on the table between them.
“About this.”
His eyes flicked to the documents.
And for the first time—
She saw it.
The hesitation.
The truth.
“You were going to tell me,” she said, though it came out more like a question.
Damian exhaled slowly. “Ariana—”
“Don’t,” she snapped. “Just… don’t.”
Her voice trembled, but she didn’t stop.
“Tell me it’s not true,” she said. “Tell me you didn’t marry me for revenge.”
Silence.
That was all the answer she needed.
Her chest tightened painfully. “So it’s true.”
“It started that way,” Damian admitted quietly.
The words shattered something inside her.
“Started?” she repeated. “So what, I was just part of your plan? A way to get back at my family?”
His jaw clenched. “It wasn’t that simple.”
“It feels pretty simple to me,” she shot back. “You used me.”
“I didn’t expect things to change,” he said, his voice low.
Ariana laughed bitterly. “Change? You think that makes it better?”
“It does to me,” he replied, stepping closer. “Because somewhere along the way… it stopped being about revenge.”
Her heart pounded—but she refused to let herself believe him.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “You don’t get to say that now. Not after everything.”
“Ariana, listen to me—”
“I trusted you,” she whispered, her voice breaking. “Even when I didn’t want to… I did.”
Damian’s expression softened, but she stepped back.
“Don’t,” she said again. “Just… stay away from me.”
The distance between them felt wider than ever.
Not just physical.
But something deeper.
Something broken.
Later that night, Ariana sat alone, the weight of everything pressing down on her.
The man she was supposed to trust…
Had been hiding the truth all along.
And now, she didn’t know what hurt more—
The betrayal…
Or the fact that despite everything—
Her heart still ached for him.
Across the room, Damian stood in silence, watching her from a distance he didn’t know how to close anymore.
Revenge had brought him here.
But now…
It had cost him the one thing he never meant to lose.
- Writer
