Chapter 59
Damien POV
“I’ve tripled security. Aria and Noah are under 24-hour protection. And I’m working with federal authorities to locate Marcus before he can hurt anyone else.” My voice hardened. “My brother made a mistake thinking he could use my family against me. Because now I have something worth protecting, something worth fighting for. And I will burn down everything in my path to keep them safe p>
The reporters exchanged glances. They’d gotten their story—the cold CEO brought to his knees by love and fatherhood. Tomorrow’s headlines would be brutal and sensational.
I didn’t care.
“One last question.” A young reporter stood up. “What’s your message to Aria, if she’s watching p>
I looked at the camera again, imagining her somewhere in this building, maybe watching on a monitor.
“You’re not broken, Aria. You were never broken. You were always enough—more than enough. I was the broken one, too damaged to see the treasure I had. But I see you now. I see your strength, your intelligence, your fierce love for our son. I see how you command boardrooms and build empires while still being the most devoted mother I’ve ever known p>
My voice cracked slightly. “I see you, and I’m in awe. And if you never forgive me, if you decide I’ve hurt you too deeply to ever trust again, I’ll understand. But please know that you deserve everything. Every happiness, every dream, every moment of peace. And I’ll spend my life trying to give you those things, whether you want me beside you or not p>
Silence fell over the room. Even the jaded reporters seemed moved.
“Thank you all for coming.” I stepped back from the podium. “No further questions p>
I walked off the stage, my heart pounding. Security moved in immediately, forming a protective barrier as I headed for the private elevator.
James was waiting. “Sir, we need to discuss the security breach p>
“Later.” I needed to find Aria, needed to make sure she was okay after that ambush of a press conference.
“Sir, it’s urgent. Marcus left another”
“I said later.” I hit the button for the executive floor. “Where’s Aria p>
“Your private office, she asked not to be disturbed p>
Of course she did. I’d just declared my love on international television. She probably wanted to strangle me.
The elevator doors opened. I walked through the empty executive suite, my footsteps echoing on the marble floors.
Her voice stopped me outside my office door. She was on the phone, her tone sharp and professional.
“Yes, I saw the press conference. No, I’m not commenting on it. Tell the board I’ll address any concerns at tomorrow’s meeting.” A pause. “I don’t care what the headlines say. Monroe Global’s position hasn’t changed p>
I knocked softly as the conversation cut off abruptly.
“Come in p>
She stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, her back to me. The afternoon sun lit her hair like a halo, but her shoulders were tense, her spine rigid.
“You didn’t have to say all that,” she said quietly. “In front of everyone p>
“Yes, I did.” I closed the door. “You won’t let me say it privately p>
“Because I don’t want to hear it.” She turned to face me, and I saw the tears tracking down her cheeks. “I don’t want to hear how much you love me when I still remember how much you hated me. When I can still hear your voice telling me to get rid of our baby. When I still wake up some nights and feel like that broken woman you threw away p>
“Aria”
“No.” She held up her hand. “You don’t get to declare your love and expect everything to be okay. You don’t get to make grand gestures and have me fall into your arms. Real life doesn’t work like that, Damien. Real trauma doesn’t heal because you said pretty words on camera p>
“I know.” I stayed where I was, giving her space. “I know I can’t fix this with words. But I needed you to know anyway. I needed you to understand that this isn’t about convenience or Noah or business. It’s about you, just you p>
“Why now?” Her voice broke. “Why do you love me now when you couldn’t even like me then p>
“Because I was too broken to see you.” The truth burned coming out. “My father destroyed something in me. Made me think love was weakness, that emotion was failure. I looked at you and felt things I couldn’t name, and didn’t know how to process. So I shut it down. Convinced myself you were nothing, that the marriage meant nothing p>
I took a step closer. “But you were never nothing, Aria. Even when I was too damaged to admit it, you were everything. You were light in my darkness, warmth in my ice. And I was so terrified of that feeling that I destroyed it before it could destroy me p>
“That doesn’t make it better.” She wiped at her tears angrily. “It doesn’t excuse what you did p>
“I know. Nothing excuses it. But maybe it explains it.” I stopped a few feet away, close enough to see the pain in her eyes. “I was cruel because I was scared. I threw you out because keeping you was too dangerous to my carefully constructed walls. And I’ve regretted it every second since p>
“Do you know what the worst part was?” She looked at me, her eyes red. “It wasn’t the rejection. It wasn’t even the abortion demand, though that was horrifying. It was the indifference. The way you looked at me like I was nothing. Like our baby was nothing. Like months of sharing your space, didn’t even register as real to you p>
The words gutted me. “I’m sorry p>
“I know you are.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “But sorry doesn’t undo the damage, Damien. Sorry doesn’t make me trust you. It doesn’t make me believe you won’t do it again the next time you’re scared or angry or overwhelmed p>
“Then what will?” I asked desperately. “Tell me what to do and I’ll do it. Tell me how to prove myself and I’ll spend my life proving it. Just tell me there’s a chance. Tell me I haven’t destroyed this completely p>
She was quiet for a long moment, staring out at the city below. When she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper.
“I don’t know if there’s a chance. I don’t know if I can ever trust you again.” She looked at me, her expression shattered. “But I know I can’t make that decision right now. Not with everything happening. Not with Marcus still out there threatening Noah. Not when I’m this confused and scared and exhausted p>
“Okay.” I nodded, forcing myself to accept it. “Okay. We table it. Focus on keeping Noah safe and getting through this crisis. And when things settle, when you’re ready, we’ll talk p>
“If I’m ever ready p>
“If you’re ever ready,” I agreed
She moved toward the door, but stopped beside me. For a moment, we just stood there, close enough that I could smell her perfume—something floral and expensive that I’d never noticed before she left.
“For what it’s worth,” she said softly, not looking at me. “The man you were today, in that conference room—he’s the man I needed years ago. The one who’s honest and vulnerable and willing to fight for us. If you’d been him then, everything would be different p>
“I’m him now.” I turned my head to look at her profile. “It took losing you to become him, but I’m him now p>
“I hope so.” She finally met my eyes. “Because if you’re not—if this is just another game or manipulation—it will destroy me. And I won’t survive it a second time, Damien. I won’t come back from it p>
“It’s not a game.” I reached out slowly, giving her time to pull away. When she didn’t, I brushed a tear from her cheek with my thumb. “This is me, completely raw and honest. No walls, no ice, no protection. This is me loving you and terrified you’ll never love me back p>
She closed her eyes, leaning into my touch for just a second. Then she pulled away and walked to the door.
“We should get back to Noah. He’ll be wondering where we are p>
“Aria.” I stopped her with her hand on the doorknob. “Thank you p>
“For what p>
“For not giving up on me completely. For staying here, for letting me try. For—” My voice cracked. “For not taking Noah and disappearing again. That would kill me now p>
“I know.” She opened the door. “That’s why I’m staying. Not for you. But because you clearly love him, and he deserves to know his father p>
She left, the door closing softly behind her.
I stood alone in my office, my reflection staring back at me from the windows. I looked different somehow—less controlled, more human. The Ice King was melting, and it showed.
My phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
Touching speech, brother. It almost made me cry. Too bad it won’t matter when I take everything from you.
Tell Aria she looks beautiful in blue. It’s definitely her color. She wore it today, didn’t she?
My blood ran cold. He was watching us. Right now, somehow, Marcus was watching.
I looked down at the street below, scanning for anyone suspicious. Nothing. But he was out there somewhere, planning his next move.
And this time, he knew exactly how to hurt me—by going after the woman I loved and the son I’d do anything to protect.
I hit the speed dial for James. “Get everyone together. Now. We have a problem p>
Another text came through as I headed for the door.
The press conference was entertaining. But the real show hasn’t started yet. Act Two begins tonight. Hope you’re ready, Damien. Because I’m coming for everything you love.
And this time, no one’s going to save them.