The flash drive felt heavier than it should've. I turned it over in my hands while sitting in the lounge. The lights were off, and the city skyline outside the window cast a faint reflection of my shadow.
My heart was in turmoil.
If Damian was lying, this was just another layer in his web. But if he was telling the truth, everything I believed about my father, Lucien, and my mission would come crashing down.
Was that really why I married him? To uncover the truth?
And now, it was right in front of me, and I was supposed to be brave enough to face it?
I plugged in the drive, and folders popped up on the screen. One was labeled "Project Chimera," and another read "A.C. Personal Agreement."
My fingers shook as I clicked on them.
A video started playing. Damian and my father were sitting across from each other at a long oak table. The video quality was grainy, but the audio was crystal clear.
"You're asking me to hand over blackmail files on Lucien?" My father's voice was tight.
Damian leaned in. "You have them. He'll eventually kill you for it. But I can protect you if you give them to me."
"And in return?"
"You stay under my protection. You work under my umbrella, and Claire… well, she gets everything. A new life. Away from all this."
I gasped softly. My father looked pale on the screen.
"You want her out of the country?"
"No," he replied quickly. "I want her safe, close, and watched."
My father narrowed his eyes. "She's not one of your possessions, Cross."
"No, she's precious to you, and now, she's precious to me."
And just like that, the video ended.
I sat there for a moment, trying to catch my breath.
My father had been willing to trade Lucien's blackmail files for my safety. But Damian… he hadn't been part of my father's life. He wanted me in his sights from the very start.
He'd been watching me all along.
Hours later, Damian found me on the terrace, barefoot with my legs curled under me, the city's breeze tangling my hair.
He didn't say anything at first; he just stood behind me.
"You saw it," he finally said.
"Yes."
Silence hung between us.
You wanted me before the contract, I thought.
"I wanted you the moment I saw you at your father's side," he admitted. "You didn't belong in his world. You were light trapped in a place full of monsters."
And you think you can save me? I wondered, seeing the rawness in his expression.
"For a while, I told myself it was for your protection. Keeping you close felt like the safest thing to do. But truthfully, I wanted you where I could see you. Control you. Touch you."
And now?
"Now, I can't sleep when you're not in the same room," he said quietly. "And I hate that. I have you to thank for that."
My throat tightened.
Because even after realizing the manipulation, the lies, and the darkness, I wanted him too. And that thought was scarier than anything else.
The next morning, the cracks in our war grew deeper.
Damian no longer looked at me like a trophy. He watched me like a man on the edge.
At breakfast, he didn't sit at the head of the table. Instead, he sat beside me. He didn't just give orders; he asked questions. For the first time, I didn't flinch when he reached for my hands.
Yet beneath that fragile silence, the danger still lingered.
Lucien sent a message.
A single black rose arrived with a note: "Ready when you are. L."
Damian crushed the stem in his hand when he saw it.
"Why is he still breathing?" I asked coldly.
Damian looked at me, something dark flickering in his eyes.
"Because I was waiting for you. For you to choose."
Choose?
He walked toward me, blood from the rose dripping down his fingers.
"You've lived between two devils for too long. It's time for you to pick one."
That night, sleep eluded me. My mind twisted with memories, choices, and lies.
I remembered Lucien's warmth, his charm.
But I also recalled how my father looked in that recording scared, torn, yet ultimately loyal to me.
Then there was Damian's cruelty, his possessiveness, how he took my freedom.
And now, he looked at me like I was the one thing keeping him together.
My phone buzzed.
An unknown number. But I already knew who it was, Lucien.
"Just one more night. Then I'll finally take action. You can either join me or stay locked up in that cage.
I stared at the screen, fixating on that word: *cage*. I must've thought about it a hundred times already.
But as I looked around the penthouse, I started to question everything. The security, the guy who used to demand my compliance but now just waited. It all felt surreal.
I stepped into Damian's bedroom. He was perched on the edge of the bed, his shirt unbuttoned, sleeves rolled up, and bruised knuckles on display.
"Victor said you were out," I said. He glanced up at me.
"I was. Just sending a message."
"Did it work?"
"No," he replied, "but it felt good."
I moved closer, my fingers lightly grazing his jaw.
With his eyes closed, I whispered, "I know what you are."
"Then say it." You're a liar. A manipulator. You've kept me here under false promises.
"Yes."
You took my father's life, fearing he'd betray you.
"No," he corrected, opening his eyes. "I took his life because he betrayed me."
So, what am I to you? He didn't blink.
"Mine."
I didn't pull away, didn't scream. Instead, I took a step closer and whispered, "Then prove it."
"How?"
Help me take down Lucien. Help me end this. Not for control, not because of a contract. Because I choose this. Because I choose you.
For the first time, he looked rattled.
"You'd really stand by me?"
"Only," I said softly, "if you let me burn with you."
He stood up, cupping my face in both hands, his forehead resting against mine.
"No more lies?" he asked.
"No more contracts," I whispered. "Just vengeance."
And in that moment, we didn't kiss, didn't touch out of lust or anger.
We stood there together, two broken, hunted souls finally making a choice.
To rise up against the world together.