Chapter 24 Chapter 24
When the lobby doors closed behind Damien, I felt as though the air had been ripped from my lungs. For a moment, all I could hear was the echo of his words.
“You’ve always been too easy to ruin.”
My hands wouldn’t stop trembling. I hated that—hated feeling small, vulnerable, shaken. I had barely recovered from Daniel’s betrayal, barely learned to breathe again, and now another ghost from my past had crawled out of the shadows.
Damien Kane.
The man I thought I’d never see again.
The man who almost destroyed my father’s company years before Daniel ever entered my life.
The man I once trusted.
“Hey.” Adrian’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts—calm, grounding. He stepped in front of me, blocking the view of the lobby doors as if he could erase Damien’s existence with just his presence. “Look at me, Elena.”
I swallowed hard and lifted my eyes. His gaze wasn’t pitying—it was steady, fierce, unwavering. The kind of look that made my heartbeat slow just enough for me to breathe.
“You’re shaking,” he said gently.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
He arched a brow. “You always say that when you’re about to fall apart.”
“I’m not falling apart,” I snapped.
The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Adrian didn’t flinch. Instead, he reached out and touched my arm—not possessively, not forcefully, just two fingers brushing my skin.
The contact was warm. Familiar. Too grounding.
“We’re not doing this,” he murmured. “Not the part where you pretend you don’t need help.”
A shaky breath escaped me. “I don’t want to be a burden.”
“You’re not,” he said, too quickly, too firmly. “You never were.”
Something inside me loosened—just a little.
He tilted his head toward the elevator. “Come on. Let’s go upstairs. We need to talk.”
Back in his penthouse office, the tension clung to the air like electricity. Adrian paced once, twice, then finally turned to me.
“I need you to tell me everything,” he said. “Every single thing you know about Damien Kane.”
I sank onto the leather couch. My legs felt useless. My heart felt worse.
“I don’t remember much,” I admitted. “Just pieces.”
“Start with what you do remember.”
I closed my eyes.
And suddenly, I was eighteen again.
The memory hit fast—a flash of laughter, a warm hand on mine, Damien smiling down at me like we shared a secret. I remembered trusting him. I remembered thinking he was brilliant, charming.
Then I remembered him leaning close one night at a charity gala, whispering something that made my stomach twist—
“Your father doesn’t deserve his company. You do. And I can help you take it.”
I had pushed him away. I had told my father. And three days later, Damien disappeared.
Now he was back.
For me.
I opened my eyes, chest tightening. Adrian’s hand rested on the arm of the couch, inches from mine.
“He tried to manipulate me,” I said, voice barely above a whisper. “Years ago. He wanted access to the Carter company through me. When I refused, he vanished.”
“And now he’s returned because you’re vulnerable,” Adrian concluded.
“Because he thinks I’m vulnerable,” I corrected.
A faint smile tugged at his lips. “Good.”
I frowned. “What’s good?”
“That you’re finally angry,” he said. “Fear is predictable. Anger is power.”
I let out a breath that shook through me. He wasn’t wrong. Underneath the fear, something hotter smoldered—something sharp.
“You punched him,” I said.
Adrian’s smile widened slightly. “You’re welcome.”
Despite everything, a tiny laugh slipped out of me. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Oh, I absolutely did.” His voice dropped low. “He deserved worse.”
The air shifted. It always did when Adrian stared at me like that—intense, focused, as if I was a problem he wanted to solve and a mystery he wanted to unravel.
“Are you scared of him?” Adrian asked.
“Yes,” I said honestly. “But not in the way he wants me to be.”
“Good.” He stepped closer. Too close. “Because I need your head clear for what I’m about to propose.”
My breath caught. “What now?”
“Pay attention,” he said, sitting beside me. His thigh brushed mine, and my pulse stuttered. “Daniel betrayed you. Mandy mocked you. Damien wants to break you. That’s three enemies, Elena. Not one.”
“And?” I whispered.
“And the only way to deal with all three…” He paused, eyes locked on mine.
“…is to make a move so bold the city can’t ignore it.”
I swallowed. “Adrian, what are you talking about?”
He leaned back slightly, expression unreadable.
“We’re accelerating the contract marriage.”
My heart jolted. “What? Already?”
“Yes,” he said. “Tonight.”
“Tonight?” My voice broke. “Adrian, we need more time—we haven’t even finalized the terms—”
He shook his head. “Damien showed his face. That changes everything. Daniel won’t sit quietly when he finds out. He’ll panic. Mandy will crumble. Damien will overreach. And while they’re all losing their minds…”
He lifted my chin lightly with one finger.
“…you and I will take control.”
The room felt too quiet. Too warm. Too intimate.
“But Adrian,” I murmured,.”
“No,” he said softly. “It’s a weapon. If you choose to use it.”
His closeness made it impossible to think. I felt heat rising up my neck, my breath quickening.
Why?” I whispered.
His jaw tightened. “Because I see a woman who deserves more than being betrayed, discarded, and hunted. And because… I don’t want Damien’s hands anywhere near your future.”
His words hit harder than they should’ve.
“Adrian…”
He exhaled slowly, brushing a stray strand of hair from my face. His fingers lingered a second too long. My skin tingled where he touched.
“You don’t have to decide now,” he said gently. “Just don’t run from me.”
I met his gaze. “I’m not running.”
Something flickered in his eyes—approval, relief… something warmer.
“Good,” he murmured.
A knock on the door broke the moment.
Adrian tensed. “Enter.”
Rina stepped in, expression pale. “Sir… you should see this.”
She handed him her tablet. Adrian’s face darkened as his eyes scanned the screen.
“What is it?” I asked.
He turned the screen toward me.
A headline blared across the top:
ELENA CARTER CAUGHT LEAVING ADRIAN PENTHOUSE.
DANIEL CARTER RESPONDS: “SHE IS STILL MY WIFE.”
My blood went cold.
Pictures followed—me and Adrian entering the building, me stepping out of the car, him holding my waist.
The media had exploded.
“Perfect,” Adrian muttered, standing. “He took the bait.”
I stared at the screen, heart pounding. “Adrian… what do we do now?”
He offered his hand to me.
“Now, Elena,” he said softly but ruthlessly,
“we finish what they started.”
And for the first time, I didn’t feel afraid.
I felt ready.