Chapter 58 UNMASKING
ARIA'S POV
A surprise party.
I should have remembered that Damian is a popular billionaire,so who wouldn't show up for his party.
Silly me.
I remembered how he told me. “Wear something black tonight. We’re going out,” I didn’t argue. I simply nodded, sensing the storm gathering behind his eyes.
This wasn't “going out.”
This was a gala.
Viktor didn't agree to this plan of his. He didn't show up for the party.
The hall was just luxury, everywhere sparked like gold.
And I was walking with two guards,Damain wouldn't let me move alone. My necklace shone like sharp stone. It was a diamond,for the rich.
I didn't know everyone he invited,some were familiar,many weren't.
I could only gasp in my mind.
Damian walked up to me, talking me by the arm.
“Damian… what is this?”
He didn’t look at me.
Not yet.
“Insurance,” he said coldly. “And exposure.”
The bad kind.
“Stay beside me. No matter what.”
I nodded, even though my hands shook.
We walked in hand-in-hand.
Everyone turned.
Everyone stared.
Some in sympathy.
Some in curiosity.
Some in hunger, waiting for the next scandal to erupt.
Then I noticed a lady in silver dress, causing a scandal with the servants.
Damian went up to her.
“Excuse me?” She turned, looking in awe.
Then her reaction changed,acting bold,like the center of attraction.
“ Oh, you're here!” She said to Damian.
“That means you were invited by the president. You hold a high place,I can see.” She laughed mockingly.
I walked up to her.
Only to discover a shocking person.
Lila.
Again.
I looked at Damian,he wanted to laugh but he didn't.
“She's here too!”
“What are you doing here” I asked.
“I should be the one asking that,well your contract husband will answer.”
I moved closer, angrily. “Don't you dare.”
“Enough!” Damian shouted.
“That not the reason we are here. We are here for something important, something innovating,that will shake the world.”
Then he shouted, “ Cheers to our latest discovery which will change the world.”
“Ready?” he whispered.
“No,” I whispered back.
“Good,” he said. “Fear keeps you alert.”
Then he pulled me forward.
“In front of everyone.”
Several hefty men surrounded her.
I understood his plan.
Then Damian turned and raised his voice,just enough to carry to the surrounding guests.
“Everyone here knows Lila as Caleb’s devoted friend. The woman so fiercely loyal she dragged us all into court over his tragedy.”
People glanced around.
Some nodded.
Others frowned.
“And tonight,” Damian said slowly, “you’re all about to discover who she really is.”
“What are you doing” she frowned,a little bit scared. “I'm outta here.”
“Not close lady.” One hefty man pushed her. She stood still.
The video was projected to the wall,then played.
Lila’s voice echoed through the event hall, loud, clear, damning:
“…I switched Caleb’s food…”
A gasp rippled across the room.
Her face crumpled.
“…set up Damian…”
People stepped back from her.
“…make Aria look unstable…”
My chest caved.
“…threatened the witness..”
The entire room froze.
Lila stepped back, shaking her head violently.
“No…no…that’s not…You don’t understand! I didn’t mean…Aria, you know me, you know I wouldn’t…”
“You poisoned Caleb,” Damian said quietly, deadly. “You drugged him. You let him collapse. And you let me take the blame.”
Lila’s face twisted.
And then…
She broke.
She didn’t cry.
She didn’t beg.
She exploded.
“YES!” she screamed suddenly, clawing her hands through her hair. “YES, I DID IT.”
I stumbled backward.
Damian caught me.
Lila’s voice cracked, hysterical, raw.
“I did it because he loved you!” she shrieked at me. “He was obsessed with you, Aria! He never looked at me the way he looked at you—he never cared—he never saw me!”
The room fell deathly silent.
Cameras zoomed in.
People recorded every word.
“I loved him!” Lila cried. “I loved Caleb! And he… he would rather die than choose me! You let that.”
Tears streamed down her face, streaking her makeup.
“You never let me be with him.” She cried. I called it fake.
“ You were older.” I shouted back at her.
“That's not an excuse.” She said.
“ Yes,it's not. You weren't perfect for him. I couldn't let you date him. You are a lesbian. I knew it.”
People roared.
I continued, “ You tried to seduce me,but I wasn't into you. I'm not sure if you've changed, but I couldn't let him be with you.” Tears freely flowed down.
“Lila. Stop talking.” Damian tried to calm her.
But she wasn’t listening.
She was unraveling.
“And you..” Lila screamed, still pointing at me, shaking, “you ruined everything! He was supposed to need you! Then he would have realized he needed me!,but no. You rather would stay with Damian than keep Caleb safe.”
“If you were there that night,maybe you would've stopped me. Maybe he'll still be here with us,with you.”
My stomach dropped.
My body went cold.
She was insane.
“You lied,” I whispered. “You let me hate Damian. You let me spiral. You let me break.”
She nodded frantically.
“Yes! Yes, Aria! Because when you broke, you ran to him! You cried to him! I saw you! He touched you! He held you! Everything was falling into place with Damian again..and again..and again…”
Damian’s voice dropped.
“You poisoned Caleb.
You framed me.
You manipulated the entire case.
You tried to destroy my wife.”
Lila finally stopped screaming.
“You think you can lock me up?” she whispered with a shaking smile. “You think this ends with me?”
Damian stepped toward her.
“Oh, it does.”
Officers moved in.
The crowd parted.
People whispered:
“Poison…”
“Set him up…”
“This is insane…”
“Damian was innocent…”
And just as the officers cuffed her hands
Lila twisted her head toward Damian and hissed,
“Arrest me. I don’t care. But when I talk… I will expose your darkest secret.”
Damian froze.
“What secret?” I whispered.
Lila smiled through her smeared makeup.
“Oh, Aria… you have no idea who you married.”
The officers dragged her away.
The crowd erupted again,
but Damian didn’t move.
He stared at the floor like the ground should swallow him.
“We need to talk,” with that I left the hall.