Chapter 43 Something Bigger
Damian's POV
Something wasn’t sitting right. I stood in the kitchen of Marcus and Anna’s apartment, one hand braced lightly against the counter as I watched the city lights flicker beyond the glass. The space was warm—alive with the aftermath of celebration—but none of it settled the unease coiled tight in my chest. Felicia Ardent didn’t do coincidences. And yet—
She had appeared. At that exact moment. At their moment. No. I exhaled slowly. That wasn’t a coincidence. That was intent.
Movement behind me pulled my attention back. Courtney’s soft laugh drifted toward the terrace as she and Anna stepped outside, their silhouettes disappearing into the glow of the evening.
For a brief second, I let my gaze linger. Courtney’s hand brushed Anna’s arm—steady, reassuring. She was holding things together. As she always did. The door slid shut behind them, muting their voices, and I turned just as Marcus and Peter entered the kitchen. Marcus didn’t say anything at first. He simply walked up, grabbed a glass, and poured two fingers of scotch without asking. He handed one to me. I took it. Peter leaned against the opposite counter, already halfway through a beer, his expression darker than it had been earlier—more focused now, less reactive.
Marcus downed his drink in one go. Then he looked at me. Solemn. Resolved.
“I know.” I said without hesitating, I never hesitated when it came to matters affecting our family.
“I know that you know,” he replied evenly, his jaw tightened slightly.
“She made your moment something about her,” I continued, my tone calm but edged. “That pisses me off, too.”
Marcus huffed a quiet breath, dragging a hand through his hair.
“Yeah, well… she’s good at that. Pissing people off.”
“She’s calculated,” I corrected. "Always one step ahead."
I took a slow sip of my scotch, letting the burn settle.
“Felicia Ardent just showing up here is no coincidence,” I went on. “But I highly doubt crashing your engagement was her main reason for being in Europe.”
Peter nodded slightly at that, already pulling out his phone.
“I’m calling Emily,” he muttered, stepping aside.
Good. We needed information. We needed clarity. Because right now—
We had neither.
Marcus poured himself another drink, slower this time, his movements heavier. I watched him. Really watched him. The way his shoulders held tension. The way his gaze drifted—unfocused for half a second before snapping back. The internal fight. I knew it well. I'd seen it before, when he was struggling with his choices between playing hockey again or becoming a person sitting on the sidelines. I had promised myself back then that I would never allow that look to come across my brother's face again. This time, I felt like I had failed him. Failed Anna. The moment had been perfect. And now it wasn’t. Not completely. Felicia had seen to that.
“You’re thinking it’s tainted. And I'm at fault for that. I should have---” I said quietly.
"Stop right there. Don't you dare say this was on you, because it wasn't," Mason didn’t look at me.
“This was something done by a woman with some link to our past. This is on all of us, not just you, bro,” he admitted.
I set my glass down. “Don’t. You've been through enough to have to circle back to all the chaos.”
That got Marcus’s attention. My gaze held steady.
“She doesn’t get to take this from you,” I said. “Not unless you let her.”
Marcus exhaled, nodding faintly.
“I know.”
“Good.”
Because I wasn’t going to allow this situation to repeat itself. Silence settled between us for a moment, broken only by Peter’s low voice as he spoke into his phone across the room.
“…Yeah, we’re in,” Peter was saying. “No, she showed up. In person.”
A pause. Peter’s expression hardened.
“Exactly.”
My attention shifted back to Marcus. But my mind—
It was elsewhere. Questions. Too many of them. Why us? Why now? And more importantly—
Why was Felicia Ardent involved with Peter Ramsey in the first place? That connection didn’t sit right. Didn’t fit cleanly into any logical framework I trusted.
Which meant—
There was something we weren’t seeing. Something bigger.
“We seriously need to consider the fact that something bigger than us is going on with Ardent Global, D.” Marcus’s voice cut through his thoughts.
I looked at him. Really looked at him. Because that—
That was the right question.
“Yes,” I said simply. No hesitation. No deflection.
Marcus’s brows knit slightly. “You agree?”
“I’ve been thinking it since before today,” I replied.
Felicia didn’t move without purpose. And Ardent Global—
It wasn’t just a company. It was infrastructure. Influence. Reach.
“This isn’t just about us,” I continued. “We’re involved—but we’re not the center of it.”
Peter ended his call, stepping back toward them.
“Emily confirmed,” he said, slipping his phone into his pocket. “The internal breach goes deeper than we thought. There are financial trails tied to shell operations—Ardent Global is funding things off the books.”
Marcus let out a low whistle. “Illegal?”
Peter shrugged slightly. “Hard to prove. But definitely hidden.”
My jaw tightened. There it was. Scale. This wasn’t personal. Not entirely. We were—
Variables. Complications. Or worse—
Assets.
A sharp knock at the door cut through the tension. All three of us stilled in the kitchen. Instinct. Immediate. Marcus’s head turned toward the sound, his body already shifting. Courtney and Anna stepped back inside from the terrace at the same time, their conversation cutting off as they registered the change in the room.
“What is it?” Courtney asked, her eyes flicking between us.
Another knock. Firm. Deliberate. I moved slightly, positioning myself just enough to have a clear line of sight. Marcus stepped forward.
“I’ve got it,” he said.
Of course he did. It was his home. His space. But I watched closely as Marcus reached the door, every muscle in his body ready to react if needed.
The door opened. And then—
A massive bouquet was shoved directly into Marcus’s face.
“What the—” Marcus started, stumbling back a step.
My posture shifted instantly—
Alert. Ready. Until—
A voice burst through. “Congratulations!”
Bright. Loud. Familiar. A figure stepped out from behind the flowers, dark blue trench coat swaying as she moved.
“Bella?” Peter blinked.
Isabella Ramsey didn’t wait. She rushed straight past Marcus, arms wide, as she collided with Anna and Courtney in a whirlwind of energy and excitement.
“Oh my God, you said yes!” Bella practically shouted, pulling Anna into a tight hug.
Anna laughed, startled but instantly lit up again, her earlier tension dissolving under Bella’s enthusiasm.
“Yes!” she said breathlessly.
Bella pulled back just long enough to grab Courtney next, cocking an eyebrow at her bruised and slung-up arm.
“And you—you made it!” she added, squeezing her closely but carefully.
Courtney laughed, caught completely off guard.
“Barely!”
The room shifted. Just like that. The tension cracked. Not gone. Never gone. But—
Lighter. Marcus shook his head, lowering the bouquet slowly, a disbelieving smile tugging at his lips.
“You could’ve just knocked like a normal person.”
“I did knock!” Bella shot back. “You just opened too fast.”
Peter let out a chuckle, the first real one since Felicia had appeared. I didn’t laugh. But my posture eased slightly. Just slightly. My gaze drifted toward Courtney. She was smiling again. Genuinely. And Anna—
Anna looked happy. Truly happy. I exhaled slowly, picking up my glass once more. For now—
That was enough. But as the room filled with voices again, with laughter and movement and life—
The thought didn’t leave me. It didn’t even fade. Something bigger was moving. Underneath all of this.
And Felicia Ardent—
She was right in the middle of it. This wasn’t over. Not even close.