Chapter 74 Chapter Seventy-four

Chapter 74 Chapter Seventy-four
Chapter 74

Both women snapped their heads toward the doorway. Damian was leaning against the frame. Neither of them had heard the heavy oak door move. His face was entirely unreadable, calm, but with an underlying stillness that signaled danger.

Lucy took one look at his eyes and realized exactly how much of the conversation he had intercepted. She cleared her throat, moving past him toward the hallway. "I’ll... give you two some space."

The heavy door clicked shut behind her, leaving them in absolute silence.

Aria couldn't look at him. She fixed her eyes on a blue paint swatch on the table, her heart hammering against her ribs.

Damian walked over slowly, his footsteps deliberate on the hardwood. He stopped right in front of her. "Look at me, Aria."

She kept her chin down.

"Please."

Slowly, reluctantly, she lifted her chin. There was no anger in his features, no irritation, just a profound, cutting sadness that made her want to weep.

"You were really going to ask me for a divorce?"

Aria’s eyes flooded instantly. "I didn't want you to find out like this. I'm sorry."

"But you meant it."

She gave a small, miserable nod. "I just thought... your life would be easier. Less complicated."

He stood perfectly still for several long seconds, absorbing her words. Then, to her complete bewilderment, a low chuckle escaped his lips. It wasn't a sound of amusement; it was the dry, disbelief of a man who couldn't comprehend the logic presented to him.

"You honestly believe there is a single version of my life where I am happier without you?"

She sniffled, whispering, "Your mother—"

"My mother is my problem to manage, not yours," he interrupted. Before she could protest, he dropped to one knee on the floor, bringing himself down to her level. He reached out, taking both of her cold hands into his broad palms. "I need you to listen to me very carefully right now."

Aria nodded, a tear slipping off her chin.

"When we first met," Damian said, a genuine, soft smile breaking through his serious demeanor, "I noticed you instantly because you refused to play the game everyone else plays. You barely spoke two words to me, and yet you were all I could think about."

He squeezed her hands, his thumb rubbing over her knuckles. "And when you saved my life... I didn't even know it was you at first."

"I know," she murmured.

"But I remembered your voice," he countered, his eyes locking onto hers. "I spent weeks searching the city for the woman who spoke to me while I was slipping away. I knew that voice before I knew your name."

A faint, watery smile touched Aria’s lips. "You really remembered?"

"I remembered every syllable." He took a slow breath, his smile fading into something much more raw. "When I finally figured out it was you, I wasn't relieved. I was angry. Because you had already suffered so much damage because of my world, and I hated that I brought that to your door. I promised myself I’d fix it."

"You didn't owe me anything, Damian."

"I wanted to owe you," he said fiercely. He reached up, his fingers brushing the damp hair away from her face, his thumb catching the tears on her cheek. "And then, somewhere along the way, the mission changed. I stopped trying to protect the woman who saved my life, and I just started loving her."

Aria froze, her breath catching in her throat. Those three words, he had never spoken them aloud. Not through all the chaos, the danger, or the quiet nights. Her lips parted, entirely stunned. "What?"

"I love you, Aria," he repeated, his voice dropping an octave, completely steady and unshakeable. "I’ve loved you for a very long time, far longer than I was brave enough to admit to myself."

"You don't have to say that just because I'm breaking down," she whispered, trying to shield herself from the hope blooming in her chest.

"I’m not saying it to comfort you. I’m saying it because it is the fundamental truth of my life." He leaned forward, resting his forehead gently against hers, closing the physical distance between them entirely. "I love your stubborn kindness. I love the way you worry about everyone else’s comfort before you even think of your own. I love the sound of your laugh when you think no one is listening. I love how you hold my hand tightly when you think I’m the one who's losing my footing."

A small, breathless laugh escaped her, a mixture of a sob and pure relief.

"And I love the family we are building right here," he added, shifting one of his hands down to rest flat against her stomach, where their child was growing. "I don't care how loud the noise gets outside this room. I don't care what society dictates, or what hurdles Voss throws at us. And I don't care what my mother thinks a traditional wife should look like."

He pulled back just enough to look directly into her eyes, ensuring she saw the absolute certainty there. "There is no version of my existence, Aria, where I choose this estate or my family's approval over you. None."

The last piece of Aria’s emotional armor shattered. She threw her arms around his neck, burying her face into the crook of his shoulder, sobbing openly as weeks of suppressed anxiety finally washed away. "I love you too," she cried against his skin. "I've loved you for so long."

Damian wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against him, holding her with a fierce intensity that made it clear he would never let her drift away again. They stayed like that for several minutes, anchored to each other on the floor of the half-painted nursery.

Finally, she pulled back slightly, wiping her eyes. "What if your mother never changes her mind about me?"

He offered a gentle, fierce smile. "Then we’ll just keep giving her reasons to realize how wrong she is."

"And if she still doesn't?"

"Then I will spend every single day of the rest of my life reminding you that you already belong exactly where you are, with me." He leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead, then to her damp cheek, before finally finding her lips. It wasn't a kiss born of passion or urgency; it was a slow, deliberate sealing of a vow.

When they parted, Damian kept his hand on her stomach. "Our child deserves to see parents who fight for each other, not people who run when it gets heavy."

Aria nodded, managing a real laugh this time. "No more talking about divorce."

"Never again."