Chapter 55

Chapter 55
Kayna’s POV

The message came just as she was closing her laptop for the night.

Meet me at La Sienne. 8:00 p.m. Tomorrow. Please.

There were no explanations, no context — just his name lighting up her phone screen and that single word that she wasn’t used to seeing from him. Please.

She stared at it for a long moment, the hum of her apartment fading into the background. Damian Marshall didn’t ask for things; he commanded them. Whatever this was, it wasn’t ordinary.

And the last time they’d spoken, he had looked… conflicted. Tired, even.

She thought about ignoring it. She’d told herself after the gala that she needed to put distance between them — from his complicated family, his world of wealth and whispers, the look in his eyes that made it harder to breathe.

But when she reread the text, she found herself typing a single word back:
Alright.

⸻

The next day passed in fragments.

Her morning jog didn’t help clear her head the way it usually did. Her focus at work was broken, her thoughts circling back to Damian — to his sharp silence at the office, the dark tension in his shoulders, and the way his gaze had lingered on her yesterday as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

By the time evening came, she’d told herself not to read too much into it. It was probably about work. Maybe something about the Cosmo deal or Alex’s new involvement. Maybe she was overthinking it.

Still, she changed her outfit three times before settling on a soft beige dress that brushed her knees — elegant but understated. She wasn’t dressing for him, she told herself. Just for the occasion.

La Sienne was one of those restaurants that looked like it had been designed to make everyone speak quietly. The lighting was warm, golden; the walls muted in tones of amber and oak. Conversations were hushed, the air rich with the scent of truffle oil and aged wine.

When the hostess led her through the dining room, Kayna spotted him immediately.

Damian sat in a corner booth, half-shadowed by the soft light from above. He wasn’t in one of his usual tailored suits tonight. Instead, he wore a dark button-down, the sleeves rolled back, his watch glinting faintly as he turned his phone over on the table.

He looked up when she approached — and for the first time in days, something eased in his expression.

“Kayna,” he said quietly, standing to greet her. His voice carried that low timbre she recognized — calm but lined with exhaustion. “Thank you for coming.”

She managed a small smile. “You said it was important.”

“It is.”

He gestured for her to sit. A waiter appeared instantly, pouring water and retreating as quickly as he came. The silence that followed wasn’t awkward — just heavy, filled with unspoken things.

Finally, she broke it. “You’ve been distant lately. And now this… meeting at a restaurant. What’s going on, Damian?”

He leaned back slightly, studying her face as if deciding how much to say. “You deserve to know the truth,” he said finally. “About everything.”

“Everything?” she echoed cautiously.

He nodded. “About my family. The company. The reason I’ve been… distracted.”

The weight in his tone made her straighten instinctively.

Damian glanced away briefly, then back at her. “When my father died, he left conditions tied to the inheritance. Not just financial clauses — personal ones. He wanted to ensure that whoever took control of the company could… continue the legacy, as he called it.”

“What kind of conditions?” she asked quietly.

His eyes met hers, steady and dark. “Marriage. And a legitimate heir.”

She froze. “Wait — what?”

“It’s written into the legal documents. If I’m not married, and if there’s no child by the end of the fiscal year, control of the entire Marshall estate transfers to Alex.”

Kayna sat back, the air between them tightening. “You’re serious.”

“Unfortunately.”

She blinked, processing. “That’s… archaic.”

He gave a small, humorless smile. “That’s my father.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Because he didn’t trust me to care about family the way he did. He thought success wasn’t enough — that I needed to prove stability,
responsibility, legacy.” Damian’s jaw tightened. “He wanted to bind me to something human before giving me the world.”

Kayna’s heart softened despite herself. “That’s cruel.”

“It’s business,” he said quietly. “In his mind, they were the same thing.”

She leaned forward slightly, her voice gentler now. “So that’s why you’ve been so… tense lately.”

He nodded once. “Alex knows about the clause. And he’s already making moves. My mother called last night — he’s pressing her to support his claim if I don’t meet the terms in time.”

“And how long do you have?”

“Less than ten months.”

Kayna inhaled slowly. “So what are you going to do?”

Damian’s eyes stayed fixed on her. “That’s why I asked you here.”

She blinked, her pulse suddenly uneasy. “Me?”

“I need someone I can trust,” he said. “Someone the board respects. Someone who understands discretion.”

The meaning hit her before he could even say it aloud. “You’re asking me to—?”

He nodded, cutting her off gently. “To help me. To be part of this arrangement.”

She sat there, trying to find her breath. “Damian, that’s—”

“I know what it sounds like,” he interrupted softly. “And I don’t want to put you in that position. But I can’t do this with anyone else. If I don’t secure this, Alex will tear everything apart — the company, the people who work for us, everything my father built.”

Her mind spun. “You’re asking me to marry you.”

“On paper,” he said. “Legally, yes. But it wouldn’t have to change anything between us professionally. It would be temporary — a year, until the clause expires.”

Kayna couldn’t look at him for a moment. The idea felt unreal — absurd, even. Yet the sincerity in his tone stripped away any hint of manipulation. This wasn’t a power play. It was desperation wrapped in dignity.

When she finally spoke, her voice came out softer than she expected. “Why me?”

His answer came without hesitation. “Because I trust you, Kayna. More than anyone else.”

That shouldn’t have mattered. But somehow, it did.

“Damian…” she exhaled, shaking her head. “You’re asking for a lot. This isn’t just a business decision. It’s—”

“Personal,” he finished quietly. “I know.”

Their eyes met, and something unspoken passed between them — a current she couldn’t ignore. For the first time, the polished armor he always wore was gone. He looked human. Fractured. Real.

“I’m not asking you to decide tonight,” he added. “Just… think about it.”

She nodded slowly, though her thoughts were a whirlwind. “And if I say no?”

He smiled faintly, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Then I’ll find another way. But I’d rather it be you.”

The waiter arrived then, breaking the tension, placing two plates in front of them. Neither touched their food.

Kayna traced the rim of her glass absently. “And Alex doesn’t know you’re considering this?”

“No,” Damian said. “And he can’t. Not yet.”

“What about your mother?”

He hesitated. “She wants me to marry — she doesn’t care who. But she’ll expect appearances. Events. Dinners. Publicity.”

Kayna’s heart sank slightly. “So I’d have to play the part.”

“Yes. But only in public.”

She gave a small, ironic laugh. “You make it sound so simple.”

“It’s not,” he admitted. “But it’s the only way.”

Silence stretched between them again. Somewhere across the room, a couple laughed softly, the clink of glasses filling the air. But at their table, everything felt suspended — caught between logic and emotion.

“Damian,” she said finally, her tone gentler now, “what happens after the year?”

“Then the clause dissolves,” he said. “And so does the arrangement.”

Her stomach twisted at the way he said it — calm, certain, as if detachment was a shield he needed to survive. But his eyes… his eyes told a different story.

She took a small sip of water to steady herself. “I’ll think about it.”

He nodded, relief flickering briefly in his expression. “That’s all I ask.”

They sat in silence for a while longer, the air between them shifting. Every time she looked at him, she saw the weight of what he wasn’t saying — the years of pressure, the loneliness buried beneath his control.

When the bill came, he didn’t let her reach for it. “I invited you,” he said simply.

She smiled faintly. “Of course you did.”

He helped her into her coat as they left, his hand brushing her arm lightly — a brief, almost accidental touch, but one that sent a shiver through her all the same.

Outside, the city air was crisp. Their car waited by the curb, the driver standing ready.

“I’ll have him take you home,” Damian said quietly.

She hesitated, then nodded. “Thank you.”

He met her eyes again before she stepped into the car. “Kayna?”

“Yes?”

He paused, his voice soft. “Whatever you decide… thank you for listening.”

She wanted to say something — anything — to ease the look in his eyes. But the words didn’t come. Instead, she simply nodded.

.....

Back in her apartment, she kicked off her heels and sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the city lights outside her window. Her thoughts wouldn’t settle.

Marriage. Heir. Clause. Alex.

And Damian — standing there in that dimly lit restaurant, telling her something that could unravel both their lives.

She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the ache that came with too much empathy — or maybe something deeper.

He had trusted her with this secret. Now she wasn’t sure whether that was a privilege or a burden.

Because if she said yes, she wouldn’t just be helping him save his company.

She’d be walking straight into a life she wasn’t sure she could walk out of unchanged.