Chapter 9: The Love That Was Never Supposed To Exist
Chapter 9: The Love That Was Never Supposed To Exist
The words on the page blurred.
Not because I couldn't read them.
Because I couldn't understand them.
"I never expected to fall in love with her."
Damian's handwriting.
Damian's confession.
Damian's secret.
For years, I believed every beautiful memory between us was fake.
Every smile.
Every promise.
Every night he held me and told me I was the only person who understood him.
I believed it was all an act.
A carefully designed performance.
But this sentence changed everything.
Because lies were easy to understand.
The truth was much harder.
"Explain."
My voice was cold.
Victoria looked at me.
"The first plan was simple."
She paused.
"Damian would get close to you."
"Gain your trust."
"Access your family's financial network."
"And then leave."
My fingers tightened around the document.
"But he didn't."
"No."
Victoria looked down.
"He changed."
"Why?"
"Because of you."
I almost laughed.
"Don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Try to make him sound like a victim."
Victoria stayed silent.
Good.
Because Damian was not innocent.
Love didn't erase cruelty.
Pain didn't excuse abuse.
A man could have feelings and still make unforgivable choices.
Both things could be true.
Seven years ago.
Before I knew Damian Cross.
Before the penthouse.
Before the marriage.
Before the betrayal.
Damian was already watching me.
At least, that's what the documents said.
Reports.
Photographs.
Financial analysis.
Every detail of my life.
My career.
My family.
My habits.
My weaknesses.
Everything.
I felt sick.
"How long?"
Victoria understood.
"How long did he watch me?"
She looked away.
"Six months."
Six months.
Someone had studied my life before entering it.
Someone had approached me with a plan.
Someone had pretended to love me.
And the worst part?
I still remembered the beginning.
Because those moments felt real.
The first time I met Damian was at a charity event.
I spilled wine on his jacket.
I expected anger.
Instead, he laughed.
"You know that's the most expensive jacket here?"
I apologized repeatedly.
And he smiled.
"Good."
I frowned.
"Good?"
"Everyone else here is afraid of ruining something expensive."
He looked at me.
"You weren't."
That was the moment.
The moment I thought he saw me.
Now I wondered.
Was that genuine?
Or just part of the plan?
"Where is Damian now?"
Victoria hesitated.
That worried me.
"Victoria."
"He wants to meet you."
I laughed quietly.
"Of course he does."
"He knows you know."
"Then why hasn't he come?"
Her expression changed.
"Because he is afraid."
I stared.
"Damian Cross is afraid?"
"Of you."
That surprised me.
Victoria continued.
"Not because you can destroy his company."
"Because you can destroy the version of him he created."
That evening, Damian came.
Alone.
No lawyers.
No security.
No arrogance.
Just Damian.
The man who had hurt me.
The man who had once made me feel safe.
The man I didn't know anymore.
He stood outside the hospital room.
"I know you don't want to see me."
I said nothing.
"But I need you to hear the truth."
I looked at him.
"You had years to tell me the truth."
His eyes lowered.
"I know."
"Years, Damian."
"I know."
My anger rose.
"Do you know what it felt like?"
"Being pregnant and alone?"
"Watching the man I loved choose another woman?"
"Being humiliated in my own home?"
His face tightened.
Pain crossed his expression.
Real pain.
But I refused to let it affect me.
"You don't get to look hurt."
The words came out sharper than I intended.
"Not after what you did."
He nodded slowly.
"I deserve that."
That answer surprised me.
Because Damian Cross never admitted fault.
Not once.
"I was supposed to destroy you."
The confession was quiet.
But it hurt more than I expected.
"I was sent to take control of everything your family built."
He looked at me.
"But then I met you."
I looked away.
"Don't."
"I tried to leave."
His voice broke slightly.
"I tried."
"But every time I was with you..."
He stopped.
"I forgot why I came."
Silence.
"You became real."
I closed my eyes.
Because part of me hated hearing this.
And another part...
The part I tried to bury...
Remembered loving him.
"Then why Celeste?"
His face changed.
"I didn't choose her."
I looked at him.
"She was there."
"She was part of the plan."
"The same plan?"
He nodded.
"She was supposed to make you leave me."
My heart tightened.
"But you stayed."
"Because I was trapped."
I stared.
"By what?"
He looked toward the window.
"My father."
A chill moved through me.
"Alexander?"
Damian nodded.
"He knew I changed."
"He knew I cared about you."
"And he threatened everyone I loved."
I whispered:
"So you hurt me to protect yourself?"
His eyes filled with regret.
"No."
"To protect you."
I almost laughed.
"That doesn't work, Damian."
"I know."
He looked broken.
"I know now."
Before I could answer, my phone rang.
Victoria appeared at the door.
Her face was pale.
Something had happened.
"What?"
She looked at Damian.
Then me.
"The board meeting is tomorrow."
I frowned.
"So?"
She swallowed.
"Alexander is not trying to take Cross Capital."
"Then what is he doing?"
Victoria placed a document on the table.
"The company was never his target."
I opened it.
The final page contained a hidden agreement.
A transfer.
A clause.
A name.
My name.
My breath stopped.
"He wants something else."
I looked up.
"What?"
Victoria whispered:
"He wants control of the Hart family trust."
"Your children's inheritance."
The room went silent.
Then Damian said something that changed everything.
"He's not after the company."
"He never was."
"He wants your babies."
For the first time...
I saw genuine fear in Damian's eyes.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for me.
Fear for our children.
And I realized something terrifying.
The war had just entered a new phase.
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Because Alexander Cross wasn't trying to destroy me anymore.
He was trying to erase my future.
