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Chapter 90 – Arya's POV
"The Breaking Point"
The peace after a storm is a fragile thing.
Damon had been gentler lately—more present, more open. He checked in with me during meetings, brought home flowers without reason, massaged my feet at night without me asking. He was trying.
And I was trying, too.
Trying to believe the past had finally let us be.
Trying to forget the necklace. The silence. The lies.
Trying to trust that we were finally safe.
But peace, I've learned, doesn't last when someone is determined to shatter it.
And Sophia?
She wasn't done.
---
The new package arrived late in the evening.
It was small. Innocent-looking. No dramatic wrapping this time—just a plain manila envelope slid under the front door while Liam and I watched a movie on the couch.
I opened it without thinking.
And then the world fell from under me.
Inside were photos.
Real ones. Printed. Glossy. Sharp.
And what they showed?
Ripped the breath from my lungs.
---
Damon.
Sophia.
Together.
In a hotel hallway.
In a dimly lit lounge.
In a private elevator.
And in one… the worst of them all—he was holding the elevator door open for her, his arm around her waist.
I dropped the photo like it was on fire.
The others spilled from the envelope, fluttering like daggers to the ground.
And at the very bottom…
A note.
Typed in bold letters:
"Still think he's different now?"
---
I couldn't breathe.
I stumbled backward, gripping the edge of the couch.
My vision blurred, heat climbing my neck. My chest tightened, my ribs caving inward. The nausea hit first—followed by tears I didn't want to fall.
My heart screamed, "Ask him. Confront him. Don't jump to conclusions."
But my soul?
My soul remembered.
Remembered the nights I waited. The lies. The silence. The way Damon used to vanish into Sophia's arms like I'd never existed.
And now here it was again.
History. Repeating itself.
---
Liam looked up from the TV. "Mom? What's wrong?"
I wiped my face quickly. "Nothing, baby. Go to your room. Please."
He frowned. "But I—"
"Liam," I said, firmer. "Go."
He hesitated, then slipped down from the couch, giving me one last worried look before walking away.
The moment he was gone, I picked up the photos with shaking hands.
Some were from the recent business trip. Others… I didn't know.
Had Damon really touched her again?
Had he lied to me… again?
I wanted to scream.
Throw something.
Break everything that had taken me years to rebuild.
But I couldn't even move.
---
When the door finally opened, and Damon stepped inside, holding a bag of takeout and smiling like nothing was wrong, I nearly collapsed from the weight of the betrayal.
"Babe, I got your favorite—mango rice with—"
He stopped mid-sentence when he saw my face.
The bag dropped to the floor.
"Arya?"
I said nothing.
Just held out the envelope, my hand trembling.
He took it slowly, brows furrowed—until the photos spilled out.
His entire body stiffened.
"Where did you get these?" he asked.
My voice was hollow. "Does it matter?"
He looked at the photo of him with his arm around Sophia. "This isn't what it looks like."
I laughed bitterly. "Don't say that. Not now."
He stepped toward me. "Arya, please—"
I stepped back. "Don't."
"I didn't touch her—"
"She's under your arm, Damon!"
He ran a hand through his hair, panic clear on his face. "I was drunk. She followed me from the event bar to the elevator. I told her to leave. But the hotel only had one elevator operating. She stumbled, I grabbed her so she wouldn't fall—"
"And someone took pictures?" I snapped. "All these pictures just by coincidence?"
"She planned it," he said firmly. "I swear to you, Arya. I never kissed her. Never touched her. I never let her in."
"Then why did you let me be in the dark?" I whispered, voice cracking. "Why didn't you tell me the moment you came back?"
He swallowed hard. "Because I was ashamed. Not because I cheated. But because I froze. I didn't push her away fast enough. And I didn't want you to think less of me."
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
"I don't need you to be perfect, Damon. I just need you to choose me. Fully. Loudly. Always."
"I did," he whispered. "I do."
I looked at him—this man who had given me hope again, who had kissed my scars and promised me forever—and all I could see was Sophia's smirk.
She didn't just want him back.
She wanted to destroy me.
And she might have succeeded.
---
"I need time," I said finally, barely able to get the words out.
"Arya, please—"
"I'm not leaving," I added quickly. "But I need space. I need to think."
His face crumbled, and for the first time in a long time, Damon Blackwood looked scared.
He nodded, voice hoarse. "Okay. I'll give you that."
I turned away before he could see me break again.
Because this time?
I didn't know if I had the strength to survive Sophia twice.
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End of Chapter 90 – Arya's POV