The city felt colder when they returned.
Not in temperature—but in truth. The kind that slithered through old buildings and familiar rooms. The kind that made silence feel heavier than words.
Damon hadn't said much on the drive back. He'd kept one hand on the wheel and the other occasionally brushing hers, as if needing constant confirmation that she was still beside him. Serena had leaned her head against the window, watching the skyline grow taller, sharper, more suffocating with every mile.
They had tried to outrun it—the storm, the past, the responsibilities waiting for them like predators in the dark. But love, it seemed, didn't exist in a vacuum. And it certainly didn't exist without cost.
When they reached the penthouse, Serena barely had time to take off her coat before her phone lit up with messages. Luca. Two missed calls. A voice message she was too afraid to open.
She ignored them. For now.
Because Damon's hand was on her lower back, guiding her inside. And his voice was low, velvet-wrapped steel. "You don't have to face him alone."
But that wasn't entirely true.
Because this wasn't just about Luca anymore.
—
An hour later, she sat in the living room, one leg curled beneath her as she stared at the untouched glass of wine in her hand. Damon stood near the fireplace, arms crossed, the shadows flickering across his features. They hadn't said much since walking in.
But the silence was different now.
Taut. Waiting.
"You know he's going to come," Serena said finally. "He's not the type to let things go unanswered."
Damon didn't flinch. "Let him."
"You don't understand. Luca… he knows things. Things about my family. About my father's investments. If he digs far enough—"
"He won't," Damon interrupted. "Because if he tries to, he'll find out I already know."
Her heart stilled. "What?"
Damon turned, and for the first time in hours, his eyes burned—not with desire, but with something fiercer. Protectiveness.
"I've known for a while. I just didn't tell you because I wanted to hear it from you first."
Serena's mouth opened, then closed. "You knew my father was involved with his firm? That I was being used as a pawn to—"
"Yes," Damon said simply. "And I also knew you were too smart not to realize it eventually."
She set the wine glass down, rising to her feet. "So all this time, you were testing me?"
"No." His voice softened. "I was waiting to see if you'd trust me before everything exploded."
She wanted to scream. She wanted to throw something, cry, run.
But instead… she walked toward him, until there was barely a breath between them.
"You think I don't know how dangerous this all is?" she whispered. "I've lived my whole life knowing that people only love what they can control. That no matter how strong I pretended to be, someone would always try to use me as leverage."
Her voice cracked. "But you—Damon—you made me believe I could be more than that. You made me believe I could be mine."
He reached up, his hand cupping her face, thumb brushing along her jaw. "You are yours, Serena. You always have been."
Her breath hitched, eyes glossy. "Then why does it feel like everything is slipping through my fingers?"
"Because we're at the part of the story where people usually run."
She blinked.
"And you're not running," he finished. "You're staying. Even when it hurts."
She nodded, a tear slipping free. "I don't want to lose you."
"You won't."
She leaned forward, burying her face against his chest, his arms wrapping around her like armor. Like something sacred. They stood like that for a long time—no more walls, no more games.
Just skin.
Just breath.
Just truth.
—
But as night deepened, so did the consequences.
The doorbell rang at 10:47 PM.
Damon didn't move. Serena did.
She walked to the door, heart pounding, and opened it to find Luca standing in the hallway. He was soaked from the rain, his hair pushed back, his jaw tense with something dangerous.
"I figured you'd be here," he said, stepping inside before she could stop him. "I see you're not even hiding it anymore."
Damon straightened, calm and unbothered. "You weren't invited."
"And yet here I am." Luca's eyes flicked to Serena, his voice sharpening. "You didn't answer my calls."
"I didn't owe you a response."
"You think sleeping with him solves everything?" Luca snapped. "You think he won't toss you aside like all the others when this burns down?"
Serena stepped between them. "Stop."
Luca turned to her, his voice bitter. "You were supposed to be different, Serena."
"I am."
"No. You just think you're in control. But you're not. You're just another name in someone else's ledger."
Damon stepped forward, voice low and deadly. "You need to leave."
"I'm not finished," Luca spat. "Your little romance doesn't erase the fact that your father laundered money through my firm. And if I go down, so does your name. So does hers."
"I'm not afraid of you," Serena said.
"You should be," Luca hissed. "Because next time, I don't knock."
He left without another word.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Serena sank onto the couch, her fingers trembling.
Damon sat beside her, his jaw clenched. "I won't let him touch you."
"I know."
But in her eyes… was fear.
Because now they weren't just fighting the past.
They were fighting a war that could burn down everything.