Chapter 4: The Fire Beneath the Ice
A Stormy Dinner
The air crackled with tension at dinner. Outside, the sky thundered as a storm rolled in. Inside the penthouse, Liana sat across from Damien, their meals untouched.
"You didn't need to come to my office," Damien said quietly.
"You didn't need to marry me," she shot back.
He looked up. "We're going in circles."
"No, Damien," she said, placing her fork down. "You're going in circles. I'm trying to find a straight line to something real."
His jaw clenched. "This is real. Just not romantic."
"And you think I can survive that kind of loneliness?"
She stood, fire glowing in her eyes. "I didn't sign up to be your shadow."
"You signed a contract," he said coldly.
She leaned in. "And you signed a heart you clearly don't know how to use."
A loud crack of thunder split the silence as they stared each other down.
A Flash of Lightning
That night, the storm raged louder than ever.
Liana stood by the window, arms crossed tightly. Damien entered, pausing when he saw her in a silk nightgown—softer, more vulnerable.
"You're afraid of thunder," he said, surprised.
"I'm afraid of silence that pretends to care," she whispered.
For the first time, something shifted in his eyes.
He walked over, slowly. "I can't give you what you want, Liana."
"Then give me what you can," she said.
Damien didn't touch her. But he stood beside her, shoulder to shoulder, watching lightning strike over the city.
Sometimes, closeness wasn't physical.
Sometimes, it was simply standing in the same storm.
A Letter from the Past
The next morning, Liana received a small envelope in the mailroom—no return address. Inside was a photo.
Her and her late mother, smiling outside a flower shop.
And a single note:
"Your mother deserved better than what Damien did."
Liana's heart stopped.
Damien?
What had he done?
Secrets in the Shadows
She rushed into Damien's study—breaking one of the rules—and tossed the envelope on his desk.
"Explain this."
He looked down at the photo. His face went pale.
"Where did you get this?"
"Don't answer with a question. Just tell me, Damien. What does this mean?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "It's not what you think."
"Then tell me what to think, because right now, all I know is that my mother died thinking someone crushed her dream—and it leads back to Blackwood."
His expression was cold. "She came to my father's company years ago. She wanted a loan. They rejected her. I didn't know until it was too late."
Liana's voice cracked. "So all this time, I married into the family that buried her hopes?"
Damien whispered, "I didn't know… until I met you again."
Silence.
"Do you regret it?" she asked, tears forming.
"No," he said. "Because you're not her. You fight louder."
But the wound was already open.
Behind Closed Doors
That night, Liana locked her bedroom door.
She needed space to think. To breathe.
And Damien, for once, didn't try to open it.
He stood outside for several minutes, holding a glass of scotch and an ache in his chest he didn't know how to name.
Inside, she held the photo like a shield, whispering to her mother, "Did you know I'd fall for a man with the power to break me twice?"
To be Continue...!