Present Day
The silence that followed his words stretched long enough to choke her.
Ava stared at Damian Cross as though he'd just threatened to slit her throat instead of asking her to marry him. Marriage. The word echoed, it was foreign and sharp, ricocheting inside her skull until it settled in her chest like a heavy stone.
Her lips parted, then closed again. No sound came out. "let's go" He simply said and started to walk away without waiting for her. ava was too perplexed so immediately follow after him till Damian stopped and turned to look at her. "Aren't you coming" his words were enough to snap her back to the present, each step ava took was heavy, her eyes on his back as she followed after him even though she had no idea where he was taking her. was he afraid someone might hear his awful proposal, she wanted to scoff, he did know that he was crazy then.
when they got to a door Damian stopped, barely glanced over at her before he pushed the door to his study open, ava let out a shaky breath as she followed him into his study..
Damian didn't flinch. He stood across from her in the large study, one hand buried in his pocket, the other holding a glass of dark amber whiskey that caught the light of the fire in the hearth. he had already poured himself a glass by the time she entered the study
The calmness in his posture only made the room more suffocating.
"I...what?" Ava finally managed when she couldn't bear the suffocating silence any longer, her voice breaking with disbelief.
"You heard me," Damian said, his voice deep and unhurried. "A contract marriage. Between you and me."
The words were deliberate. Each syllable seemed to weigh more than the last, sinking into her bones.
A nervous laugh tumbled out of her before she could stop it. "You can't be serious. You don't even know me."
His eyes flicked to her then, it was like cold steel pinning her to the spot. "I know enough."
Ava's throat dried. Enough, what did he mean by enough! . The word slithered through her mind, and a shiver followed.
This was insane. No one proposed like this, no one with sanity, at least. But Damian Cross wasn't ordinary, wasn't sane in the way normal people were. He was danger in a perfectly tailored suit, a man with enough power and wealth to crush lives like insects. If he wanted something, he got it.
And right now, for some unfathomable reason, he wanted her.
"Why?" she whispered, because that was the only question that mattered.
The faintest curve touched his lips, though it wasn't warmth, it was a predator's amusement. "You'll find that why is a question I rarely answer."
Her stomach twisted.
Damian sipped his whiskey and set it down on the desk, his gaze never leaving her. "But let's call it mutually beneficial. You need protection. I need a wife."
"A wife," she repeated, her voice breaking into a whisper, laced with disbelief.
"You'll have a role to play. Appearances to uphold." He spoke like he was negotiating a deal, not proposing a life-altering union. "In return, you'll have access to resources, safety, and more money than you'll ever need. But most importantly..." His eyes darkened, his voice dropping low, "...you'll belong to me. Every part of you."
Ava's heart slammed against her ribs. Heat spread across her skin, not the good kind, but the kind that came from fear clawing its way through her.
"No," she blurted. "Absolutely not."
Damian tilted his head, as though studying a stubborn child. "Do you have a choice?"
The words hit her like a gunshot.
Her knees nearly buckled.
She opened her mouth to fight, to scream that yes, she did have a choice, but the truth silenced her. The truth was that she was already caught in his web. Her sister Lily, her lies, her entire life it all hung in the balance. If she said no, Damian would unravel everything in a heartbeat.
The walls seemed to press closer. She felt his eyes on her, felt the weight of his control tightening like invisible chains around her throat.
And in that moment, she hated him for how powerless he made her feel.
The flicker of defiance in her eyes made him want to laugh. She was cornered, and they both knew it, yet she still tried to bite like a cornered kitten.
She was Beautiful. Reckless. Dangerous.
She had no idea how dangerous he could be.
He'd been watching her long enough to know what kind of woman she was. Loyal to a fault. Desperate for her sister's safety. Stubborn even when fear should have broken her.
A woman like Ava wasn't meant for the games he played, and yet here she was, standing in his house, in his trap.
Maxwell had delivered the file a month ago. He could still remember flipping through the photographs, those grainy shots of Ava's meetings with people, the quiet transactions, the desperation etched in her face. That was when he decided. Not to destroy her. Not yet. But to use her.
There was something about her that clawed at him, an unease he couldn't name. A pull.
It infuriated him.
But it also intrigued him.
So he'd let her in. He'd given her a leash instead of a blade. And now, finally, the moment had come to tighten that leash.
Damian stepped closer. He didn't touch her. He didn't need to. His presence was touch enough, heavy and consuming.
"You think I want a marriage?" he asked, his voice quiet, dangerous. "You think I care about vows or rings?"
Ava's eyes flashed. "Then what the hell do you care about?"
He smiled then, slow and merciless. "Control."
Her chest tightened at the word.
Control. That's what this was about.
The realization nearly made her laugh. She wasn't special. She wasn't chosen for love or affection. She was just another piece in his endless game, another possession to claim.
Her stomach twisted with nausea.
"You're insane," she whispered, her voice trembling.
Damian's eyes glittered, a predator's gaze locking onto prey. "Maybe. But insanity has its uses."
Her body trembled, her hands curling into fists. "And what if I say no?"
He leaned closer, his mouth near her ear, his breath hot against her skin. "Then you'll regret it. And so will your sister."
Her heart stopped.
Lily.
The blood drained from her face, and for the first time that night, she couldn't breathe.
Damian pulled back, satisfaction flickering across his features as he watched the fear settle in her eyes. He knew exactly where to strike, exactly which wound to press until she bled.
Her hands shook. Her lips parted, but no words came out.
For the first time, Ava understood the full extent of the trap she'd walked into.
It wasn't just about her anymore. It was about Lily. Damian had known from the beginning. He'd always known.
And he wasn't going to let her go
He watched the shift in her expression. Anger giving way to fear. Defiance dissolving into dread.
Perfect.
It meant the walls were closing in exactly as he'd planned.
But as he looked at her, her trembling frame, her wide eyes, the way she fought for air even as she tried to stand tall he felt something he hadn't expected.
Not victory.
Not satisfaction.
Something sharper. Something heavier.
A hunger.
Not just to own her, but to understand her. To peel her open piece by piece until he knew every thought, every secret, every scar.
She was fire wrapped in fragile glass, and he wanted to be the one who shattered her just to see how she burned.
Damian reached for her hand, his grip firm, unyielding.
"Think carefully, Ava," he murmured, his thumb brushing over her knuckles. "This isn't just a marriage. This is survival. For you. For your sister. For everything you're trying to protect."
Her breath hitched, he even knew her real name..
He lowered his voice to a whisper. "And survival always comes with a price"
wanted to scream. To tear her hand away. To tell him she would never bend, never submit.
But his words coiled in her chest like venom.
Survival.
Lily's face flashed in her mind. Her sister's smile, her laugh, the way she had always been the one thing Ava swore she would protect no matter the cost.
And now, that cost stood before her in a sharp suit, staring at her like he'd already won.
Her throat tightened. Her heart hammered.
"Fine," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I'll do it."
The words tasted like ash.
Damian's smile was slow, cruel, victorious.
"Good," he murmured. "Then our contract begins."
And just like that, the walls around Ava's life closed in.