Part 4 –The Cliffhanger
The silence stretched, heavy enough to crush her.
Aria's pulse hammered in her ears as the ballroom seemed to close in around her. She could feel every pair of eyes—hungry, mocking, curious—burning into her skin. The whispers swelled, no longer hushed but brazen.
"She can't refuse him, not now…"
"Damian Blackwood—imagine rejecting him."
"If she says no, the Whites are finished."
Her father's voice sliced through the noise, desperate and trembling. "Aria… my dear, think of the family. Think of the company. Say yes."
Her mother's hand clutched her arm like a vice. "Don't you dare ruin this chance," she hissed, lips trembling with false composure. "Damian Blackwood is offering you the world on a silver platter. Take it!"
Aria wanted to scream. She wanted to rip off the suffocating gown, throw the tiara to the floor, and run until she was free of all of them—the debts, the shame, the greedy eyes waiting to see her crumble.
But when she looked up, Damian was still there. Unmoved. Unshaken. His expression was carved from stone, but his eyes—those sharp, merciless eyes—held her captive.
There was no pity in them. No tenderness. Only possession.
"Why me?" The words tore from her throat, cracked and raw. "Why would a man like you choose me?"
For the first time, Damian's lips curved into something that might have been a smile—if a smile could be forged of steel.
"Because, Miss White," he said softly, yet every guest in the hall heard it, "when a diamond is dropped into the mud, only a fool leaves it behind."
Her heart lurched violently.
The room erupted—gasps, murmurs, excitement tangled with disbelief.
Aria shook her head, taking one trembling step back. "No. You don't mean that. You're using me—for something. I don't know what, but I won't—"
Damian's hand shot out, catching her wrist before she could retreat further. The warmth of his grip seared through silk and skin alike, unyielding.
"You will," he said, his voice dropping to a private murmur that still somehow silenced her protest. "Because if you don't, you will watch your family fall into ashes before the week is over."
Her blood ran cold.
He knew. Somehow, impossibly—he knew.
Damian released her then, as if confident she couldn't escape. Straightening, he looked back to the crowd, his tone crisp and final.
"Ethan Carter abandoned her. I will not. Remember this day, ladies and gentlemen. The day Aria White became mine."
The world tilted. Aria staggered back a step, but her father steadied her with trembling hands, whispering frantically in her ear:
"Say it. Say yes, Aria. For us. For everything we've worked for."
Damian's eyes never left hers.
"Choose."
Her throat burned, her pride screamed, her heart twisted between rage and despair. And yet, with her family pressing from behind and Damian Blackwood's shadow towering before her, the world left her no escape.
Her lips parted.
And the chapter ended.