DAMIEN'S POV
She's beautiful when she cries.
I know that makes me a monster. I know I should feel guilty for thinking it.
I don't.
Aria stares at the medical records in my hands like they're a bomb about to explode. Her eyes are red and swollen. Her face is pale. She looks broken.
Perfect.
"You've known for ten years," she repeats. Her voice shakes. "Ten years, Damien."
"Twelve, actually." I flip through the pages. "I was sixteen when I first suspected. Eighteen when I confirmed it."
"How?"
"I overheard the family doctor talking to Mother. Something about blood types not matching. About genetic impossibilities." I smile at the memory. "I was curious. So I did some research. Stole some medical records. Ran some tests."
"You stole—" She stops. Shakes her head. "Of course you did. Because that's what you do. You invade privacy. You manipulate. You destroy people's lives."
"Only when necessary."
"There's nothing necessary about this!" She grabs the folder and throws it across the room. Papers scatter everywhere. "You knew I wasn't your sister! You knew for twelve years and you never said anything!"
"What would you have wanted me to say?" I lean back on her bed. Casual. Calm. "Hey, Aria, by the way, we're not actually related. Want to go get coffee?"
"Yes! Exactly that! You should have told me the truth!"
"Why?" I tilt my head. "So you could have run away sooner? So I could have lost you years earlier than I did?"
She stares at me. "You're insane."
"About you? Absolutely." I stand and walk toward her. She backs away until she hits her dresser. Trapped. "I've been insane about you since I was fourteen years old, little bird. Since the moment I realized what I felt wasn't brotherly love. It was something darker. Something wrong."
"Stop talking."
"No." I step closer. "You wanted the truth. Here it is. I've been in love with you since we were kids. Real, twisted, obsessive love. The kind that makes you want to lock someone in a tower and never let them see daylight again."
Her breath catches. "That's not love. That's—"
"Possession? Control?" I smile. "Yes. It's all of those things. But it's also love, Aria. Because I would die for you. Kill for you. Burn the entire world down if it meant keeping you safe."
"Safe?" She laughs, but it sounds panicked. "You've been stalking me! Tracking my phone! Destroying anyone who got close to me! That's not keeping me safe! That's keeping me isolated!"
"Same thing."
"No, it's not!"
"Yes," I say softly, "it is. Because everyone who got close to you wanted to hurt you. Use you. Take advantage of the lonely Chen princess with the sad eyes."
"That's not true!"
"Isn't it?" I pull out my phone and scroll through my notes. "Marcus Liang. Sweet, innocent Marcus. Did you know he was being paid by a rival company to get close to you? To steal information about Chen International?"
Her face goes pale. "You're lying."
I show her the evidence. Bank transfers. Email exchanges. Proof.
"The photographer," I continue. "He was going to sell pictures of you to tabloids. Private pictures. Pictures you wouldn't want anyone to see."
More evidence.
"The barista. He had a girlfriend. Three, actually. You were just another conquest to him."
More proof.
Aria sinks down onto the floor. Her legs won't hold her anymore.
"Everyone," she whispers. "Everyone who showed interest in me..."
"Was using you. Yes." I crouch down in front of her. "Everyone except me. I'm the only person who's ever wanted you for you, Aria. Not for your money. Not for your name. Not for what you could give me. Just... you."
"That doesn't make what you did okay."
"I know." I reach out and touch her face. She flinches but doesn't pull away. "But I'm not asking for okay. I'm asking for understanding."
"I don't understand. I don't understand any of this." Tears stream down her face. "Why didn't you tell me? If you knew we weren't related, why keep it secret?"
"Because of this." I gesture between us. "This moment. This conversation. If I'd told you years ago, you would have left. Run away. Disappeared before I could make you understand what we are."
"What are we?"
"Inevitable." I wipe away her tears with my thumb. "We're inevitable, little bird. We always have been."
She's trembling. From fear or something else, I can't tell.
Maybe both.
"The DNA test," she says suddenly. "When did Mom and Dad find out? About the switch?"
"Last month. Like they said."
"But you knew before that."
"Yes."
"So you could have told them years ago. You could have exposed the truth. Brought Celeste home. Given me back my real life." Her eyes search mine. "Why didn't you?"
This is the question I've been waiting for.
The question that will make her understand everything.
"Because," I say carefully, "as long as everyone believed you were my sister, I had an excuse. A reason to be close to you. To protect you. To keep you here." I lean closer. "If I'd exposed the truth years ago, Mother and Father would have sent you away. Found your biological family. Removed you from my life completely."
"So you kept me trapped in a lie."
"I kept you with me. There's a difference."
"No, there isn't!" She tries to stand, but I catch her wrist. Pull her back down.
"Listen to me." My voice hardens. "I've spent twelve years preparing for this moment. Twelve years making sure that when the truth finally came out, I'd be in control. That you'd have nowhere to run. No one to turn to. Nothing except me."
Her eyes widen. "What did you do?"
"Everything necessary." I pull her closer. "I made sure your biological mother stayed hidden. Made sure the DNA test happened when I was ready. Made sure Celeste would be found at exactly the right time."
"You... you orchestrated this? All of it?"
"Not the original switch. That was someone else's crime. But everything after?" I smile. "Yes. That was me."
She's shaking harder now. "Why? Why would you do that?"
"Because I love you." I say it simply. Honestly. "And because love isn't patient, Aria. Love doesn't wait politely for permission. Real love—the kind that burns and destroys and consumes—that kind of love takes what it wants."
"You're a monster."
"Yes." I don't deny it. "But I'm your monster. And now that everyone knows we're not related, now that the secret is out..." I pull her onto my lap. She doesn't fight. Too shocked. Too scared. "Now I don't have to hide anymore."
I tilt her chin up. Force her to look at me.
"You have three months, little bird. Three months in this house with me. Three months of learning that running is pointless. That fighting is useless. Three months of accepting what we both already know."
"Which is?"
I lean close. So close our lips almost touch.
"That you're mine. That you've always been mine. That you'll always be mine." My hand slides into her hair. Gentle but firm. "And that deep down, in the part of yourself you're afraid to look at, you want this just as much as I do."
"I hate you," she breathes.
"I know." I smile against her lips. "But you'll learn to love me anyway. Because I'm all you have left, Aria. Your parents aren't your parents. Your name isn't your name. Your life isn't your life. Everything you thought was real is gone."
Tears stream down her face.
"But I'm real," I continue. "What I feel for you is real. This—" I press my hand against her racing heart. "This is real. So you can hate me. You can fight me. You can scream and cry and curse my name."
I finally close the distance and kiss her forehead. Soft. Reverent.
"But you can't escape me. Not anymore. Not ever."
I stand, leaving her shaking on the floor.
"Get some rest, little bird. Tomorrow, we start your new life." I walk to the door. "Oh, and Aria? Don't bother locking your door. I have keys to every room in this house. Including yours."
I leave her there.
Broken.
Terrified.
Mine.
Exactly as I've always wanted her.