"Most people would feel so guilt. So remorse. So.....sothing."
"I’m not most people, Aria. I thought you understood that by now." He shifted so he could look down at her. "I did what needed to be done to protect you. To ensure Victoria would never bother us again. I don’t feel guilty about that. I feel satisfied. Relieved. Maybe even a little proud that I handled it effectively."
"Proud," she repeated faintly.
"Yes. Proud."
The casual way he said it....like Victoria was a problem to be solved rather than a person he’d tortured....made sothing twist in Aria’s stomach.
But it also made her understand sothing fundantal about Damien Blackwood.
He didn’t see people as people when they beca obstacles. Didn’t allow empathy or conscience to interfere with what he believed needed to be done.
He compartntalized. Shut off his humanity when it was strategically necessary. Beca the cold, calculating CEO who’d built an empire through ruthless business practices.
And that man.....that version of Damien....was capable of almost anything.
"You’re thinking too much again," Damien said, his hand moving to cup her face. "I can practically hear the wheels turning. what are you thinking about again Aria"
"I’m just trying to understand you. To reconcile the man who holds so tenderly with the man who....who did what you did yesterday."
"They’re the sa man, Aria. I’ve told you that. The tenderness and the ruthlessness co from the sa source. I love you, so I’m gentle with you. But that sa love makes absolutely rciless to anyone who threatens you."
"And if soday...." She had to force the words out. "If soday I do sothing you don’t like. Sothing that makes you angry or....or threatens you sohow. Would you....."
"Would I hurt you?" Damien finished. His eyes locked on hers, dark and intense. "No. Never. You could betray again, lie to again, steal from again, and I still wouldn’t hurt you. Because you’re not a threat, Aria. You’re mine. And I protect what’s mine, even from myself."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I’ve already been through the worst-case scenario with you Aria. You infiltrated my ho, lied about who you were, stole from , betrayed my trust in the most fundantal way. And even then.....even when I was furious and hurt and absolutely devastated.....I never once considered hurting you. Never once wanted to cause you pain."
He pulled her closer, his voice dropping to sothing raw and honest.
"I wanted to own you. Possess you. Make you submit to in every way possible. But hurt you? He shook his head. "Never. That capacity doesn’t exist in where you’re concerned."
"But how do I know that for sure? How do I know you won’t...."
"You don’t," Damien said simply. "You can’t know for sure. You can only trust. Trust that I an what I say. Trust that I know the difference between what I do to enemies and what I do to the woman I love. Trust that I’m not a complete monster, even if I’m capable of monstrous things."
Aria lay there, processing his words, trying to reconcile them with what she’d seen. With the cold smile. With the casual cruelty. With the satisfied way he’d described Victoria’s injuries.
"This is a lot," she finally said.
"I know. But this is who I am. This is what loving ans. And you need to decide...." His hand tightened on her shoulder. "You need to decide if you can live with it. If you can accept the darkness alongside the light. Because I’m not going to change, Aria. I’m not going to beco softer or gentler or more palatable. This is . All of ."
"And if I can’t accept it?"
The question hung in the air between them like a blade.
Damien’s expression didn’t change, but she felt his entire body tense.
"Then we have a problem," he said quietly. "Because I’m not letting you go. Not again. So you’ll need to find a way to accept it. To make peace with who I am. Because the alternative....walking away....isn’t an option I’m willing to entertain."
"That sounds like a threat."
"It’s a promise. I’ve already lost you once. I won’t survive losing you again. So whatever it takes to keep you....whatever I need to do to make you stay....I’ll do it."
The intensity in his voice, in his eyes, should have scared her. Should have sent her running.
But instead, she found herself nodding. Found herself accepting the truth of his words.
Because she didn’t want to leave. Didn’t want to walk away from this complicated, intense, sotis terrifying love.
She wanted to stay. Wanted to find a way to reconcile the man she loved with the monster she’d seen.
Wanted to believe that she could love both versions of him and survive the experience.
"Okay," she whispered.
"Okay what?"
"Okay, I’ll find a way. I’ll make peace with it. I’ll....I’ll accept all of you."
Damien’s grip on her tightened, and she felt him exhale.....like he’d been holding his breath waiting for her answer.
"Good," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "Because I need you, Aria. More than I’ve ever needed anything. And I’m not above using any thod....including your body’s addiction to mine....to keep you."
It should have been romantic. Should have been a declaration of love.
But it felt more like a warning.
A promise of exactly how far he’d go to keep her.
And Aria found herself both terrified and aroused by the darkness in his words.
Because so part of her....so dark, twisted part she didn’t want to examine too closely.....wanted exactly that.
Wanted to be so completely possessed that leaving beca impossible.
Wanted to be his addiction as much as he was hers.
Wanted the darkness and the light and everything in between.
Even if it destroyed her.
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