Married for a moment, Loved for a lifetime.

rent when you knew so

e penthouse. She'd made her decision in silence, her movements

mon. Not anymore. From someone

spotted it the moment she stepped onto the curb. Its tinted windows. The

n the opposi

a

from that car fe

own breath now. C

ed into the back of a yellow

d Harrison," she sa

iver n

ing traffic. Aria leaned back, gripping he

. Liam had sent another

out your family. I didn't want to say anything until I was s

didn't trust him, but because trust felt

rom the envelope. She stared at the curve of her ow

dow haun

enough to capture her

back. But the message felt personal. Like

d happier

went sp

was

i

fa

couldn't

e she could, bu

ab sl

e," the dr

fé, quiet, modest. One of the few places she and

dings. No black SUV. No glint of metal.

nstincts

he door, her pho

e, it wa

wn nu

ned the

. Let's see how long befor

unds, just as she remembered. Aria stepped inside,

laptops, an elderly couple reading newspapers, and

corner, facing the door. Her heartbeat

Let's see how long befor

elete

t matter-but because

ds at first-just a look, full of w

slid in across from he

ow. "You said i

d come," he confessed

is knuckles were scraped. And behind the softness of

r

," sh

ed an image. It was a grainy photo of a man in a dark co

," she said a

ot Damon. That's the man who

the lice

me one connected to six other incidents i

throa

ou showing

stand," Liam whispered. "This isn't just about a jealous b

inked.

oat and pulled out a document. It looked l

gally changed his

rd, her blood ru

d it fr

the pape

Caste

eath c

ew tha

in a fight with her father. A name

e was dead,"

nched. "A lot

the barista approached,

ou," he said, settin

olded it

n't have tr

ure. No e

e-Damon's cologne-clingi

turned. She loo

le. He was staring past her

rned s

suit had just stepped i

es met

he s

he kind that co

world and no one to fear. Every step echoed in Aria's

ng

u

o

s hair slicked back, untouched by the wind outside. But it was his

lose," he said, his voice smoot

slowly. "Wh

to her. "A friend. One who knows the tru

t her sides. "I never

ry the scent of him like a mark. It's

rising beside her,

r. Cross. You don't want to play protector

ker in Liam's eyes.

w him?"

idn't

'm known by many names. But yo

on warned you, sweetheart," he said without looking back. "Beca

he wa

, the breath knock

hat?" she asked, her

"That was the one man Damon has neve

e fear finally settli

s he want

ly lifted

wants. I think it's what

Aria's apartmen

of the café, of Casimir, of Damon's concealed past. But the walls no longer felt safe.

and stared out the window into the night. The c

un back to

what you're ab

mber

head. She could feel something-something buried so dee

ged at her c

ing behind a velvet curtain. Someone-h

. Changed his name again.

imaginin

nd. That man, that fami

n her ears like

a leather-bound journal she hadn't opened in

ough the pages, old ink smeared, pre

n-she f

tter, yello

open

the silver wolf ring. He isn't who he says he is. And he wil

pped the

r wol

n's

at the door

lowly, carefully. N

t?" she c

le

t pounde

under the door. Her hand t

rds in

e you cho

ink seeming to shimmer faintly beneath th

e door, each step more

barely a thread in the quiet apartment. W

ddenly. As if something

into the living room, clutching the letter from her mother lik

ius. The man with t

w this

ecorated lie. And piece by piece, someone was peeli

own at the j

pages-desperate for answers. And then, a fam

us K

a name-an

ed it, and below it,

any faces. If you ever h

mach cl

simir had said it. Not loud. Not directl

on had

breath

hell i

abbed her phone. Her thumb hovered

t made her fi

s that even hi

her browser. Searched: "Damon Callo

lossy. Polished. A

face captioned "The Golden Billionaire." But no childhood d

peared fro

fact

omach

rom her phone

e. Unkno

gging. You're sa

d turned

w. But the curtains were drawn. Her apartment was four flo

. Inside were spare keys, emergency cash... and her late father'

for games, Aria. I

wered

ill w

en connected. A few unread messages popped up from

Unknow

Now it's your turn to decide. Meet me a

tared

k read 1

orty-thre

ide, to bury her head under the blankets

sn't her. N

linging to her name. And maybe-just

e burner phone into her pocket, and

hey looked like glass pulled from

s, grabbed her keys, and

ng, a figure watched her through the lens of a long-range scope-silent,