CHAPTER 5

The car sped through the city streets, the muffled hum of the engine filling the tense silence between them. Lilia sat in the back, her gaze fixed on the window, but her mind was miles away. Every turn, every passing street sign seemed to mock her, as though the city was indifferent to her fate, indifferent to the choice she had just made.

She had agreed to marry Damian. She had no choice. The debt, her family’s future, everything was on her shoulders now. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t angry. Furious, even. How had she let herself get here?

Damian, on the other hand, remained unbothered. His calm demeanor, as always, made her blood boil. It wasn’t just the fact that he’d manipulated her into this. It was the way he had calmly steered her life toward this path as if she had never had a say.

“You’re awfully quiet, Lilia,” Damian said, his voice smooth, almost teasing. He glanced back at her, catching her eyes in the rearview mirror.

She turned away, her jaw clenched. "What do you want me to say?" Her words were clipped, frustration edging into her voice.

Damian chuckled lightly. "I don’t know... Maybe something about how you’ve accepted your fate? You know, the kind of acceptance I expect from someone who’s just agreed to marry me."

Lilia’s heart raced at the mention of marriage. She had barely managed to get through the words herself when she’d agreed, and now... now she felt more trapped than ever.

The car finally came to a stop in front of the mansion. Damian stepped out without a word, his tall figure casting a long shadow in the dim light. When he opened her door, he didn’t wait for her to respond. Instead, he pulled her out with a firm hand, guiding her through the grand entrance as if she had no other choice but to follow.

The house was massive—luxurious, cold, and full of silence. Every step they took seemed to echo, reminding Lilia of the vastness of the place and the distance she felt between herself and her past life.

Once inside, Damian led her up the stairs with a casual ease, the sound of their footsteps resonating in the otherwise quiet mansion. At the top of the stairs, he stopped in front of a door and turned to her with that maddeningly calm expression.

“Your room,” he said, his tone almost dismissive, as though this was just another part of the deal. "Get some rest."

Lilia wanted to scream. She wanted to tell him how she felt—how much this situation enraged her—but she knew it wouldn’t make a difference. Damian had already made his decisions, and she was just a pawn in his game.

But something about the way he said it—the way he looked at her as if he owned everything in this house, including her—made her want to lash out. She wouldn’t let him see her break. Not now. Not when she had just taken the first step into his world.

She pushed past him, opening the door to her new room. It was beautiful, lavish, and completely impersonal. Everything in the room screamed wealth and power, but none of it felt like hers. It was as if she were stepping into a stranger’s life.

The door clicked shut behind her, but before she could take in her surroundings, Damian’s voice came from the other side. “If you’re still upset,” he said, his voice low, “I might have to do something to cheer you up.”

Lilia’s heart skipped a beat. She knew the game he was playing, the control he was trying to exert. She couldn’t let him have the upper hand. Not now. Not ever.

She opened the door, glaring at him. “I don’t need you to cheer me up,” she snapped, her voice cutting through the air.

Damian was leaning against the wall, his lips curling into a smirk. He seemed unbothered by her defiance. “You sure about that? Because, if you keep this up…” He stepped closer, his voice dropping lower. “I might just have to kiss the sadness out of you.”

Lilia felt a jolt of surprise at his words, and before she could think, his finger lightly brushed her chin, tilting her face upward. He was inches from her, his breath warm against her skin.

The tension in the room thickened. Her heart hammered in her chest. She could feel the pull between them—his proximity, his power, the way he looked at her as if she were both a challenge and a possession.

But Lilia wasn’t ready to surrender. Not like this. Not to him.

“No,” she said, her voice shaky but determined. “I won’t let you manipulate me.”

Damian smiled, but there was a glint of something darker in his eyes. “We’ll see about that,” he murmured. “I think you’ll change your mind soon enough.”

Lilia’s chest tightened. She wanted to say something, anything, to defy him, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, she stepped back, her hand gripping the door handle.

Damian’s smile never wavered as he watched her, the unspoken challenge hanging in the air between them.

“Sleep well, Lilia,” he said softly, his voice laced with something she couldn’t quite place.

Lilia slammed the door behind her, her body trembling with the force of everything that had just transpired. Her mind raced, her heart a tangled mess of anger, fear, and confusion.

She had made her choice. But the path ahead was darker than she had ever imagined.

She collapsed onto the bed, her mind still spinning. She had made her choice, but she wasn’t sure if it had been the right one.

As she stared at the ceiling, trying to calm her breathing, her phone buzzed on the nightstand.

It was a message.

Mark.

Her pulse spiked, the anger and hurt from earlier flooding back. She grabbed her phone with shaking hands, quickly reading the message.

“I made a mistake. I never wanted to hurt you, but I need you to know the truth. It was never just her. I was never happy with her... I was just too afraid to tell you. Please, come talk to me. I’ll explain everything.”

Lilia stared at the screen, her mind racing. She could feel the weight of his words pressing down on her. She wanted to believe him. But was it too late?

Her thumb hovered over the keyboard as she typed back a response:

“Explain what? That you lied to me? That you betrayed me with her? It’s too late, Mark. Too late for everything.”

But before she could press send, her phone buzzed again.

This time, it wasn’t from Mark.

“Don’t think for a second you have a choice in this, Lilia. I won’t let you leave me. Not now. Not ever.”

The message came from an unknown number. And it was signed only with:

“Damian.”

Why did he know she messaged with Mark?