Page 42

talie

His voice was low, but I didn’t miss the serious note in it. I stared at the ceiling, almost wishing we were still fucking. I wasn’t ready for this conversation.

“Why’d you do it?” I nearly whispered, unsure if I wanted the answer.

Strong fingers grasped my chin before he turned my head until I was looking at him. He was lying on his side, facing me, his eyes clouded with emotion I couldn’t decipher.

“You are the only woman I would do it for,” he admitted roughly. “I don’t submit in or out of the bedroom, Natalia. Ever . But with you? I realize more every day that I’ll do fucking anything to see you happy.”

My heart jumped into my throat, and I jerked my face out of his hold, rolling over to get out of the bed.

“You realize now?” I asked dryly. “Where was that attitude five years ago when we got married?”

I made it three steps before he grabbed my arm, spinning me around. He didn’t appear to give a shit that we were both still naked. His hazel eyes were dark and stormy, and he didn’t release my arm until he backed me into a wall.

“Let it go, Talie,” he ground out, his voice nearly pleading. “Forget about the fucking past. I’m not the same guy I was five years ago. I’ve changed, like you have. Did I fuck up? Yes, and I regret it.”

“Good,” I snapped, pushing him away. “You should. You lied to me, Damian?—”

He grabbed my hips, pushing me back into the wall. “Yeah, I did. And I haven’t forgotten. But don’t act like you’re innocent in all this. You didn’t give me a chance to explain. You left that fucking night—after stealing all my money.”

“I wasn’t going to give you a chance to do it again,” I bit out, my heart aching as the past swallowed me. “To hurt me.”

His jaw ticked. “You didn’t even give me a chance.

You overheard the conversation in my father’s house.

Somewhere we couldn’t talk openly. How many times have we acted differently in front of our parents?

I was going to talk to you once we were alone.

But by then, you were long gone.” Raising his hand, he softly tucked my hair behind my ear.

“Why did you decide to marry me? Why not Ash or Rhyett? Or a guy you graduated school with? There was an abundance of rich guys your father most likely would have approved, but you asked me .”

My face flushed. “I trusted you.”

“You trusted Ash and Rhyett too. Why didn’t you ask one of them?”

“I thought we were forgetting about the past,” I grumbled, averting my eyes from his.

“Admit it, Talie. You liked me. That’s why you wanted it to be me.”

The silence was thick with tension as my stomach churned. Damian had been the only man I’d wanted back then.

“Yes, I liked you,” I finally answered, raising my chin to look at him again. “Is that a surprise? We spent all our time together.”

His lips tipped in a small grin. “No, it’s not a surprise. I wanted to hear you say it.”

I rolled my eyes. “That was five years ago. Things have changed.”

“Yes, they have,” he said softly. “Maybe for the better. Let me in, Talie. We can give this marriage a real chance. Because my feelings for you never went away. Since you’ve been back, it’s only proved you’re the woman I want. Even with your hate and pranks—I want every fucking piece of you.”

Tears pricked my eyes as I swallowed the growing lump in my throat.

When I left all those years ago, I never admitted, even to myself, how much he broke me.

The hurt that had swallowed me when I witnessed him typing out the email, following his father’s orders.

When we’d gotten married, I had every intention of making this marriage work.

But my trust in him shattered that night.

“I don’t think that’s possible,” I mumbled, glancing down at his hands still gripping my hips tightly.

“Why not?”

I lifted my eyes to his. “Why did you cover for me for five years? Why not make me come back home?”

He clenched his jaw, looking unsure whether he wanted to answer.

“The conversation you overheard between me and my father wrecked you. And…” He paused.

“You were right. I wouldn’t have stood up to my father back then.

The pressure both our fathers were putting on me already had me going crazy.

It was always easier to agree with them—you knew the consequences if we didn’t.

You would have hated life. So I let you pretend you were off at school. It was my silent apology to you.”

“Even after I stole your money?” I asked doubtfully.

“Yes, even after that.”

“Great. Since our past is all cleared up, we can end this conversation?—”

“We’re not close to done,” he cut me off. “We’re clearing the air right now so we can move forward.”

“Move forward into what?” I asked bitterly. “Nothing has changed. Other than the fact that we both know we had crushes on each other.”

“Being happy,” he answered, his hazel eyes searching mine.

“I have no regrets about marrying you five years ago. I wanted you then, even if we never crossed over the line of friendship.” He leaned closer, his lips a breath from mine.

“You being gone did nothing to dim those feelings. You’ve been angry with me because of what happened.

But you can’t deny there’s something between us. Let it grow, Talie.”

“I’m not sure I can,” I choked out hoarsely.

He frowned. “Why?”

“There is something between us,” I admitted quietly.

“If I accepted it, then I know we’d probably be happy.

But as much as I want it, it’s not enough.

I want love, Damian. But I also need to be my own person.

I want a career I can be proud of. To do whatever I desire whenever I want.

Without worrying about the consequences of what our parents will do if I step out of line. ”

“We can work on that. I’ve learned to do both?—”

“Yes, you have,” I interrupted him, an edge of sadness in my voice.

“You work with your father to make him happy. You created your club to have your own slice of peace. You have it all. You could live the rest of your life like this and be perfectly content. That won’t work for me.

If I let myself accept this life, I’ll be miserable.

It’s already starting. I’m supposed to be the perfect housewife who supports her husband. I can’t fucking do it.”

His silence only proved I was right. It didn’t matter how much I stood up to my father, or even what Damian said. We could never fully live life while we stayed here where our families oversaw everything.

“Falling for you isn’t enough,” I continued, keeping my voice strong.

“There’s more to life than being in love.

While I want that, I want it all. Love. A career.

Freedom. I won’t give into one to lose everything else.

So no, I won’t let whatever is between us grow.

Not unless we can cut our families out. Which is basically impossible since you’re a partner in their companies.

It’s not just on you. I wouldn’t be able to see my sister.

My father would keep Char from me, which is why I haven’t done it. ”

“We can change things.”

“Maybe. But probably not.” I grabbed his wrist, gently prying his hand off my waist only for him to wrap his arm around me, tugging me into his chest.

“Work at my club.”

My lips parted as I stared up at him. “What?”

“Work with me. You asked before, and I’m giving it to you. If it makes you happy, work at my club.”

“You said you’d make me happy before?—”

“Fuck, Talie,” he grated out. “We both did and said things five years ago that were mistakes. Give us another chance. Maybe this time I won’t disappoint you.”

“You want me to work at your club?” I asked slowly. “The one place you love. What if I ruin your perfect little life by being there, Damian?”

“My life is not perfect,” he corrected me. Putting his knuckles under my chin, he tilted my face up. “Because I want you. All of you, not my wife in name only.”

We stared at each other for a few long seconds before I pushed his hand from my face. My pulse thudded furiously, his words echoing in my mind. It would be so easy to say yes. But then what? I slowly lose myself while stuck in this elite world?

“We don’t have to figure everything out now.” He ran his thumb softly over my lower lip. “Start slow. Work with me at my club.”

“Fine.” The answer slipped from my lips before I could think about it.

He grinned before brushing his lips over my cheek.

I opened my mouth, almost blurting out how I’ve been playing music at the clubs since I’d been back.

Even though it wasn’t as often as I liked, I’d been DJing at some well-known places in the last couple of weeks.

On those nights, Damian believed I was spending time with Char.

My chest tightened with the tiniest tug of guilt for keeping this to myself.

But I wasn’t doing anything wrong. Playing music was the one thing that brought me joy, and while I trusted Damian wouldn’t stop me from doing it, I wasn’t ready to share it yet. Not until I knew for sure he was being serious about making this marriage work.

“Good.” Damian’s eyes lowered to my lips, and for half a second, I nearly raised on my tiptoes to kiss him. Ever since I told him not to kiss me on the lips, he hadn’t tried.

My heart lurched when a realization slammed into me. My music made me happy; there was no denying that. But the longer I was here, the clearer it became.

Being near Damian made me happy too.