Chapter 9 - The Debt Cleared
A week later, the Lake Forest estate was filled with the smell of warm cinnamon and baking apples.
Mrs. Gable was humming in the kitchen, and Luca was sitting on the living room rug, happily driving his plastic dinosaur over an elaborate cardboard city we had spent three days building together.
My burns had healed to faint pink marks, and the scar on my flank was barely an ache now.
A black leather portfolio rested on the marble coffee table beside me.
Damian had walked into the room ten minutes earlier and placed it there before heading upstairs to change out of his business suit.
Curious, I opened it.
Inside was a deed of full ownership to a historic brownstone in Lincoln Park, completely renovated, fully furnished, with the property taxes prepaid for twenty-five years. Tucked beneath the deed was an investment portfolio in my name worth five million dollars, accompanied by a letter of complete financial independence.
*“If Emma Carter survives tonight, she never worries about money again.”*
His promise from the ballroom floor. Fulfilled to the letter.
A heavy lump formed in my throat. It was everything I had ever dreamed of when I was working sixty hours a week, surviving on dry toast and checking my bank balance with shaking hands. Freedom. Security. Dignity.
So why did my heart feel like it was being crushed beneath an anvil?
I heard footsteps descending the stairs.
Damian walked into the living room, wearing a simple gray cashmere sweater and dark jeans. He looked younger without the armor of his bespoke suits, his dark hair falling casually across his forehead.
He saw the open portfolio on the table and stopped.
“The deed is clear,” he said, his voice unusually hesitant. “The neighborhood is safe. Marco’s team vetted the entire perimeter. You can move in whenever you feel ready. Tomorrow, if you wish.”
I looked at the documents, then looked up at him.
“Is this what you want?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Damian’s jaw tightened. He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out at the snow dusting the vast lawns of the estate.
“I promised you that you would never worry again,” he said quietly, his back turned to me. “You paid for this with your blood, Emma. You earned your freedom. I will not hold you captive in a gilded cage surrounded by armed guards and paranoia. You deserve a normal life. A peaceful life.”
“And what if I don’t want a normal life?” I asked, standing up from the sofa.
Damian went rigid.
I walked across the room until I stood directly behind him. “You gave me everything a person could ask for, Damian. Money. Security. A home. But you didn't ask me what I actually need.”
He turned around slowly, his eyes dark with an agonizing war between his duty and his heart. “Emma… my world is dangerous. Even with Julian gone, there will always be enemies. There will always be shadows.”
“I’ve seen the shadows,” I countered, stepping closer, closing the distance between us until I could feel the heat radiating from his chest. “I fought them beside you. I don’t want the brownstone in Lincoln Park, Damian.”
His breath hitched. “What do you want, Emma?”
“I want the man who stayed awake for thirty-six hours in a hospital chair because he was terrified I wouldn't open my eyes,” I whispered, tears shining in my gaze. “I want the boy who loves his velociraptor. I want this family.”
Damian stared at me, his chest heaving, the final walls of his legendary defense crumbling to dust before my eyes.
“Are you sure?” he breathed, his voice trembling with an emotion so powerful it seemed to shake his very soul. “Because if you stay, Emma… I will never let you go. I will spend every breath I have protecting you, loving you, worshiping the ground you walk on.”
“Then don't let me go,” I smiled through my tears.
May you like
Damian pulled me against him, his hands tangling in my hair as he crushed his lips against mine in a kiss that erased every scar, every drop of spilled blood, and every shadow of fear that had ever haunted either of us.
***
