Chapter 1: The Night That Broke Me

The sound of laughter wasn’t what broke me.

It was the moan that followed.

I froze halfway up Ethan’s stairs, my knuckles white on the railing as a low, breathy cry carried through the half-open door. Lily’s voice.

My best friend’s voice.

A second sound followed—deep, guttural, male. Ethan. My boyfriend.

I told myself no, no, no, this couldn’t be real. But the universe didn’t care. The universe shoved it in my face.

The door wasn’t even locked. It creaked open at the lightest push, and my world ended.

Ethan had Lily bent back against the counter, her blouse undone, her breasts spilling from lace as he kissed her like he was starving. His hips ground between her thighs, jeans shoved low, his body already straining, needy.

Lily’s moans filled the room, each one louder, sharper, as if she wanted me to hear. As if she knew I was there.

“Oh God, Ethan” she gasped, nails raking down his back. “Harder. Deeper.”

“Just like that, yessss. Don’t stop Ethan”

My breath cut in my throat,breaking me from the inside out.

He pulled back slowly, just long enough to kiss her neck, he whispered something against her skin I couldn’t hear, and she threw her head back, laughing, the sound cruel and breathless at once.

And then, they saw me.

Her eyes glittered, not with guilt, but with triumph. A smirk curled her lips, still wet with Ethan’s kiss.

“Aria,” Ethan choked, stumbling back, but his hands were still on her waist, his chest still heaving. “Baby, wait, it’s not.” He was still talking when I cut him off.

“Not what it looks like?” My voice cracked, shrill, my chest tight as if someone had tied chains around it. “You’re inside her, Ethan. How could you?, how could you do this to me?.”

“for f**k I loved you with everything in me”.

“please Aria, please..” He reached for me, but I backed away like his touch was acidic.

And Lily? She didn’t even bother covering herself. She just tilted her head, her blouse gaping, skin marked with Ethan’s mouth. “You know,” she purred, “your mother was right about you.”

My blood iced. “What?”

“You’re weak. Pathetic. Never enough. Not for him, not for anyone.” She licked her lips slowly, deliberate, her voice dripping with mock and pleasure. “Did you really think you could keep a man like Ethan satisfied? Look at you, Aria. Fragile. Always trusting, too stupid”.

Ethan’s face twisted in panic. “Lily, stop”

But she only moaned again, loud and taunting, dragging Ethan’s hand back to her breast as if to prove her point. “Mmm… see?He doesn’t even want to stop.”

That was the kill shot. My chest caved in, the weight of betrayal crushing me from both sides. My best friend and my boyfriend. Tangled together in sweat and lust, tearing my heart out with every gasp, every groan.

The room tilted. My ears rang. My mother’s words rose up from the grave of memory. “You’ll never be enough. Never strong enough. Not worthy.”

With that something inside me shattered.

But I didn’t scream. I didn’t cry. I just turned and ran.

The night air hit me like ice, but it wasn’t enough to numb the fire in my chest, the ache in my bones. I kept running, I run and run, till I got tired. My legs weak and trembling. And I thought, just maybe Lily was right, maybe I truly didn't deserve real love.

The city blurred around me as I stood. Neon lights smeared into streaks, cars honked distantly, but all I heard were Lily’s moans echoing in my skull. Every breath hurts. Every step felt like a crack spreading through glass, and I knew if I stopped, I’d shatter.

I didn’t know where I was going until I saw the glow of a sign across the street. A bar.

Not the kind of place I usually went—dark, tucked into a corner, the kind of place that smelled like smoke and desperation. But right now, it was perfect. I needed noise. Strangers. Anything to drown out the sound of Ethan’s voice, the look in Lily’s eyes.

Inside, the air was thick with whiskey and old leather. Music thumped low, heavy bass that rattled my bones. I slid onto a stool, my hands trembling as I ordered the first thing I could think of.

“Whiskey,” I said, my voice barely steady. “Neat.”

The bartender raised a brow but poured it anyway. I lifted the glass, the burn searing down my throat, and for one blessed moment, the ache dulled. Not gone. But dulled.

I stared into the amber liquid, trying to lose myself in its depth. Trying not to see Lily’s smirk every time I blinked.

That’s when I felt it.

Eyes.

Heavy. Burning. Crawling over my skin like a flame that wanted to devour me whole.

I froze, glass halfway to my lips. Slowly, I turned my head.

And there he was.

At the far end of the bar, half in shadow, a man sat watching me like he’d been waiting his whole life for this exact moment. His body was huge, filling the space around him effortlessly, all hard muscle and sharp edges. But it was his eyes that rooted me in place.

Golden.

Not hazel. Not amber. Gold.

They glowed faintly beneath the dim lights, alive in a way no human’s eyes should be.

My heart stuttered. For a second, I wondered if I was hallucinating, if heartbreak and whiskey had fried my brain. But then his lips curved—slow, dangerous, like he knew every secret I’d ever buried—and the truth slammed into me.

This wasn’t a man you stumbled across by accident.

This was danger.

And he was looking at me like I was prey.

I tore my gaze away, chest tight, but the burn of his stare clung to me like smoke. The room felt smaller. Hotter. Charged with something I couldn’t explain.

When I dared to glance back, he was still there. Still watching.

Our eyes locked.

And in that instant, everything shifted.

The betrayal. The pain. The echoes of Lily’s cruel voice. They all faded, replaced by a single, undeniable truth:

Whoever he was, he wasn’t going to let me go.

Damian.

Dangerous. Hungry.

And somehow, impossibly, mine.