Chapter 10: the breaking point

The charity gala was at the Plaza Hotel.

Two thousands people. Photographers everywhere. The kind of events where lives could be made or destroyed in a single photograph.

Aria wore a dress that cost more than her old apartment. Diamonds that caught the light and threw it back like small stars. Her hair was done by someone who had done the hair for actresses. Her makeup was perfect.

She looked like a woman who belong in the world of money and power. But she didn't feel like it

Damian was waiting when she came out of the bedroom. He was in a tuxedo that make him look he owned the world. He probably did owned most of it.

His eyes moved down her bod and back to her face.

“ You're beautiful”, he said.

“ His dress cost more than my parents make in a year”.

“ Then it's a bargain”, he said.

He pulled her closer and kissed her . Not like it's for the cameras. Not like it was for the strategy. He kissed her like he meant it .

“ Ready?” He asked while he pulled back.

“No,” she said.

“ Good. That means you’ll stay sharp”.

The first hour at the gala was perfect.

Damian was attentive. His hands was always on her back. His eyes always on her face. He introduced her to people whose names she'd read in the business section of The Times. He told edited version of their meeting story. He looked at her like she was the only one person the room.

And Ethan played her part beautifully.

Then Ethan walked in. He was alone. Not with the blonde woman from last time. He looked like he hasn't slept in days. His suit didn't fit right. He eyes were red.

When he saw Aria and Damian together, something in his eyes broke.

He walked towards them through the vrowgy

Damian felt him coming. His hand on Aria's waist tightened. A warning.

"Aria," Ethan said. His voice was rough. Like he'd been crying.

"Can we talk?"

"No," Damian said.

"I wasn't talking to you," Ethan shot back.

"She's with me now," Damian said quietly. "What you want doesn't matter."

"Did you already know her?" Ethan asked Aria. His eyes were desperate. Searching.

"Were you talking to him while we were together? Is that why you cheated on me?"

Aria's blood went cold. So did the air around Damian.

"I didn't cheat on you," she said carefully.

“ Didn't you?” , Ethan's laugh was bitter

“ I've been doing research, Damian Wolfe doesn't marry. Ever. He barely acknowledges women exist. But suddenly he is married to you ? My girlfriend?”

“ Ex girlfriend “, Aria corrected.

“ After two weeks?” , Ethan's voice was getting louder. People were starting to look.

“ You're telling me you just fell in love with him in two weeks?”

“ You're telling me you didn't know him before we broke up?”

“ I am telling you to leave”, Damian said.

His voice was so cold that Ethan actually stepped back.

“ You are causing a scene, you are embarrassing yourself, leave know or I'll have the security removed you”.

“ You can't –”

“ I can and I will “

Ethan looked at Aria one more time. For a second, she almost felt sorry for him. He looked so lost and desperate.

Then she remembered Lena in his bed. The six months of lies. The way her world had blurred while he moved on to the next girl.

“ Goodbye Ethan”, she said.

The security appeared and took him away.

For the rest of the night, Damian didn't let go of her. His hands on her back. His arm around her waist. His eyes always on her face like he was making sure she was still there. Like he was making sure she wouldn't like with Ethan.

It could have felt possessive andcontrolling, Instead, it felt like protection.

By the end of the gala, the story had already started spreading through the room:

Ethan Hayes confronts wife's Ex husband at benefit. Security called. Hayes escorted out.

In the car ride room, Aria saw Damian's hands shaking.

“ Are you okay?”, she asked.

“ No”, he said. “ I want to kill him. When he asked if you cheated on me with him. When he looked at you like he still thought he owned you. I wanted to break every bone in his body”.

"But you didn't."

"No. Because you needed me not to. Because you needed me to be the good guy in your story, not the villain."

She reached over and took his hand.

"You're both," she said quietly. "You're the villain and the protector. You orchestrated everything and then you saved me. You're not good or bad. You're just... complicated."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"No," she said. "It's supposed to make you understand that I'm staying. Not because I believe you're good. I'm staying because I believe you're trying to be better."

He pulled over to the side of the road. The city was dark around them. Empty.

"I need to tell you something," he said.

"What?"

"My uncle knows about you. Knows that you're smart. Knows that you're listening. Knows that we're close to figuring out the truth about my brother."

"How does he know?"

"Because I told him. Because I wanted him to know that I have someone he can't break. Someone I'm willing to go to war for."

Aria felt the weight of that settle on her shoulders.

"You used me as a threat," she said.

"Yes."

"To protect yourself."

"No," he said. "To protect you. My uncle is a predator. He looks for weakness. He looks for people you care about. By making sure he knows how much I care about you, I made you dangerous to harm. I made you more valuable alive than dead."

"That's insane."

"It's survival."

He reached over and cupped her face in his hands.

"The moment I married you," he said,

"I became responsible for you. The moment I let you see who I really am, I gave you the power to destroy me. That's not insanity. That's trust."

"And what if I use it?" she whispered.

"Then you'd be smart. And I'd deserve it."

He kissed her then. Not like it was part of a performance. Not like it was strategic. He kissed her like a man who had decided to stop fighting what he felt.

And Aria stopped fighting too. When they pulled apart, she whispered,

"What happens now?"

"Now," he said, "we find out who killed my brother. And we burn them.”