Chapter 295 - 296 I cannot lose you

Chapter 295: Chapter 296 I cannot lose you

Aria’s POV

His voice snapped, sharp and sudden. "I told you, Vanessa has nothing to do with this!"

I saw the fire behind his eyes. The frustration. But I didn’t pull back. I couldn’t.

"She’s not innocent in all of this. She’s your fallback plan, right? She already knows everything about you, she’s spent years understanding you, so why not just go back to her? She’ll take care of you. She won’t push you away like I do. She won’t threaten your precious control."

"Stop it." His voice cracked, raw and wounded. "I said stop."

He grabbed my chin, firm but not hurting, forcing me to look at him. His eyes were red-rimmed, blazing with barely contained fury.

"I’ve never wanted her as a backup. I’ve never wanted anyone but you. There’s no one ’easier’ waiting in the wings. I want you. I want you because—" He stopped, breathing hard.

"Because of what?" I pressed. "Why do you want me?"

"Because I’ve always loved you." His answer came sharp and fast, cutting through the air like a blade. "Since the first moment I saw you."

I held his gaze, refusing to let him see the crack in my armor, even as heat flooded my chest.

"Okay," I said softly. "Okay."

I moved forward, pressing my body against his, letting my head rest against his chest. His heartbeat thundered in my ear, fast and panicked, like he had been running for years and only now found a place to stop.

"Aria... this isn’t right," he whispered. "I can’t just take from you. Not when I’m like this."

"You’re not taking anything," I said quietly. "I’m giving it to you. And I give it freely."

He tried to pull back again, but I looked up at him, meeting his eyes with everything I had.

"Damian... in all the world, what do I mean to you?"

A long silence. Then, brokenly: "...Everything."

"And you to me. You are everything. You are my everything."

I let my hand drift up, trailing my fingers along the back of his neck, through his hair, feeling the tension locking his body.

"I never believed you would abandon me when things got hard. But you think I’m someone who only stays when the sun is shining. You’re so sure I’ll turn my back when the storm comes."

"That’s not true!" His voice cracked. "It’s because I know you’d stay. Because I know you would. And I can’t let you make that sacrifice for me. I won’t let you destroy yourself for someone like me."

"Destroy myself?" I laughed, but it wasn’t cruel. "You think keeping me here, locked in your arms, is destruction? You think wanting me to stay is selfish?"

He fell silent at my words, unable to find a single argument.

I stepped up on my toes and pressed my body fully against him. The impact sent his breath leaving him in a sharp exhale. I trailed my lips along his collarbone, and bit him, just hard enough to make him gasp.

He didn’t push me away.

"I’m so angry at you," I whispered against his skin. "So angry."

"I know. I’m sorry." His voice trembled on the words. "I’m so sorry, Aria."

"Do you even know what I’m angry about?"

"...Yes."

"Then tell me."

He swallowed, his throat bobbing against my forehead. "You’re angry that I lied. More than that...you’re angry that I didn’t give you the chance to decide for yourself. I made the choice for both of us and called it mercy."

"Wrong," I said, gripping his shoulders hard. "I’m not angry that you hid the truth. I’m angry that you don’t believe in us enough to hold on. I’m angry that you think so little of what we have that you’d walk away before giving me a chance to prove I could handle the darkness with you."

He let out a ragged breath. "It’s not that I don’t trust you—"

"Then what?"

He was silent for a long, long moment. When he spoke, his voice cracked.

"It’s that I’m terrified you’ll look at me and see a monster."

My heart broke.

The truth, finally.

It was never about protecting anyone else. It was about his own fear. That if everything came out, I would see him for what he truly was, and I would want no part of it.

The man who had paid for whatever sins his past held, who wore his guilt like a crown of thorns, who had spent years drowning in his own darkness because he was convinced that was all he deserved.

"Do you think so little of me, then?" I asked softly.

"N-No, I—"

"If I truly believed you were something to be feared, do you think I’d have let go of that knife?"

The words hit him like a physical blow.

Everything went still.I felt the change in his body.

"Damian." I whispered his name like a prayer, holding his face in my hands, brushing my thumbs over his rough, unshaven jaw. "I’m not afraid of you. I’ve never been afraid of you. And I never will be."

"Alright," I said softly, looking him straight in the eye. "If I’m going to spend forever with you, then I need to know the real truth. Tell me, from the beginning, when did you realize that you loved me?"

"From the beginning," he confessed, his voice low and rough. "From the first time you looked at me."

"Then trust that I know exactly what I’m taking on," I said quiet and fierce. "I’m not running, Damian. Not now. Not ever. Even if the path ahead is dark, as long as I’m walking it with you... it’s heaven."

He held my gaze. His shoulders sagged, and he began to crumble.

"Fuck it all," he breathed, pulling me against him, cradling me, burying his face in my hair as if I was his lifeline, his last hope. "I cannot lose you. I will not lose you. Even if it makes me the most selfish man alive. I’m keeping you, Aria."

His arms tightened around me, fierce and possessive, claiming me with every inch of his body. He kissed me like he was drowning and I was air.

It was a raw and desperate kiss.

I kissed him back, pouring every ounce of my love and forgiveness into him, tasting the salt of tears I wasn’t sure were his or mine.

When we finally broke apart, breathless, his forehead rested against mine, and I could feel the tremble running through his body.

"Selfish," he repeated, and I felt his lips curve into a broken smile against my mouth. "Noted."

"Very selfish," I agreed, and kissed him again.