The silence that followed Damien's words lingered long after he disappeared into the study.
"You need to decide who you believe."
Sienna sat on the edge of the couch, the weight of those words pressing down on her chest like a stone. Her mind churned with conflicting memories—Ethan's familiar voice from a time she'd left behind, and Damien's cold but increasingly complicated presence beside her now.
She had agreed to this engagement to get Ethan off her back. To gain her independence. To throw off the pitying glances and whispered judgments. But somewhere along the line, the lines had blurred. Damien wasn't just the billionaire fiancé playing a part. He was becoming something else—someone whose touch lingered too long, whose words pierced too deep.
And it scared her more than she wanted to admit.
With a sigh, she got up and padded quietly down the hall. The light from the study spilled into the hallway, faint but steady. She hesitated in front of the door. She could walk away. Let things cool off. But her heart pulled her forward.
She knocked gently.
No answer.
She pushed the door open and found Damien sitting behind his desk, sleeves rolled up, tie loose around his neck. He stared at a file on his screen, but his eyes weren't moving. He was lost in thought.
"You're still up," she said softly.
He glanced up but didn't say anything.
Sienna stepped inside and leaned against the doorway. "I'm not choosing between you and Ethan."
His eyes darkened. "That's not what I asked you to do."
"It sure sounded like it."
He leaned back in his chair, exhaling. "I'm not trying to control you, Sienna. But I won't let anyone use you to get to me."
She walked in slowly, stopping across from him. "Why do you always assume people are using me?"
"Because they are," he said, voice tight. "Claire shows up with your ex at an event we're both attending. A leaked story hits the tabloids with details no one should know. And the minute the heat turns up, Ethan calls you. Not once. Not twice. But again and again."
"He was my boyfriend for two years," she said. "I can't just erase that history overnight."
Damien stood up, walking toward the window. The city lights spilled over his features, outlining the rigid lines of his jaw, the tension in his shoulders.
"And what about us?" he asked, voice lower now. "What history are we writing?"
Sienna swallowed hard. "We're pretending. That's what we agreed."
"Are we?" he asked, finally turning to face her.
She blinked. "What?"
Damien took a step closer. "Because I can't tell anymore. Every time I touch you, I forget where the lie ends and the truth begins."
Sienna's breath caught.
He kept moving, closing the space between them until she could feel the warmth of his body just inches from hers. "You sleep beside me every night. You let me kiss you in public. You hold my hand like it means something. And every time you look at me like you want more, I wonder if it's real."
"It's not that simple," she whispered.
"It could be."
She looked up at him, eyes wide, chest heaving. "I don't want to be another one of your games, Damien. Another woman you conquer."
His face softened. "You think that's all this is?"
"I don't know what this is."
"Then let me show you," he said, voice rough.
Before she could respond, he leaned in—not forcefully, but slowly, like giving her time to pull away. When she didn't, his lips brushed against hers, tender but aching with restraint.
The kiss wasn't like the one from the gala or the one staged for the cameras. This one was honest. Raw. His hand came up to cradle her cheek, and she leaned into him without thinking. For a second, the noise in her mind fell away. There was no Ethan. No press. No arrangement. Just him.
And then reality crashed in.
She pulled back, breathless. "Damien, we can't."
"Why not?" he asked, voice hoarse.
"Because I don't trust it. I don't trust you."
He flinched slightly, and for a moment, she saw it—the crack in the armor.
"I've been honest with you," he said quietly. "More than I've been with anyone."
"You've also kept secrets," she countered.
Damien looked away. "I've spent most of my life making sure no one had that kind of power over me. I thought keeping people out was the only way to survive."
"And now?"
His eyes found hers again. "Now, I'm starting to wonder if I've just been lonely."
Sienna's heart twisted.
She stepped back, needing air. Space.
"I need to think," she murmured.
He nodded, stepping aside. "I'm not going to chase you, Sienna. But I'm not going to pretend either. Something's happening between us. And whether you admit it or not, you feel it too."
She didn't reply. Just turned and walked back to her room, her pulse pounding in her ears.
When she closed the door behind her, she leaned against it, eyes shut.
Damien Sinclair was dangerous—not because he could break her heart, but because he might be the only one who could reach it.