Chapter 1 She's Back

Aria stood in front of the mirror, her hands calm, her face cold.

Red lips.

Black dress.

Diamond heels.

She looked like every rich man's dream. But she didn't care about dreams. She was here for something real.

Payback.

Her heart used to beat for Damien Kingsley.

Now, it beat for revenge.

Three years ago, she loved him like a fool. Trusted him with her heart. Believed every single word he said.

And he return, he destroyed her.

He didn't just break up with her. He humiliated her. Left her in front of the world and married someone else.

A model.

A beauty queen.

Someone better, according to the magazines.

Aria disappeared after that. No one heard from her. They said she went crazy. That she couldn't handle the heartbreak.

But the truth?

She was building herself.

She worked, studied and got rich.

Now, Aria Collins was not the weak girl he left behind. She owned her own company. She lived in a mansion and onight, she would make him melt.

The charity gala was loud and full of lights. People wore fake smiles and held champagne glasses. The rich played pretend so well.

Aria walked in like she owned the place.

Everyone turned to look. She was stunning.

But she didn't care about the stares.

She only cared about one man.

And there he was.

Damien Kingsley.

The man who used to call her "his everything." The man who promised her forever.

He stood by the bar, wearing a black tuxedo, talking to two men in suits. His smile was sharp. His eyes-still cold.

Aria's stomach twisted for just a second.

She breathed in.

No fear or weakness.

She walked across the room slowly. Each step echoed like thunder in her head.

Damien didn't see her at first.

But when he did...

His smile dropped.

His hand froze mid-air, glass halfway to his lips.

"Aria?" he said, almost in a whisper.

She smiled-sweet and cruel.

"Hello, Damien."

He looked shocked. Like he had seen a ghost.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, voice low.

Aria tilted her head. "Don't tell me you forgot me already."

He didn't answer.

"Relax," she said, her voice smooth. "I'm not here for you. I'm here for business."

Another lie.

Damien's jaw tightened. "You disappeared."

"You made it easy," she said. "One day I was your girlfriend. The next day, you were married."

He looked away for a second. Guilty.

Good.

"Are you still married?" she asked, pretending to care.

"No," he said, too quickly. "It didn't work out."

Pity, she thought. I wanted to destroy you in front of her.

"Too bad," she said. "You looked so happy on the wedding cover."

He didn't smile. "You look... different."

"You don't," she said. "Still heartless, I guess."

He opened his mouth to say something, but Aria stepped back.

"Anyway," she said, turning to walk away, "it was nice seeing you again."

Damien reached out, touched her arm.

"Wait," he said. "Can we talk?"

She looked at his hand on her skin.

Then she looked at him.

And smiled.

"Of course," she said. "But not tonight."

She walked away, her heart beating fast not because of him, but because everything was going according to plan.

Let him want me again.

Let him fall.

And when he does...

I'll break him like he broke me.