Chapter 5 Stay Away From Me

The moment Aria stepped into the service corridor, she felt it.

That presence again.

Heavy. Watching.

He was waiting for her.

As she rounded the corner toward the linen closet, Damien stepped out of the shadows-just a few feet away, dressed in black like the storm he always seemed to carry with him.

Aria froze. Her hands clenched at her sides.

She didn't speak first.

He did.

"Someone left a threat at your door."

Her heart skipped.

So he knew.

She forced herself to sound steady. "You shouldn't have looked into me."

Damien's eyes narrowed. "And you shouldn't be facing this alone."

"I've faced worse."

He stepped closer. "I don't care. You're not alone anymore."

Her jaw clenched. "I didn't ask for a savior."

"No," he said softly, "but you became mine anyway."

That caught her off guard. The fire in her chest flared for just a second.

"I don't need your help," she whispered.

"Too bad," Damien said. "Because you've got it."

She turned away, her throat tightening. "This isn't your fight."

"It is now."

"No, Damien. It really isn't." Her voice cracked, just slightly. "Whoever sent that note-they're dangerous. You don't know the things I've survived. You don't know the blood that's still on my hands."

He stepped forward, slow and careful, like approaching a wounded animal. "Then tell me."

"I can't."

"Try."

She looked up at him-and for a split second, her mask slipped.

He saw it then.

The pain.

The fear.

The scars invisible to anyone who didn't know how to look.

And he hated it.

He hated that she'd carried that weight alone for so long.

"Let me protect you," Damien said, his voice rough now. "Just once."

She blinked back the sting in her eyes. "I don't need protection. I need distance."

She pushed past him, shoulders tense, her scent lingering like something soft he couldn't touch.

But before she disappeared around the corner, she said something he wasn't ready for.

"Walk away, Damien."

She didn't say please.

Because she already knew he wouldn't.

That night...

Damien stood alone in his suite, staring out over the glittering city like a man preparing for war.

He wasn't going to walk away.

He wasn't built for that.

If someone wanted to threaten her-they'd have to go through him first.

And Damien Aldridge never lost.