Chapter 4 4

The soft click of the lock echoed in the room, louder than it should have. Sienna's heart raced, but she refused to look away from him.

"Why did you lock the door?" she asked, keeping her voice steady even though her heart was hammering.

Damian slipped the key into his pocket, his expression unreadable. "Because I'm tired of you sneaking around."

"I'm tired of you treating me like I don't deserve answers," she shot back immediately.

He stepped closer, slow and deliberate, his gaze fixed on her. "You're walking into things you don't understand, Sienna."

"Then make me understand."

"No."

Her frustration boiled over. "You can't keep doing this, marrying me, using me, destroying my family, and expecting me to just sit here and smile for the cameras. I'm not one of your business deals, Damian. I'm your wife."

"You're my wife because you agreed to be," he said coldly. "Don't rewrite the truth now."

"I agreed to save my mother," she snapped. "You know that. But I didn't agree to let you humiliate me every single day."

His jaw tightened, but he said nothing, just stared at her, his gray eyes sharp.

"Say something," she demanded. "Tell me why you hate my father so much. Tell me why you hate me."

For a second, his eyes flickered, something almost human, almost pained, but it vanished as quickly as it came.

"I don't hate you. I've told you that before." he said finally, his voice low.

Sienna froze. It was the first honest thing he had said to her since they got married. "Then what is this? Because it feels like hate."

Damian looked away briefly, his hands curling into fists at his sides. "It's not hate. It's..." He stopped himself, his voice tightening. "It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me," she pressed.

His gaze snapped back to her, harder this time. "It shouldn't."

They stood in silence for a long moment, the air thick with unspoken words.

"You keep saying I don't understand," Sienna said finally, her voice softer now. "Then tell me. Please. I'm not like him. Whatever my father did to you, I'm not him."

His eyes softened for the briefest second, and she saw it, the crack in his armor, the man behind the cold exterior.

"Damian," she whispered, stepping closer. "Please."

He stared at her for a long time, his breathing heavier now, his jaw tense as if he was fighting something inside himself.

"You really want to know?" His voice was rougher, quieter.

"Yes," she said without hesitation.

He moved closer, so close she could feel the heat of his body, his breath brushing against her face. "If I tell you, you won't look at me the same way again."

Sienna didn't back down. "I already don't look at you the same way I did when we married. You've made sure of that."

For a moment, something flickered in his expression again, anger, frustration, and something else, something deeper.

He lifted his hand like he might touch her, but he stopped halfway, his fingers curling back into a fist.

"You're too stubborn for your own good," he muttered.

"Maybe I learned it from you," she shot back.

His lips twitched almost like he wanted to smile, but instead, he took another step closer, backing her up against the edge of the desk.

"You're playing a dangerous game, Sienna," he said softly, his eyes dark.

"Then stop making me play it."

Their faces were inches apart now, the tension so thick it was hard to breathe.

"Do you really want the truth?" he asked again, his voice low, almost a growl.

"Yes," she whispered, her heart racing.

Damian tilted his head slightly, his gaze sharp. "And what will you do with it when you know? Run? Hate me more? Or will you stay?"

Her breath caught, but she held his stare. "I'm already here, aren't I? So try me."

For a second, it looked like he might finally tell her, his lips parting, his eyes locked on hers.

"Damian..." she said softly, almost pleading.

But then something shifted in his expression, hesitation, fear even, and he stepped back suddenly, running a hand through his hair.

"Not tonight," he said abruptly.

"Damian....."

"Not tonight," he repeated, his voice harder now

"Why not? Why keep lying to me when I already know this isn't just business?"

He didn't look at her, his hands busy stacking the folders she had touched. "Because some truths destroy more than lies do."

"I can handle the truth," she insisted.

"No, you can't," he said quietly, his back still to her.

"Don't decide for me," she argued. "You don't get to make every choice for me."

His jaw tightened, but he didn't turn around.

"You're not going to keep me in the dark forever," she said finally, her voice firm, determined.

He stopped, his shoulders stiffening, but he still didn't look at her. "Go back to bed, Sienna."

"No," she said stubbornly.

He finally looked at her again, his gray eyes sharp, almost dangerous. "Don't push me."

"I will," she said firmly. "Because I'm not your enemy, Damian. But if you keep treating me like one, I might become one."

For the first time, his expression changed. His lips parted slightly, his gaze holding hers for a long, heavy moment.

And then, without another word, he grabbed his phone from the desk.

It buzzed just then, a new message lighting up the screen. Damian's eyes flicked to it, and his jaw tightened instantly.

Sienna frowned. "What is it?"

Damian's expression hardened again, his voice sharp. "Stay out of this, Sienna."

But before he could turn off the phone, she caught a glimpse of the message on the screen.

It was from an unknown number, and it read:

"We're ready. The final step begins tomorrow. Your revenge will be complete."

Damian's thumb quickly locked the phone, but it was too late.

Sienna had seen it and she realized in that instant, whatever Damian was planning, it wasn't just about her father's company.

It was something much bigger.