Chapter 5 The Other Woman

The morning light filtered through velvet curtains, but Aria barely noticed. She hadn't slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she felt Damien's lips, his touch, his words echoing in her chest like chains.

She hated him. She told herself that over and over. Yet her body still burned where he had touched her.

She was still lost in her thoughts when the door opened.

A woman stepped in. Tall, strikingly beautiful, with long black hair cascading over her shoulders. Her crimson lips curled into a mocking smile the moment her eyes landed on Aria.

"Oh," the woman said smoothly, "so it's true. Damien really did marry you."

Aria's stomach knotted. She stood quickly. "Who are you?"

The woman's laugh was low and sharp. "Someone who knows him far better than you ever will." She stepped closer, her perfume heavy in the air. "I'm Isabella Knight. Damien's ex fiancée."

The words struck like ice.

Before Aria could respond, a familiar voice filled the room. "Isabella."

Damien's presence was like a storm rolling in. His eyes darkened when he saw the two women facing each other.

Aria expected him to explain, to deny, to do something. Instead, he merely adjusted his cufflinks and said, "You shouldn't be here."

Isabella smirked, unbothered. "You always did like rescuing strays, Damien. But this one?" She turned her gaze to Aria, her eyes dripping disdain. "She looks like she'll break before long."

Heat rushed to Aria's face, anger and humiliation twisting inside her. She opened her mouth to retort, but Damien spoke first his voice low, cold, final.

"Leave."

For a moment, Aria thought he was speaking to Isabella. But then Damien's eyes shifted to her.

"Aria. Leave us."

The command cut deeper than a blade. She felt her chest tighten, but she forced her chin up, refusing to let Isabella see her falter. Without a word, she swept past Damien and out of the room.

But as she closed the door behind her, she heard Isabella's voice, dripping with venom:

"You'll tire of her soon, Damien. You always do."

Aria pressed her back against the wall, her heart racing. For the first time, the thought settled in her mind like poison:

Maybe she wasn't just trapped in a marriage.

Maybe she was trapped in a war she could never win.