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The house felt strangely quiet after the press had finally dispersed, chased off by Richard’s booming threats of legal action and the arrival of a couple of neighborhood security guards. Mom and Richard had retreated to the master bedroom to process everything—adoption bombshell, our confession, the sudden decision to arrange a marriage. Damien and I stood in his old room, the door clicked shut, the weight of the day pressing down on us like a storm that had finally broken.
I turned to him, my eyes still puffy from earlier tears, but my heart felt lighter than it had in weeks. “Damien... we’re really doing this. Marriage. No more hiding. No more pretending this is wrong.”
He pulled me into his arms, crushing me against his broad chest. His heart hammered under my cheek, strong and s
