Chapter 2

The shattered glass on the ballroom floor seemed to echo endlessly.

Nobody moved and nobody Spoke. 

Every guest stared at Damien Cole.

Because for the first time in years, the untouchable heir of Cole Group looked completely caught off guard.

“Where is she?” Damien asked sharply.

The event manager swallowed hard. “She just arrived downstairs, Mr. Cole.”

Before anyone could react, Damien was already moving fast. 

Without hesitation.

He brushed past the crowd, leaving stunned executives and reporters behind. The atmosphere inside the ballroom shifted instantly from awkward curiosity into full chaos.

“Lily Jones is alive?”

“But wasn’t she paralyzed?”

“How did she suddenly return now?”

“Does this mean Damien will finally divorce Aria?”

Questions exploded across the room like wildfire.

Aria remained standing near the terrace doors, fingers slowly tightening around the stem of her untouched champagne glass.

Five years.

Lily had vanished for five entire years.

No calls.

No explanations.

Nothing.

And now she was suddenly back.

Noah looked toward Aria carefully. “You didn’t know?”

Aria shook her head once.

Noah’s expression darkened slightly, but before he could speak, reporters rushed toward the ballroom entrance.

Cameras lifted instantly.

Everyone wanted the first glimpse of Damien Cole reuniting with the woman he had spent years searching for.

Aria should have left.

She knew that.

But her feet refused to move.

Then the elevator doors opened.

A woman stepped out slowly.

The ballroom fell silent all over again.

Lily Jones wore a cream-colored dress that flowed softly around her figure. Her long dark hair rested perfectly against her shoulders, and her makeup was subtle enough to make her look fragile rather than glamorous.

But the thing that shocked everyone most—

She was walking.

Perfectly.

No wheelchair.

No limp.

Nothing. 

Gasps spread across the room immediately.

“How is that possible?”

“I thought the accident destroyed her legs.”

“She looks completely healthy.”

Lily’s eyes searched the ballroom until they landed on Damien.

The moment she saw him, tears gathered instantly in her eyes.

“Damien…”

Damien stopped a few feet away from her.

For the first time in years, the coldness around him cracked openly.

“You’re alive,” he said quietly.

Lily laughed shakily. “You say that like you saw a ghost.”

“You disappeared.”

“I know.”

Her voice softened. “I’m sorry.”

The ballroom watched breathlessly.

Aria stood frozen near the terrace, feeling strangely detached from the scene unfolding in front of her.

This was always how it was supposed to be.

Damien and Lily.

The story everyone wanted.

The beautiful first love returning after tragedy.

Not Damien and the unwanted sister he married out of hatred.

Lily stepped closer carefully. “I wanted to come back sooner.”

Damien’s jaw tightened. “Then why didn’t you?”

Lily lowered her gaze. “Because I was ashamed.”

Silence.

“My legs…” she continued softly. “The treatment overseas took years. I didn’t want you seeing me broken.”

Something shifted in Damien’s expression immediately.

Guilt.

Protectiveness.

The same expression he had carried for Lily since they were teenagers.

Lily reached for his hand slowly.

“I missed you.”

Damien looked down at her fingers around his hand.

Then he pulled her into his arms.

The ballroom erupted instantly.

Reporters nearly tripped over themselves trying to capture the moment.

Camera flashes exploded nonstop.

Someone nearby whispered emotionally, “They really do belong together.”

Aria looked away.

But not before she caught Lily’s eyes over Damien’s shoulder.

And her smile froze slightly on her lips.

Because Lily wasn’t looking at Damien anymore.

She was staring directly at Aria.

Triumph flickered briefly across her face before disappearing completely.

Then Lily buried herself deeper into Damien’s embrace.

Like nothing had happened.

Like Aria imagined it.

Noah noticed too.

His brows furrowed immediately.

Across the ballroom, Damien finally pulled back slightly. His hands remained on Lily’s shoulders, as though afraid she might disappear again if he let go.

“You should’ve contacted me,” he said.

“I wanted to.” Lily smiled weakly. “But after the accident… after everything that happened between you and my sister…”

The room grew tense again instantly.

Several guests glanced toward Aria.

Damien’s expression hardened almost immediately at the mention of the past.

Lily noticed.

And quietly lowered her eyes.

“It’s my fault,” she murmured. “If I hadn’t gotten into that car that night”

“Don’t,” Damien interrupted coldly.

Lily looked up at him slowly.

“You almost died,” Damien said. “None of this was your fault.”

Aria’s grip tightened painfully around the champagne glass.

Not your fault.

Of course.

Because in Damien’s mind, the blame had always belonged to only one person.

Her.

Mrs. Jones suddenly pushed through the crowd with a broken cry, tears streaming freely, and grabbed Lily’s face with both hands.

“My baby… my baby…”

Lily hugged her mother immediately.

Mrs. Jones started crying openly while nearby guests watched with sympathy.

Meanwhile Aria stood alone near the terrace doors like a stranger attending someone else’s reunion.

No one approached her.

No one cared she was still Damien’s wife.

At least for now.

A reporter suddenly moved toward Aria aggressively.

“Mrs. Cole, how do you feel seeing your sister return after all these years?”

Another reporter quickly followed.

“Did you know she was alive this entire time?”

“Do you think Mr. Cole will reconcile with Miss Lily now?”

“Were you responsible for the accident five years ago?”

Questions slammed toward her nonstop.

Noah stepped forward immediately. “Back off.”

But the reporters kept pushing.

Aria remained silent.

Years of public humiliation had taught her one thing:

Silence survived longer than explanations.

Then suddenly—

“Enough.”

Damien’s voice cut sharply across the ballroom.

Everyone froze.

Damien walked toward the reporters with obvious irritation darkening his face.

For one brief second, Aria thought he might actually defend her.

Instead he said coldly, “This isn’t the place for pointless questions.”

The reporters immediately backed away apologetically.

Aria almost laughed at herself.

Of course he wasn’t protecting her.

He was protecting the Cole family image.

Nothing more.

Lily approached slowly beside Damien.

Up close, she looked even healthier than before.

Too healthy.

Aria studied her carefully.

Five years ago, doctors claimed Lily might never walk again.

Now she stood effortlessly in heels.

Something about it felt wrong.

But before Aria could think further, Lily suddenly reached for her hand.

“Sis.”

The familiar nickname sounded strangely unnatural after so many years.

Aria looked down at Lily’s fingers wrapped around hers.

Warm.

Steady.

Not trembling at all.

“I missed you,” Lily whispered softly.

Aria met her eyes.

“You disappeared.”

Lily’s smile weakened slightly. “I know.”

“You let everyone believe I ruined your life.”

The ballroom became uncomfortably silent again.

Mrs. Jones frowned immediately. “Aria”

But Lily squeezed Aria’s hand gently first.

“It’s okay,” Lily said quietly. “She has every right to be angry.”

Damien’s gaze sharpened instantly at Aria’s expression.

The tension between the sisters thickened.

Then Lily spoke again softly.

“I came back because I want to fix everything.”

Aria almost asked which part.

The lies?

The disappearance?

Or the marriage she left behind for Aria to suffer through alone?

But before she could speak, Lily turned toward Damien.

And smiled carefully.

“You’re still married.”

The room froze.

Damien’s expression became unreadable again.

Lily lowered her gaze softly. “You stayed with her because of me, didn’t you?”

Nobody answered.

But nobody needed to.

The silence itself was enough.

Aria suddenly felt exhausted.

Completely exhausted.

She set the untouched champagne glass onto a passing tray.

“I’m tired,” she said quietly. “Excuse me.”

She turned to leave.

But as she passed Damien, his voice suddenly stopped her.

“Aria.”

She paused.

Not because of the coldness in his tone.

But because he rarely said her name anymore.

Aria looked back slowly.

Damien’s gaze stayed fixed on her for several seconds before shifting briefly toward Lily.

Then back again.

“We need to talk.”

Before Aria could answer, Lily suddenly slipped her arm through Damien’s.

Possessive.

Natural.

Like she already belonged there again.

Aria watched her husband stand beside another woman like that woman was the center of his universe.

And for the first time in five years…

She finally stopped hoping.