Chapter 3

The rain started shortly after the banquet ended.

Thin droplets tapped softly against the floor-to-ceiling windows of the Cole mansion while the staff moved quietly through the halls downstairs.

Aria stood inside the bedroom she had occupied for five years.

Not their bedroom.

Just hers.

Damien had never shared a room with her after the first month of marriage.

At first, she used to stay awake waiting for footsteps outside the door.

Waiting for him to come in.

Waiting for something to change.

Eventually, she stopped waiting.

Now the room looked less like a wife’s space and more like a temporary guest suite. Half the wardrobes remained empty. Most of the decorations were untouched. Even after five years, nothing here truly belonged to her.

Aria pulled open a drawer slowly and removed a small notebook.

The edges were worn from years of use.

Whenever things became unbearable, she wrote instead of crying.

Short thoughts.

Dates.

Things Damien said.

Things she wished she could forget.

She flipped through the pages quietly before stopping at the newest entry from three nights ago.

I don’t think I can do this much longer.

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

Before she could answer, the bedroom door opened.

Damien stepped inside.

Still wearing the same black suit from the banquet.

Still looking like a storm someone forced into human form.

Aria closed the notebook calmly.

Damien noticed the movement but said nothing.

For several seconds, silence filled the room.

Then he finally spoke.

“Lily is staying here.”

Not Can she stay?

Not What do you think?

A statement.

Aria nodded once. “Okay.”

Something unreadable crossed Damien’s face briefly, almost like her calm answer irritated him more than resistance would have.

“She’ll stay in the east wing.”

Aria looked at him quietly. “You don’t need to explain.”

Damien’s jaw tightened slightly.

Downstairs, thunder rumbled faintly.

Then footsteps approached the bedroom door before Lily appeared carefully at the entrance.

She had changed out of the cream dress into a soft white sweater that made her look younger and gentler than before.

Like someone fragile enough to protect.

“Am I interrupting?” she asked softly.

Damien immediately turned toward her. “You should be resting.”

Lily smiled faintly. “I wanted to speak with Aria first.”

Aria already knew where this conversation was going.

Lily stepped farther into the room, her gaze slowly moving around the bedroom before landing back on Aria.

“You kept everything exactly the same.”

Aria said nothing.

Because there was nothing to say.

This room had never felt alive enough to change.

Lily clasped her hands together softly. “I know things became complicated because of me.”

Damien’s expression cooled immediately. “You don’t owe anyone explanations.”

Lily looked toward him carefully before lowering her gaze.

“That’s exactly why I do.”

She turned back toward Aria.

“You shouldn’t still be trapped in this marriage because of what happened to me.”

The room fell silent.

Rain continued hitting the windows steadily.

Aria studied her sister’s face carefully.

Lily looked sincere.

Too sincere.

“I never asked to stay,” Aria said quietly.

Lily took another step closer. “But you stayed anyway.”

Before Aria could answer, Lily continued softly, “Damien married you because he blamed you for my accident.”

Damien’s gaze sharpened slightly at the bluntness of her words.

“But now I’m back,” Lily added. “Things can return to how they should’ve been.”

There it was.

Finally.

The real conversation.

Aria looked toward Damien.

He stood near the windows silently, one hand inside his pocket, watching her carefully.

Waiting.

For what exactly?

Tears?

Begging?

Anger?

She wasn’t sure anymore.

Lily turned toward Damien slowly. “You promised me once that nobody could replace me.”

Damien didn’t answer immediately.

Then finally—

“They can’t.”

The words landed quietly.

Cleanly.

Like a knife sharpened years ago.

Aria lowered her eyes briefly.

Not because she was shocked.

Just tired.

Lily reached into the small purse hanging from her shoulder and carefully removed several folded documents.

Divorce papers.

Already prepared.

Already signed by Damien.

He had planned this before speaking to her tonight. 

Lily placed the papers gently onto the table near Aria.

“You deserve freedom too,” she whispered.

Freedom? 

Aria stared at the documents for several seconds before reaching for them slowly.

The room remained completely silent except for the rain outside.

Damien watched her closely.

There was no softness in his expression.

But there was tension.

Sharp and restrained.

Like he expected the situation to explode at any second.

“You can keep the penthouse downtown,” Damien said suddenly. “And the black card.”

Aria almost smiled.

Even now, he thought money solved damage.

“I don’t want anything from you.”

“Take it anyway.”

“No.”

Lily glanced between them quietly.

“You don’t have to make this harder than it already is,” she said softly.

Aria finally looked directly at her sister.

Harder?

Lily disappeared for five years.

Aria endured the punishment alone.

And now Lily returned expecting everything to resume exactly where it stopped.

Like none of those years mattered.

Aria picked up the pen beside the documents.

Damien’s gaze dropped instantly toward her hand.

For half a second—

Something shifted in his expression.

Hesitation.

Small but visible.

“Aria,” he said suddenly.

She looked up.

The room became strangely still.

If Damien wanted to stop this, this was his moment.

One sentence would be enough.

But instead he only said, “Read everything carefully first.”

Aria understood immediately.

Not concern. Precaution. Typical Damien. 

She lowered her gaze again and signed her name neatly across the final page.

No trembling hands, no tears. 

Just ink sliding across paper.

Finished.

Aria placed the pen down gently before sliding the documents across the table toward Damien.

“You’re free now.”

Silence swallowed the room.

Lily released a quiet breath beside him.

But Damien didn’t touch the papers immediately.

His eyes stayed fixed on Aria instead.

Like he was waiting for something else.

An argument maybe.

Or regret.

But Aria had neither left to give him.

Finally Damien picked up the documents coldly.

“It’s late,” he said. “You can leave tomorrow.”

Aria nodded once.

Then she walked past them both toward the closet.

Lily frowned slightly. “What are you doing?”

“Packing.”

“You don’t need to rush.”

Aria pulled a suitcase down calmly. “I’d rather leave tonight.”

That seemed to catch Damien off guard.

His expression darkened slightly. “It’s raining.”

“I noticed.”

“You can leave in the morning.”

Aria folded clothes neatly into the suitcase without looking at him.

The silence stretched.

Then Lily suddenly spoke again.

“There’s one more thing.”

Aria paused briefly.

Lily hesitated before speaking softly. “I want my room back.”

The room froze.

Because everyone knew exactly which room she meant.

The master bedroom.

The room Damien abandoned years ago after Lily disappeared.

The room no one had used since.

Damien’s expression hardened instantly. “Lily—”

“It’s okay,” Lily interrupted gently. “I’m not trying to be cruel.”

Aria closed the suitcase quietly.

Cruelty stopped surprising her years ago.

“I’ll be gone soon,” she said simply.

She pulled the suitcase toward the door.

As she passed Damien, he suddenly grabbed her wrist.

Not harshly.

But firmly enough to stop her.

Aria looked down at his hand first before lifting her eyes toward him.

For several seconds, neither spoke.

Then Damien finally said quietly, “You signed too easily.”

Aria looked at him calmly.

“What exactly were you expecting me to do?”

His grip tightened slightly.

And for one strange moment, Damien realized he didn’t actually know the answer.