The CEO's Rejected Wife And Secret Heir novel Chapter 59

Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Damien Confession

Damien POV

"I’ve tripled security. Aria and Noah are under 24-hour protection. And I’m working with federal authorities to locate Marcus before he can hurt anyone else." My voice hardened. "My brother made a mistake thinking he could use my family against me. Because now I have something worth protecting, something worth fighting for. And I will burn down everything in my path to keep them safe."

The reporters exchanged glances. They’d gotten their story—the cold CEO brought to his knees by love and fatherhood. Tomorrow’s headlines would be brutal and sensational.

I didn’t care.

"One last question." A young reporter stood up. "What’s your message to Aria, if she’s watching?"

I looked at the camera again, imagining her somewhere in this building, maybe watching on a monitor.

"You’re not broken, Aria. You were never broken. You were always enough—more than enough. I was the broken one, too damaged to see the treasure I had. But I see you now. I see your strength, your intelligence, your fierce love for our son. I see how you command boardrooms and build empires while still being the most devoted mother I’ve ever known."

My voice cracked slightly. "I see you, and I’m in awe. And if you never forgive me, if you decide I’ve hurt you too deeply to ever trust again, I’ll understand. But please know that you deserve everything. Every happiness, every dream, every moment of peace. And I’ll spend my life trying to give you those things, whether you want me beside you or not."

Silence fell over the room. Even the jaded reporters seemed moved.

"Thank you all for coming." I stepped back from the podium. "No further questions."

I walked off the stage, my heart pounding. Security moved in immediately, forming a protective barrier as I headed for the private elevator.

James was waiting. "Sir, we need to discuss the security breach."

"Later." I needed to find Aria, needed to make sure she was okay after that ambush of a press conference.

"Sir, it’s urgent. Marcus left another"

"I said later." I hit the button for the executive floor. "Where’s Aria?"

"Your private office, she asked not to be disturbed."

Of course she did. I’d just declared my love on international television. She probably wanted to strangle me.

The elevator doors opened. I walked through the empty executive suite, my footsteps echoing on the marble floors.

Her voice stopped me outside my office door. She was on the phone, her tone sharp and professional.

"Yes, I saw the press conference. No, I’m not commenting on it. Tell the board I’ll address any concerns at tomorrow’s meeting." A pause. "I don’t care what the headlines say. Monroe Global’s position hasn’t changed."

I knocked softly as the conversation cut off abruptly.

"Come in."

She stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city, her back to me. The afternoon sun lit her hair like a halo, but her shoulders were tense, her spine rigid.

"You didn’t have to say all that," she said quietly. "In front of everyone."

"Yes, I did." I closed the door. "You won’t let me say it privately."

"Because I don’t want to hear it." She turned to face me, and I saw the tears tracking down her cheeks. "I don’t want to hear how much you love me when I still remember how much you hated me. When I can still hear your voice telling me to get rid of our baby. When I still wake up some nights and feel like that broken woman you threw away."

"Aria"

"No." She held up her hand. "You don’t get to declare your love and expect everything to be okay. You don’t get to make grand gestures and have me fall into your arms. Real life doesn’t work like that, Damien. Real trauma doesn’t heal because you said pretty words on camera."

"I know." I stayed where I was, giving her space. "I know I can’t fix this with words. But I needed you to know anyway. I needed you to understand that this isn’t about convenience or Noah or business. It’s about you, just you."

"Why now?" Her voice broke. "Why do you love me now when you couldn’t even like me then?"

"Because I was too broken to see you." The truth burned coming out. "My father destroyed something in me. Made me think love was weakness, that emotion was failure. I looked at you and felt things I couldn’t name, and didn’t know how to process. So I shut it down. Convinced myself you were nothing, that the marriage meant nothing."

I took a step closer. "But you were never nothing, Aria. Even when I was too damaged to admit it, you were everything. You were light in my darkness, warmth in my ice. And I was so terrified of that feeling that I destroyed it before it could destroy me."

"That doesn’t make it better." She wiped at her tears angrily. "It doesn’t excuse what you did."

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