The CEO's Rejected Wife And Secret Heir novel Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Three Hours Later

Aria pov

Three Hours Later

The penthouse looked like a military operation, security specialists swarmed everywhere, installing additional cameras, reinforcing windows, setting up motion sensors. Noah thought it was the coolest thing ever.

He followed the technicians around, asking a million questions, pretending to help install equipment. I stood at the window, watching the city below, wondering where Marcus was, what he was planning.

"Aria." Damien came up beside me, two glasses of wine in hand. "You should eat something."

"I am not hungry."

"You haven’t eaten since breakfast." He pressed a glass into my hand. "At least drink this."

I took it but didn’t drink. The wine sloshed in the glass, dark red against the crystal.

"Wine?" I stared at him. "It’s barely noon, Damien, and I haven’t eaten anything."

He looked down at the glasses in his hands, then back at me with a sheepish expression. "Right. That was stupid." He set both glasses on the window ledge. "Let me get you something else. Coffee? Tea?"

"Something with actual substance would be better."

He thought for a moment. "How about a milkshake? I can have one sent up. Chocolate? Vanilla?

"Chocolate," I said, managing a small smile despite everything. "Thank you."

He nodded and stepped away to make the call, his voice low as he spoke to whoever handled such things. I turned back to the window, watching the city sprawl below us, all those buildings where Marcus could be hiding, planning.

When Damien returned a few minutes later, he stood beside me again. "Twenty minutes. They’re making it fresh, and I ordered some food too—sandwiches, fruit. Something light."

I nodded gratefully. The thought of food still made my stomach uncertain, but the idea of something cold and sweet seemed manageable. "What if we’re making a mistake?" I asked again, my voice barely above a whisper. "What if staying here gets Noah hurt?"

"Then we adapt." His arm came around my shoulders. The weight of it was warm, solid. "But running blindly isn’t the answer. At least here we can control the environment, anticipate threats."

"Can we though?" I gestured to the security team. One of them was drilling into the wall, the sound loud and grating. Another was on a ladder, adjusting a camera. "Marcus got past all of this once already."

He turned to face me. "We won’t make that mistake again. Every person in this building has been re-vetted, every system has been upgraded, Marcus won’t get in again."

"You sound very confident."

"I have to be." His hand cupped my face, his palm was rough, calloused. "For you, for Noah. For all of us."

I leaned into his touch, letting myself take comfort for just a moment. His body heat seeped into me. I could hear his heartbeat, steady and strong.

"Damien, what Lucas said—about you changing—I meant it. You have changed."

"But?" He heard the unspoken word.

"But I’m still scared." The admission hurt, mythroat felt tight, like the words had to force their way out. "Scared you’ll revert when things get hard. Scared this is just temporary, scared I’m falling for an illusion."

"I’m scared too." His thumb brushed my cheek. The touch was gentle, almost hesitant. "Scared I’ll fail you again. Scared I’m not capable of being the man you need, scared that one day you’ll wake up and realize you deserve better."

"So we’re both terrified."

"Completely." He smiled sadly, the corners of his mouth barely lifted. "But maybe that’s okay. Maybe being scared means we actually care about getting it right this time."

"Maybe," I whispered. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Behind us, someone dropped a piece of equipment. The clang echoed through the room. I jumped, my hand tightening into fist.

Damien’s hand moved to the small of my back. "It’s okay, just the crew."

I took a breath and let it out slowly. My heart was racing, pounding against my ribs. Every sound felt like a threat now. Every shadow looked like Marcus.

This was what he’d done to us, made us afraid in our own home.

"Daddy! Mama!" Noah came running over. His feet slapped against the hardwood floor. His hair was sticking up in all directions. "Mr. Steve says there’s cameras that can see in the dark! Can we get some for my room so I can spy on the monsters?"

"There are no monsters, baby," I said automatically.

"But if there were, I could see them!" He was bouncing with excitement, his whole body vibrating with it. "Please?"

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