He watched the interview from the hotel lounge, the massive TV screen casting Ava's face in a glow he hadn't seen in so long — calm, clear, and heartbreakingly strong.
Every word she said sliced through him.
> "A hero doesn't leave when things get hard."
She was right. He had left.
> "I'm Ava Canter. And I've come back stronger."
That was the moment his father walked in.
Harold Blackwell. Founder of Blackwell Enterprises. A man with too much money and not enough soul. And the reason Damien had run from New York all those years ago.
He sat down across from Damien like he owned the air in the room.
"You watched it?" Damien asked, voice low.
His father smirked. "She has a decent media presence. Not much else."
Damien's jaw tightened.
Then the man added, with casual cruelty, "But she was never good enough for you, son. You were always meant for something—cleaner. Higher."
Damien stood.
"That wasn't your line in the press?"
Harold gave a false chuckle. "Of course it was. Damage control. You're back in the public eye. She's turning the narrative against us. I had to protect the family."
"Family?" Damien repeated bitterly. "You mean your image."
"Image is everything," his father said smoothly. "You were born to lead. Blackwell blood demands control, not weakness."
"And is that what love is to you? Weakness?"
Harold didn't answer.
"I loved her," Damien said, voice rising. "And I lost her because I spent my life trying to be the man you raised me to be. Cold. Calculated. Empty."
"You're emotional," Harold snapped.
"I'm finally human."
Silence crackled between them.
Then Damien stepped closer.
"You used my name. My pain. To sell a headline. And now, you insult the only woman who's ever made me feel real?"
His voice lowered into steel.
"You don't get to talk about Ava. Not ever again."
Harold's smile vanished.
"I'm done playing the part you wrote for me. I'm not your heir. I'm not your puppet. And I'm sure as hell not scared of you anymore."
"You'll regret this," Harold said coldly.
"I already regret not walking away sooner."
Damien turned and left, ignoring the eyes around the room. He didn't care who was watching. Not anymore.
As he stepped into the elevator, his phone buzzed.
A message from Ezra.
> "Proud of you, man. She'd be too. Come home."
Damien didn't know where home was anymore.
But he was ready to find it — not as a Blackwell.
As Damien.
---