Damien's grip around my waist tightened, his touch both familiar and foreign at the same time. The weight of the gun in my hand felt heavy, but not as heavy as the truth that hung in the air between us. My mind raced, piecing together all the moments that had never made sense before. The late nights, the mysterious bruises, the cryptic calls. It was all connected.
I looked up at him, his face a mix of vulnerability and defiance, like he was waiting for me to make a decision. He had kept this entire world hidden from me, and now it felt like I was being thrust into it without warning. The stitches on his face were fresh, angry red lines cutting across his skin. His eyes, though swollen and bruised, bore into mine, searching for something—anything—that could tell him what I was thinking.
"How long?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper, but I needed to know. "How long have you been lying to me?"
Damien sighed, his shoulders sagging as if the weight of the world was finally catching up to him. "Since the beginning," he admitted, his voice barely audible over the pounding of my heart. "I wanted to protect you, to keep you away from this... from me. But I couldn't stay away from you."
I stepped back, his hands slipping from my waist as I distanced myself from him. The gun was still in my hand, cold and unfamiliar. "And now?" I asked, my voice hardening. "Now I know everything, Damien. What do you expect me to do? Pretend like none of this is real? Like you're not... involved in all of this?"
His jaw clenched, and for a moment, I saw a flicker of the ruthless man his enemies feared. "No," he said, his voice steely. "I don't expect you to pretend. But I won't let you leave. Not now. Not after everything."
The threat in his words was subtle but unmistakable. My breath hitched as I realized the gravity of the situation. This wasn't just about lies or broken trust. It was about power. Control. And whether I liked it or not, I was caught in the middle of it all.
"What happens now?" I asked, swallowing the fear rising in my throat.
Damien stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. "Now, you decide. You're either with me, or you're against me. There's no in-between."
My grip tightened on the gun as I stared at the man I thought I knew, the man who had just revealed himself as someone else entirely. The choice before me was clear, but the consequences? They were anything but simple.
The room felt like it was closing in on me, the weight of Damien's ultimatum pressing against my chest. With each step he took toward me, my world seemed to tilt further off balance. I glanced down at the gun in my hand, its cold metal still foreign, still wrong. I wasn't supposed to be here, making these choices, standing between a man I once loved and a world I didn't understand.
Damien's eyes stayed locked on mine, fierce, unreadable. "You're thinking too much," he said, his voice cutting through the silence. "This isn't about right or wrong anymore. It's about survival."
I shook my head, my thoughts racing. "You're asking me to choose a side, Damien. But how am I supposed to trust you? How can I be with someone who hides something this massive from me? I don't even know who you are anymore."
He flinched at my words, but his face remained hard. "I'm still the man you knew. I kept this from you to protect you. To keep you out of all this." He motioned around him, to the men standing guard, the darkened room, the world I'd never seen. "But I can't do that anymore. Not if you're going to stay."
My heart pounded in my ears, and for a moment, I didn't know if I wanted to cry or scream. How had everything changed so quickly? I'd fallen for Damien thinking he was someone—something—completely different. And now I was standing on the edge of a cliff, with no idea what lay on the other side.
"What does 'staying' even mean?" I asked, my voice raw. "Do I become like them?" I gestured to his men, their faces stern, their guns hidden but no less present. "Do I become part of this… this mafia? Is that what you want from me?"
Damien's expression softened for the first time, a flicker of the man I once knew. "No. I don't want that for you. But I need you with me. I need to know you're safe. And in my world, the only way to be safe is to be on the inside." He stepped closer, his voice almost pleading. "I can protect you, but only if you're with me."
I took a shaky breath, trying to make sense of the chaos in my mind. Could I really stay with him, knowing everything? Knowing what he was involved in, and the kind of life he led? Or would I always be waiting for the next secret to unravel, the next bruise to appear, the next lie to surface?
I met his gaze, and for the first time, I saw the fear behind his hardened expression. He was scared—scared of losing me, scared of the vulnerability he'd never shown anyone else. But I was scared too. Scared of what staying would mean. Scared of what it would make me.
"I don't know if I can do this," I whispered, my voice trembling. "I don't know if I can be part of your world, Damien."
He stepped closer, his hand reaching for mine, but I pulled back, the gun still between us. His eyes darkened with a mix of frustration and pain. "You already are, whether you like it or not. There's no walking away from this now."
I felt my throat tighten as the reality of his words sank in. He was right. I was in too deep, and walking away would come with its own dangers. His enemies, his allies—none of them would let me leave unscathed. My choice wasn't just about Damien. It was about my own survival now.
"What do I have to do?" I asked, my voice barely audible. The question hung in the air between us, fragile and full of weight.
Damien's face hardened again, though his eyes still held that flicker of desperation. "Stay by my side. Let me take care of you. Trust me, even when it's hard."
I swallowed the lump in my throat and slowly, hesitantly, let the gun slip from my grasp. It fell to the floor with a dull thud, a decision I couldn't fully comprehend yet. I wasn't sure if I had made the right choice, but in that moment, it was the only one I could make.
Damien's hand closed around mine, pulling me into his world, and I knew—there was no turning back now.
I hugged him tightly, no matter who he was or what he did, it couldn't make me love him any less, I know we're not dating but i can't help but feel as if it was something that just fit in a certain place like a puzzle piece, I felt as if Damien was a lion with his mouth open and I was a little bird who was being forced by the world to fly into it, I felt scared yet relieved I felt joy yet sadness. Then it hit me, I was never going to be the same ever again.