and Best friend
Chapter 27 Revelation
Ariana stood beside Damian on the grand marble balcony, her fingers still laced with his. The night air was cool and crisp, carrying the distant hum of the city below.
But in that moment?
It was just them.
Damian had never looked more unreadable–his usually confident mask slightly cracked after the conversation
with her parents.
She had never seen him like this.
And it made something in her chest tighten.
“You’re not your father, Damian,” she repeated, squeezing his hand gently.
He let out a slow exhale, his thumb brushing against her skin–a gesture so intimate, so unguarded, that it sent
a shiver down her spine.
But then…
Something flickered in his gaze.
Something hesitant.
Something he was holding back.
Ariana tilted her head. “What is it?”
Damian hesitated.
For the first time, he looked uncertain.
And Damian Blackwood was never uncertain.
Finally, he let out a slow, measured breath.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” he said. “Something I should’ve told you sooner.”
Ariana frowned slightly, sensing the shift in his voice. “Damian…?”
He turned to face her fully, his expression unreadable.
“I’ve known you before now,” he admitted.
Ariana’s breath caught.
“What?”
Damian ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply.
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Chapter 27 Revelation
“I’ve known you since we were kids, Ariane?
Silence
The words hung heavy between them, winking into her like stops to war
Ariana blinked, her mind scrambling to process what he had just sad
“No,” she said slowly “That’s not possible i would remember?
Damian smirked, but it was tinged with something awost postalg
“You wouldn’t,” he said. “You were too young”
Ariana shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense. If we met before, why worth’s I was gost
Damian’s gray eyes softened.
“Because back then, I was just a boy living in your father’s shadow”
Ariana’s mind whirled, memories flashing like fragments of a dream she had long forg
Her childhood had been strict, structured–filled with private tutors, high socery events, and the esterar pressure to be perfect,
Her father had always been surrounded by powerful men, their children tralling behind them like afhenoughts
And suddenly…
A faint memory surfaced,
A boy,
Older than her by a few years.
Dark–haired, quiet, watching everything
Always in the background, never speaking much, never stepping forward.
Ariana’s lips parted. “You.”
Damian nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Ariana’s pulse raced.
“You were there,” she whispered. “In those meetings. In the background, always watching”
Damian chuckled. “Even then, I knew how to stay in the shadows.”
Ariana stared at him, feeling a strange mix of shock and something else something deeper.
“You remember me from back then?” she asked, her voice quieter now.
Damian’s
gaze
darkened.
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Chapter 27 Revelation
“Ariana,” he murmured, his voice low, weighted with something raw. “I never forgot you.”
Her breath hitched.
This was more than just a simple childhood connection.
This was something else.
Something she hadn’t even realized had existed.
Damian let out a slow exhale.
“When I was young, my father used to bring me to your family’s estate for business meetings,” he said. “I wasn’t supposed to be there–I was supposed to be studying, preparing to take over his empire.”
His smirk turned slightly bitter.
“But I never listened.”
Ariana swallowed. “And?”
“And one day, I saw you,” Damian said simply.
Her stomach flipped.
“You were different back then,” he continued. “You were wild. You used to run through your family’s gardens barefoot, sneaking out of lessons just to climb the old oak tree.”
Ariana’s eyes widened.
She had forgotten that.
Forgotten who she used to be before her mother had molded her into perfection.
Damian chuckled softly, shaking his head. “You were fearless. Reckless. You hated rule
ted expectations.”
His smirk faded, his expression turning serious.
“And I remember thinking, ‘She’s going to be a force one day.“”
Ariana’s heart pounded.
She had spent years crafting herself into the woman she was now.
But Damian?
He had seen who she was before that.
And he still wanted her.
Ariana swallowed hard, stepping back slightly. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
Damian ran a hand down his face, exhaling. “Because it didn’t matter back then. I wasn’t ready to step into your world. And when I finally was…”
He smirked slightly. “You didn’t recognize me.”
Ariana stared at him, her emotions a tangled mess.
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This entire time…
Damian had known.
Had watched her rise.
Had waited for the moment their paths would cross again.
And that?
That was dangerous.
Because suddenly, she wasn’t just another conquest to him.
She was something he had been waiting for.
For years.
And Ariana didn’t know what to do with that.
She took a shaky breath, trying to regain control of her thoughts.
“What do you want from me, Damian?” she asked quietly.
Damian stepped forward, closing the distance between them, his gray eyes burning into hers.
“Everything.”
Ariana’s pulse pounded.
Damian reached out, his fingers trailing up her arm, igniting something hot and reckless in its wake.
“I want all of you, Ariana,” he murmured. “Not just the woman you are now–but the girl you used to be. The
one who didn’t follow the rules. The one who did whatever the hell she wanted.”
Ariana’s breath caught.
Because the worst part?
She wanted it too.
Damian leaned down, his lips just a breath away from hers.
“I’ve waited long enough for you to recognize me,” he whispered.
And then-
He kissed her.
Ariana didn’t stop him.
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