Chapter Thirteen: Then & Now
Now
Ava sat curled on the corner of her couch, legs tucked beneath her, sipping tea that had long gone cold. Across from her, Damien was kneeling on the living room floor, helping Liam assemble a Lego spaceship.
He looked so… normal.
Not like the billionaire CEO known for boardroom battles and front-page scandals.
Just a man. A father. Laughing at his son's space sound effects.
Liam's laughter filled the apartment. The kind of laughter that always made her chest swell.
But what hit her harder—was Damien's.
He was smiling in a way she hadn't seen since the earliest days of their marriage.
Ava's heart twisted.
> How many moments like this had they missed?
> How many could they still have—if she let herself believe again?
Damien glanced up suddenly, catching her gaze. Something passed between them.
Old heat. Unspoken questions. And a dangerous, aching tenderness.
But Ava turned away first.
Because she wasn't ready.
Not yet.
---
Then
Their honeymoon was three days stolen between corporate chaos.
Damien had flown them to a private villa on the Amalfi Coast, a hidden gem he'd discovered on a business retreat and never shared with anyone—until her.
It rained on their second night there.
Ava had stood at the balcony in his shirt, watching lightning ripple over the sea, when Damien came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"You never stop moving," he murmured into her neck.
"Neither do you."
"I always thought love was... dangerous," he said, surprising her. "Like something that steals from you. Weakens you."
She turned to face him. "And now?"
He'd looked at her with eyes softer than she'd ever seen.
"Now I think love might be the only thing that makes any of this worth it."
And she had kissed him—slowly, deeply—like maybe they could stay wrapped in that moment forever.
But forever hadn't lasted.
Not when work devoured him.
Not when her voice started echoing in empty rooms.
Not when her hand reached for him in the night—and found only cold sheets.
---
Now
Liam had fallen asleep, arms sprawled across his spaceship.
Ava carried him to bed, tucked him in, and turned off the light. When she returned to the living room, Damien was still there.
Silent. Watching her.
"I didn't know how to be a husband back then," he said quietly. "But I think I could be a good father now."
Her throat tightened.
"You left me long before I left you," she whispered.
"I know."
They stood in silence.
Two people with battle scars, each hoping the other still believed in the healing.
Finally, Ava whispered, "I don't know if I can ever trust you again."
Damien nodded slowly. "Then I'll just have to earn it. Every day. No matter how long it takes."
And for the first time since he reappeared in her life… she didn't feel afraid of him anymore.