Where Darkness Learned Breath by Rylor Dusk 141

< 141 Chapter 141: Spoiling his lady 

141 Chapter 141: Spoiling his lady 

Aria pov 

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“That I’ve been waiting.” He took both my hands. “Waiting for the perfect moment. Waiting for everything to be settled. Waiting for–I don’t know. Permission to be happy. But Aria, life doesn’t wait. Marcus proved that. Vivian proved that. Any day could be our last, and I don’t want to waste another second not being completely honest about 

what I want.” 

My heart was racing. “Damien” 

“Let me finish.” He smiled nervously. “We’re engaged. Technically. Have been for a while now because but Aria, i don’t want to wait until everything is perfect or all our enemies are dealt with or the stars align. I want” He slid off the couch, onto one knee, and pulled out a small box. “I want to marry you, for real this time. Not as strategy or protection or obligation. As partners, equals. As two people who love each other and want to build a life together.” 

He opened the box. Inside sat a new ring, the inside was stunning—a sapphire 

surrounded by diamonds, unique and beautiful and so perfectly me that my eyes filled 

with tears. 

“I know we’re already engaged,” Damien continued. “But I wanted to do this properly. To ask you to marry me when we’re both free–free from Marcus’s threats, from Vivian’s sabotage, from the past weighing us down, so Aria Monroe” His voice was thick with emotion. “Will you marry me? Not because of contracts or threats or obligations. But because you love me and I love you and we want to spend our lives being annoyingly happy together?” 

“Yes. The word came out choked with tears. “Yes, of course yes. 

He slid the ring onto my finger–it fit perfectly–and then he was kissing me I love you, he murmured against my lips. “God, I love you so much.” 

“I love you too.” I was crying and laughing simultaneously. “And Damien? This ring perfect, right now I have 1 wo rings but how did you know sapphires are my favorite?” 

“Because I pay attention. He kissed me again. “To everything about you. Your coffice order, your favorite flowers, how you fidget when you’re nervous. I know you, Arla, All of you. And I’m going to spend our marriage proving it every single day: 

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141 Chapter 141: Spoiling his lady 

“DADDY ASKED MAMA TO MARRY HIM!” Noah’s shriek came from the hallway. “I HEARD IT! WE’RE GETTING MARRIED!” 

Damien and I broke apart, laughing as Noah came running.“Does this mean we’re a forever family now?” He bounced excitedly. “Like really forever?” 

“Really forever,” I confirmed, pulling him onto my lap. “Daddy and I are getting 

married.” 

“Can I be the ring bear?” Noah asked eagerly. “Emma’s cousin was the ring bear at a wedding and he got to wear a fancy suit and everything!” 

“Ring bearer,” Damien corrected with a smile. “And yes, buddy. You can definitely be the ring bearer.” 

“YES!” Noah pumped his fist. “This is the best day ever!” 

As Noah ran off to tell his dinosaurs the news, Damien pulled me back into his arms.“Our son is going to drive the wedding planner insane,” he said. 

“Probably.” I smiled against his chest. “But Damien, I don’t want to wait. I don’t want a huge society wedding that takes months to plan. I just want—us. Our family. Something simple and meaningful.” 

“How simple?” he asked. 

“Like–next month simple.” I looked up at him. “Is that crazy?” 

“It’s perfect.” He kissed my forehead. “Completely, wonderfully perfect. We’ll get married here, in the penthouse. Just family and close friends. Noah as ring bearer. Olivia as your maid of honor” 

“And Lucas can be your best man,” I added. “Since you two have become friends through all this chaos,” 

“Lucas Hayes as my best man.” Damien shook his head in amused disbelief. “Few months ago all I wanted to destroy him for looking at you, now I’m asking him to stand up at our wedding.” 

“Character growth,” I teased. “It looks good on you” 

“Everything looks good on me.” He grinned. “It’s a gift” 

“And humble too.” I laughed. “How did I get so lucky?” 

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141 Chapter 141: Spoiling his lady 

As the afternoon sun broke through the clouds, painting the penthouse in golden light, I felt something settle deep in my chest. Certainty. This was right. Everything we’d survived–the betrayals, the pain, the near–misses–had led us here. To this moment, to this happiness. And I was never letting it go. 

“Damien?” I said quietly. 

“Yeah?” 

“Thank you.” 

“For what?” 

“For not giving up.” I looked up at him. “On us, on yourself. On the possibility that broken things could be fixed. Thank you for being brave enough to try.” 

“Thank you for being brave enough to let me.” His eyes were wet. “For giving me a second chance when I didn’t deserve it. For loving me despite everything. For-” His voice cracked. “For being the best thing that ever happened to me.” 

“We’re the best thing that ever happened to each other,” I corrected. “Partners, 

remember?” 

“Partners,” he agreed. “Always partners.” 

And as Noah came running back with more wedding plans involving dinosaurs and volcanoes (“It’ll be so cool, Mama!“), as Olivia’s increasingly frantic texts piled up, as the sun set over the city we both loved. I knew with absolute certainty that everything was going to be okay. More than okay. 

Later That Night 

After Noah was finally in bed–exhausted from planning our entire wedding in his head -Damien and I stood on the balcony, watching the city lights. 

“Can we talk about what happened in the warehouse?” I asked quietly, “What Marcus said about your father?” 

Damien was quiet for so long I thought he might not answer. Then: “What do you want 

to know?” 

“Everything” I turned to face him. “I know it’s painful, but Damien–you’ve been carrying this alone for too long, let me help carry it.” 

“I don’t know where to start.” His hands gripped the railing. “It was–everything Marcus 

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141 Chapter 141: Spoiling his lady 

said was true. Father was brutal. Systematic in his cruelty. He believed love made men weak, so he made sure we never felt loved. Never felt safe. Never felt–anything” 

“Tell me about your mother.” I kept my voice gentle. “Marcus said she died when you were young?” 

“Killed herself.” His voice was flat. “Pills and vodka, i found her. I was still a kid and I found my mother dead in her bedroom.” He stopped. “Father said she was weak, that she chose cowardice over strength. And I” His voice cracked. “I believed him. For years I believed that my mother was weak instead of understanding that my father had broken her.” 

“Oh, Damien.” I pulled him close. “I’m so sorry.” 

“Marcus was different than me,” he continued. “He fought back, Although he was mentally unhinged at times which Father punished him for. The beatings, the starvation, the isolation–it was always worse for Marcus because he refused to break until finally” He stopped. “Finally he broke anyway, just in a different way than Father intended.” 

“And you?” I asked softly. “How did you survive?” 

“I became what Father wanted.” Shame colored his voice. “And it worked–Father praised me, promoted me, groomed me to take over the company, but the cost-” He looked at me with haunted eyes. “The cost was everything that made me a person. Until you.” 

“You survived,” I said firmly. “You did what you had to do to survive a monster. That’s not weakness, Damien. That’s strength.” 

“Marcus doesn’t see it that way.” 

“Marcus needs help,” I cupped his face. “Professional help. Trauma therapy. Years of it and I” I paused. “I want to help him get that. If you’ll let me.” 

“Why?” Damien looked genuinely confused. “After everything he did.” 

“Because he’s your brother” I met his eyes. “And because hurt people hurt people. Your father hurt you both. Marcus needs to heal from that before he can stop hurting others. And Damien, you need to heal too. From the guilt of not saving him, from the trauma of what was done to you, you both need to heal.” 

“I don’t deserve this.” His voice was thick. “Don’t deserve you being so understanding” 

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“Stop saying you don’t deserve things.” I cut him off. “You deserve love. You deserve healing, you deserve happiness. And I’m going to keep saying it until you believe it.” 

“That might take a while,” he said with a weak smile. 

“Good thing we have forever.” I kissed him gently. “Starting next month when we get 

married.” 

“Next month.” Wonder filled his voice. “We’re really doing this.” 

“We’re really doing this.” I smiled. “Any regrets?” 

“Only that I didn’t do it sooner.” He pulled me closer. “That I wasted years being too broken to see what was right in front of me.” 

“Then let’s not waste any more time.” I rested my head on his chest. “Let’s just—be happy. Build our family and love each other.” 

“I like that plan.” His arms tightened around me. “I like it a lot.” 

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