Married For Vengeance, Pregnant With His Secret

The rhythmic thrum of the rain matched the frantic beat of Aria's heart as the armored SUV skidded to a halt outside the so-called safe house. Nestled deep in Vermont's forested terrain, the concrete fortress was Damien Voss's idea of protection impersonal, isolated, and ice-cold.

"Keep your head down," Damien ordered as he jumped out and rounded the vehicle, flinging the door open.

Aria didn't need to be told twice. Her knees trembled as she stepped out, his coat thrown over her shoulders. The headlights from the trailing security vehicles lit the outline of bruises forming on Damien's knuckles and the blood on his temple where shattered glass had grazed him.

She had only one question on her mind:

Was the baby okay?

The dull ache low in her abdomen had faded, but her anxiety clung like wet clothing.

Damien's hand pressed firmly to the small of her back, guiding her inside. The door was metal. The locks clicked four times. Facial recognition scanned his face. Then: silence.

Except for Aria's shallow breaths and the storm pounding on the roof.

"You're safe now," Damien said tightly.

She didn't believe him. Not for a second.

The safe house interior was sleek, sterile matte black walls, soft lighting, glass barriers, and security cameras in every corner. Damien's voice bounced off stone as he gave orders into his earpiece.

"Lock the perimeter. Triple security. Satellite sweep every ten minutes. No signals go in or out unless I approve them."

Aria sat down slowly on the leather couch, her hands resting protectively over her stomach. Everything felt too calm. And after Vanessa's bloodied warning He's coming calm only made her more afraid.

"I want Dr. Campos flown in," Damien said as he strode into the room. "You need a checkup."

"I'm fine."

"You collapsed last time."

"It was exhaustion. Stress. I've been fine since."

He kneeled in front of her, jaw clenched, hands hovering like he didn't know if he was allowed to touch her.

"We were just ambushed. You and the baby come first now. No exceptions."

Aria blinked at him. She had never seen this version of Damien not at the company, not at the wedding, not even in bed. This wasn't cold, controlled CEO Voss. This was someone… breaking.

The fire that had consumed their relationship so far the coldness, the deal, the lies was dimmed by something she couldn't define. And maybe… didn't want to.

She reached out instinctively, fingers brushing his cheek. "You're bleeding."

He froze under her touch. "It's nothing."

"You keep saying that."

He looked up at her, blue eyes darkened with something unreadable. "What do you want me to say, Aria? That I'm terrified I'll lose you? That I didn't plan any of this, but now it's the only thing that feels real?"

The words caught in her throat.

For once, Damien Voss sounded real.

Hours later, after the doctor examined her and assured them both the baby was healthy, Aria stood in front of the floor to ceiling window in the guest bedroom. The moonlight painted silver patterns on the glass. Her hands pressed to her stomach, waiting for a kick, a shift any sign of life to remind her she wasn't dreaming.

Because sometimes it all felt surreal.

Married to a man she hated…

Pregnant with a child she hadn't planned…

Hunted by enemies she couldn't see.

And worst of all slowly falling for a man who might still be hiding something unforgivable.

"Do you ever sleep?"

Damien's voice broke the silence.

She turned slowly. He stood in the doorway, a shirt hanging loose on his frame, his hair damp from a shower. He looked tired. But still powerful. Still dangerous.

"I try," she replied softly. "It's not easy."

He stepped into the room but didn't come too close. "I know you don't trust me. I don't blame you. But I need you to believe this: I will protect you. You and the baby."

She nodded. "I know."

"I meant what I said earlier," he added. "About this being real."

Aria folded her arms. "What part of this is real, Damien? The threats? The lies? The fact that my mother sold me into a contract with you, and your father is trying to destroy you from the inside out?"

"You," he said, voice suddenly low. "You're real."

That stopped her.

"I don't know how or when it happened," Damien said, stepping closer, "but somewhere between hating you for what I thought you represented and holding you after that first ultrasound… I stopped pretending."

His eyes dropped to her stomach.

"You're not just my wife on paper anymore. You're the only damn thing keeping me grounded."

She looked away, her throat tight.

"Don't say that," she whispered.

"Why?"

"Because I don't deserve it."

Damien's brows furrowed. "Why would you say that?"

Aria's heart pounded as the memory crept up her spine that night, months ago, when this had all begun. When she'd made a choice that changed everything. A choice she hadn't told him about. A truth still buried deep.

She swallowed hard. "Damien…"

He stepped closer, sensing the shift. "What is it?"

But the words wouldn't come.

Not yet.

She lay in bed an hour later, pretending to sleep, staring at the ceiling.

Damien had returned to his own room, giving her space. But his presence still lingered. In the way he had looked at her. In the way he had touched her cheek like it meant something.

She ran a hand over her belly.

The baby kicked a small, fluttering motion that brought tears to her eyes.

Not because it hurt.

But because this little life… had changed everything.

Not just for her revenge. Not just for the plan.

But for her.

In the surveillance room downstairs, Damien stared at the paused footage.

Camera 7 the one overlooking the hallway to Aria's room.

Frame by frame, he watched as a figure in black, blurred and slim, walked past the sensors just twenty minutes before they arrived.

Not one of his men.

Not from his team.

Someone had breached the safe house.

Damien's jaw tightened as he pressed a button.

"Activate protocol red. We're not alone."