Married For Vengeance, Pregnant With His Secret

The soft hum of the generator was the only sound Aria could hear when she opened her eyes. Her room was still bathed in the pale blue glow of the nightlights Damien insisted on installing "for her peace of mind."

But there was no peace. Not here. Not with the storm raging outside.

And not with the pressure building in her chest.

She turned in bed. The clock read 3:17 a.m.

The baby was still. But she wasn't.

There had been something… off.

Not just the silence. Not just the house. But him. Damien. The way he looked at her before leaving her room like he wanted to say something. Like he already knew something she hadn't confessed.

She sat up slowly, pulling the knit blanket over her legs. The room was too quiet.

Then she saw it.

The door was ajar.

She froze.

Damien always closed the door. He was obsessive about security. Her heart climbed into her throat as she slipped from the bed, feet silent on the polished floor.

The hallway was empty. Lights dimmed.

But something in the air felt wrong like static before lightning.

She padded down the corridor, passing the nursery Damien had started designing despite her protests. She hadn't even seen it finished.

Now she wished she hadn't.

The nursery door was wide open.

Aria stepped inside.

And gasped.

A single sunflower sat on the baby's pillow.

Bright yellow. Fresh. Not wilted. Not dead.

Alive.

The same flower Elena used to draw in her sketchbook.

The same flower that appeared in the password protected flash drive.

The same symbol from the tracker warning.

There was no note. No blood. No noise.

Just the sunflower.

And the certainty that someone had been inside.

Elsewhere in the Safe House

Damien stood over the surveillance monitors, jaw tight, eyes scanning footage from the last six hours.

The figure had passed by the hallway outside Aria's room, head down, face hidden. No guard had seen him. No alarm had sounded. Either it was someone with clearance…

Or someone who knew how to bypass his systems.

"Still no breach alarm?" Damien asked.

"None, sir," said Leon, the head of security. "Perimeter's been quiet since you arrived."

"That's impossible." Damien paused the footage again. "Then how the hell did he leave a flower in the nursery?"

Leon paled. "The nursery?"

Damien didn't answer.

He turned and bolted for the west wing.

Aria hadn't moved.

She stood staring at the sunflower, her pulse roaring in her ears, when Damien burst into the room. His gun was already in hand, followed by two guards in black.

"What happened?" he barked.

She didn't speak. She only pointed.

When he saw the flower, Damien's face went rigid.

"Clear the house," he snapped. "Sweep every room, every inch of the perimeter. Nobody leaves or enters without my word."

Guards scattered. Damien walked to Aria slowly, cautiously like she might shatter.

"Did you see anyone?"

She shook her head. "The door… it was open. The flower was just… there."

Damien picked it up gently. It wasn't plastic. It wasn't faked.

It was fresh.

Plucked, no more than an hour ago.

Someone had been inside.

And they were playing with them.

An Hour Later

Security swept the entire property. There were no signs of forced entry. No alarms. No missing keycards.

Only a back service tunnel rarely used, long since deactivated. Or so they thought.

Damien stood by the door to that tunnel, teeth grinding.

"Someone knew about this," he muttered.

Aria stood behind him, wrapped in his coat again. Her hands trembled at her sides.

"It was him, wasn't it?"

"Kieran?" Damien said darkly. "It fits his style."

"Not just his style," she whispered. "His message."

Damien's gaze snapped to hers.

"Elena's flash drive," Aria continued. "It had the sunflower password. He knew she loved them. He's been leaving them for me ever since. Like... breadcrumbs."

Damien nodded. "Or warnings."

Her voice broke. "Why her, Damien? Why Elena? Why me?"

And that's when he said it.

"Because Kieran doesn't want to ruin my company. He wants to erase every piece of humanity I have left."

Aria's knees buckled slightly. Damien caught her before she fell.

"You're not weak," he murmured. "You're exhausted."

"I'm not afraid of exhaustion," she said. "I'm afraid of what comes next."

Later That Morning

The safe house was locked down.

Leon placed two guards outside Aria's room. The nursery was sealed. The sunflower stored and fingerprinted.

But Aria couldn't sleep.

She sat at the edge of the bed with her hand on her belly, listening to the soft music from the baby playlist Damien had installed. It was the only comfort she could find.

Until a knock came at her door.

Gentle. Three times.

She stood slowly and opened it.

It was Damien.

But something in his face was different this time.

Tired. Haunted.

"Can I come in?" he asked.

She nodded.

He stepped inside, walked to the window, then turned to face her.

"Aria," he said softly. "I need to ask you something. And I need the truth."

She stiffened. "About the flower?"

"No. About… the baby."

She didn't speak.

"I've gone over every possibility. I've traced timelines. Patterns. I remember the night. I remember you came to me out of nowhere, wearing Elena's favorite color, asking to stay."

Her heart cracked.

Damien stepped closer.

"Did you plan it?" he asked. "Was that night part of your revenge?"

Aria's throat closed.

She couldn't lie.

She wouldn't.

But she also couldn't tell the truth yet.

Not here. Not now. Not like this.

So she whispered, "Let me tell you everything… just not tonight."

He watched her carefully.

Then to her surprise he nodded.

"Tomorrow," he said. "No more running."

Then he left her room.

And for the first time in months, Aria wept.

Not because of guilt.

But because she wasn't sure what would survive once the truth came out.