Chapter 2 2

The room smelled faintly of leather and whiskey. Books lined the walls, all perfectly arranged like no one ever touched them. The only light came from the desk lamp, casting a soft glow over neatly stacked papers.

Sienna closed the door behind her carefully, her heart beating too fast.

"Okay... just find the medical bills," she whispered to herself.

She moved to the desk, her fingers brushing over the smooth surface. Her hands trembled as she opened the first drawer. There was nothing, only pens and blank paper. The second drawer was better, filled with folders, each labeled neatly with dates.

She pulled one out, her breath catching when she saw her mother's name written in Damian's bold handwriting.

Her heart squeezed as she flipped it open. There were bills, receipts and treatment schedules.

Relief washed over her for a moment. He had been paying for everything, just like he promised.

But when she reached the last page, something else caught her eye. Another file, thicker, tucked behind the medical papers.

She hesitated. "Don't, Sienna," she whispered to herself. But her curiosity won. She opened it and froze.

The file wasn't about her mother. It was about her father. Page after page of business accounts, debts, hidden bank accounts, all marked up in Damian's handwriting. Every note looked like a step in a plan.

Her hands skimmed through faster, her heart racing with each line.

"God..." she breathed. "He's doing this on purpose."

He wasn't just running her father's company into the ground by accident. He was destroying it, piece by piece.

Her throat tightened, anger burning in her chest. He married me to destroy my family.

Her hand shook as she turned another page. That's when she heard it, footsteps in the hallway.

Her head snapped up, panic surging through her.

The doorknob turned. Damian stepped inside, tall and cold, his presence filling the room instantly. His eyes went straight to the folder in her hands.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was low, dangerous.

"I... I was looking for something," she said quickly, trying to sound calm even though her voice shook.

"Something?" He shut the door behind him with a soft click and stepped closer. "And you thought going through my files was the best way to find it?"

Her grip tightened on the folder. "Are you destroying my father's company?"

Damian's expression didn't change, but he didn't speak either.

"You are," she whispered, her voice breaking slightly. "You married me to get revenge."

His silence was louder than any answer.

"Why?" she demanded, her anger spilling out. "What did my father do to you? Because I didn't do anything to you!"

"Don't pretend you don't know what kind of man your father is," Damian said sharply, finally breaking his silence.

"I'm not my father!" she shouted back. "But you....you treat me like I'm just some part of this...this war you're having with him!"

"You are part of it," Damian said, his voice calm but cold.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly. "So that's all I am to you? A weapon?"

He stared at her for a long moment before speaking. "Don't act like you didn't agree to this marriage for something too."

"Yes, I married you to save my mother," she shot back. "But at least I didn't lie about it. You......you married me to hurt me. To hurt my family."

Damian stepped closer, his expression hard. "You think this is about you?"

"What else am I supposed to think when you've treated me like this from day one?"

"This isn't about you, Sienna," he said tightly. "It never was."

"Then why marry me?" she demanded.

He didn't answer.

The air between them was thick, heavy with anger neither of them could hold back anymore.

"Put the folder down," Damian said finally, his voice dropping lower.

"No."

"Sienna."

"No!" she said again, louder this time. "You don't get to do this to me and expect me to stay quiet."

In two long strides, Damian was in front of her. He grabbed the folder from her hands and slammed it shut, his jaw tight.

"You don't understand anything," he said, his voice harsh.

"Then explain it to me," she demanded, her voice shaking. "Tell me why you hate my father so much that you'd use me."

Damian's gray eyes burned into hers, his jaw tightening like he wanted to say something but couldn't.

"Damian......."

Her words cut off when he suddenly moved closer, his hand gripping her arm firmly, pulling her toward him. His breathing was uneven, his expression unreadable.

"Stop looking at me like I'm the only villain here," he said, his voice rough.

"Then stop being one," she shot back, her face inches from his.

Something in his expression shifted, anger, frustration, something darker, something he didn't want her to see.

And then, without warning, his lips crashed onto hers.

The kiss was rough, desperate, nothing like the cold man she had been married to for three months.

She pushed at his chest once, angry, but he didn't let go, and before she could stop herself, she was kissing him back just as furiously.

Her hands gripped his shirt, pulling him closer, his hands sliding around her waist, holding her tightly. Every bottled-up emotion, the hate, the anger, the tension, poured out in that kiss.

When he lifted her onto the desk, scattering papers onto the floor, she didn't protest. She kissed him harder, her heart racing, her mind spinning out of control.

For the first time since they got married, she felt something other than emptiness.

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When morning came, Damian was gone from their bed, leaving only silence.

Sienna sat up slowly, staring at the empty space beside her and in that silence, her anger returned, sharper than before.

He might have kissed her. He might have touched her, but nothing had changed.

And now, she wasn't going to sit quietly anymore.

If Damian Voss thought she was just a pawn in his revenge, he was wrong.

She was going to find out everything.

Even if it meant tearing apart the man she had just spent the night with.