Rain tapered off, leaving the pavement slick and reflective outside Damian's estate. The glow from the ballroom refracted across the driveway where Bryan's SUV idled, a silent testament to the war mounting between rich, powerful men. Ava watched through the draped tall windows, heart pounding, as the storm outside matched the turmoil inside.
Damian's voice softened behind her. "Stay here. I'll handle him."
Ava's pulse jerked. "I can't just wait."
He brushed a strand of damp hair off her face. "You don't need to. But this is my fight now."
Before she could argue, a security guard entered. "Mr. Lancaster, Mr. Huxley is demanding entry."
Damian closed the distance between them. "Let him wait."
Mario's silhouette appeared on the other side of the glass doors, phone clutched in his hand as he barked orders.
"No. I'm not leaving without her," his voice cracked with desperation and rage.
Damian stepped forward, opening a single door. Rainwater seeped inside, and Bryan stormed in. The atmosphere shifted, the room taut with expectancy.
Mario's eyes locked on Ava. "Where the hell have you been?"
Ava stood rigid, jealousy and shame twisting inside. She'd felt something in Damian's dance—a flicker of protection and defiance that terrified and thrilled her.
Damian stepped between them. He was calm as glass, but Ava recognized the dangerous promise in his posture.
"Mario," Damian began, voice even and cold. "I asked you nicely—she's not for sale."
Mario's head whipped. "She's my wife!"
Damian raised an eyebrow. "Not anymore."
The words landed like stones in the charged air. Mario's face turned the color of cinder.
Ava's knees felt weak. The old Ava would've lunged to placate him, to quell his power. But this new version didn't shrink.
"Damian is right," she said, voice surprisingly steady. "Mario... we're separating."
Mario's face twisted, rage and disbelief mashing together. "You can't just take her!"
"Watch me."
In response, he lunged forward. But Damian's security—three men in tailored suits—surrounded Mario before he could get close.
The distance between husband and former wife cracked wider than any wound Ava had ever known.
Damian's voice was like ice. "Don't touch her, or I'll call the cops."
Mario's chest heaved, rage dripping from every syllable. He spat on the floor. "Get out of my house, princess."
Mario backed up, shoved past guards, and marched out into the storm. He clutched his phone, dialing for backup—he wouldn't go down that easily, even though he wasn't convinced on how he would go about it knowing the fact that no one can easily challenge Damian.
Damian turned to Ava, face unreadable. "Are you okay?"
She nodded slowly, still coated in adrenaline.
He offered his arm. "Let's get you out of here."
Ava hesitated, then slipped into his arm. Not as a trophy, but as his equal—a woman reborn.
They walked side-by-side through the wet drive, paparazzi's flashbulbs popping like gunshots. Damian raised his chin at the barrage, his impression of control terrifying and magnetic.
Ava felt the world tilting. The wind slapped her face, and she realized she was being pulled forward into something she never thought she deserved.
Inside Damian's Rolls Royce, away from the chaos, solitude settled. Ava stared at her reflection in the tinted window—her first genuine reflection since everything fell apart.
Damian slid into the driver's seat and looked at her through the mirror. "You were brilliant," he said.
Ava traced the bruises on his hand—his reassurance still pulsing through her. "I was terrified."
He reached over and took her hand, his touch both gentle and possessive. "Because you haven't lived free before."
"I don't know what that means."
He powered off the engine. "We'll redefine it together."
They sat in silence while the rain washed across the hood.
Back at the Huxley mansion, Mario ripped the front door open and stomped inside, soaking wet. Mia and their mother rushed out.
Mario didn't see them.
He made a loop of the living room, eyes locked on the entryway.
When their mother finally spoke, her voice shook.
"Mario… Ava said she's ending it."
Mario snorted, wild-eyed. "She has no say in this."
Mai stepped forward, tears seeping down her face. "Mario… maybe it's what she needs."
He lowered his gaze to her. "Shut up." His tone stunned her. Nobody had ever spoken to her that way.
Mia flinched.
He stalked past, tearing off his coat. "Find her. And bring her back."
Back in the car, Damian pulled into a dim garage. He switched off the car. "Home?"
Ava looked up at him in the darkness. "I'm… not sure."
He nodded. "You're safe with me."
She sighed quietly, leaning into his shoulder. "Thank you."
Damian paused. "My lawyer will call you tomorrow. We'll set the process in motion, no need to give him extra time."
Ava shuddered. It didn't feel real yet.
Damian brushed water from her hair. "I know, but it will be. And I'll be with you through it all."
Her heart drummed a steady rhythm as she realized she believed him.