The Blackwood penthouse was sleek, modern, and cold.
Like its owner.
Damian never kept personal clutter—no sentimental objects, no framed memories. Everything had a purpose. Everything was immaculate.
Which is why the photo felt like it didn't belong.
He hadn't been snooping. Not exactly.
He had gone to retrieve some documents from the guest room where Ava had been staying before the marriage became public. The drawer was supposed to hold stationery. Nothing important.
But instead, behind a half-written letter and a gold pen, he found it.
A photograph.
Faded. Worn at the edges. Clearly cherished.
It showed Ava—five years younger, maybe less—sitting on a wooden bench in a park. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, her smile unguarded and bright. Her arms were wrapped around a small girl, maybe four years old.
Same green eyes. Same dimpled cheeks. Same fire in her expression.
The girl looked just like her.
Too much like her to be a coincidence.
Damian stared at it.
He didn't move for a full minute.
The air around him changed.
He flipped the photo over. One line was scrawled on the back in a hurried, slanted hand:
"To my whole world. – A."
No date. No names.
Just that.
Damian exhaled slowly, jaw tight.
He should've tossed it back. Should've ignored the sting in his chest, the way his mind was already trying to make sense of what this meant.
A child.
Her child?
But that wasn't part of the contract. That wasn't mentioned in the media profiles. That wasn't anywhere.
And now he wasn't sure what shocked him more—
That Ava had hidden this so well…
Or that it mattered to him at all.
Later That Evening
Ava returned from her solo walk just before sunset. The light stretched golden across the floor. She looked calmer. Almost peaceful.
Until she saw him standing by the drawer.
With the photo in his hand.
Her breath caught.
"You went through my things?" Her voice was sharp. Defensive.
He turned to her slowly. His gaze was unreadable, but intense.
"You lied to me."
"I didn't lie," she said tightly. "I just didn't tell you."
"That's the same thing."
Her arms crossed. "What I do outside this marriage is none of your concern."
"It is my concern," he snapped, stepping closer. "Because I don't like being played, Ava. If this marriage is for appearances, then you don't get to hide secrets that could destroy everything."
She stiffened, face pale.
"Don't talk about her like she's a scandal."
He froze.
Her.
So it was true.
There was someone.
A real person behind Ava's pain. A child she'd built walls to protect.
Damian stared at her for a long moment, the air between them sharp with things unsaid.
"She's the reason you agreed to this deal," he said quietly.
Ava didn't respond.
She didn't need to.