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### **1. Threads of the Past**
Amara stared at Damian, her pulse crashing like waves against stone.
> *"I think our lives have been intertwined longer than we thought…"*
The words wouldn't stop echoing.
> "Explain," she whispered.
Damian ran a hand through his hair. For once, he looked… human. Not like the polished professor. Not like the Stone heir. Just… a man burdened with too much.
> "When my father died, his final will had a clause that shocked everyone. It mentioned a name. Your mother's name."
Amara froze.
> "My mother? Grace Okeke?"
> "Yes. Not just mentioned. She was listed under 'protection and final debt.'"
> "Protection?"
> "He left a trust fund in her name. But when they couldn't find her, it was frozen."
> "Why would your father owe my mother anything?"
Damian looked down.
> "That's what I've been trying to find out… for years."
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### **2. The Letter**
Later that night, Damian handed her a faded document from a locked drawer.
Amara unfolded it with trembling hands.
It was a letter. Handwritten. Dated twelve years ago.
> *"To Grace Okeke—
> If anything happens to me, know that I never forgot what you did. You saved more than my life. You saved my son's soul. I owe you everything. This trust is my attempt to repay even a fraction. Tell your daughter… I'm sorry."*
— *Dominic Stone*
Her vision blurred.
Her mother… had known *his* father?
> "What did she save him from?"
> "I don't know. But I intend to find out."
Amara folded the letter again—carefully, like it was made of skin.
> "So this marriage… the contract…?"
> "Started as something to silence the board and meet the will's clause," he admitted.
> "But I didn't know it was you. Not until we were already married."
Silence.
> "So you didn't pick me… by accident."
> "No."
> "And you didn't tell me… on purpose."
He exhaled.
> "I didn't want you to think you were a… payment."
Her voice cracked.
> "But that's what I am, right? A living receipt for something your father never got to return?"
He stepped forward.
> "No, Amara. You're the only thing in my life I didn't plan."
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### **3. The Crack in His Voice**
The next morning, she found herself on the balcony of the estate, the sun rising over Ikoyi in gold slivers.
Damian walked up behind her, holding two mugs of tea.
> "I don't drink tea," she muttered.
> "I didn't know that."
> "Exactly."
A pause.
> "I'd like to learn."
She turned slowly, surprised.
His expression wasn't distant. It was careful. Cautious. Like he was approaching a wild animal.
> "You're not good at this," she said softly.
> "No. But I'm trying."
> "Why?"
> "Because every time I push you away, it hurts more than it should."
She blinked.
> "What are we now, Damian?"
> "Something I no longer want to control."
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### **4. Fireworks and Flashbacks**
That weekend, Lady Ireti visited unannounced.
She glided into the mansion with two assistants and a scowl sharp enough to cut steel.
> "You look tired, Amara," she said.
> "I've been sleeping just fine."
> "That's not what I meant."
At lunch, Lady Ireti dropped a bomb.
> "I know who your mother was."
Amara stiffened.
Damian looked up.
> "She was a quiet woman. But smart. Too smart. She knew things about Dominic that threatened everything. I told him to stay away from her."
> "You knew her?"
> "She was our housemaid. When we lived in Enugu briefly. She vanished when you were just a baby."
Amara's chest tightened.
> "Why did she vanish?"
Lady Ireti sipped her wine.
> "Because secrets don't stay buried forever. Especially the kind that come with children."
A silence fell so deep it cracked.
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### **5. Buried Bloodlines**
That night, Amara sat in the library, flipping through old estate records Damian had unearthed.
Then—she saw it.
A payroll document from 2002.
Name: *Grace Okeke*.
Position: Housekeeper.
Address: Enugu.
Notes: *Confidential payroll increase signed by Dominic Stone personally.*
Her hands trembled.
Was that when she got pregnant?
With me?
No. No… Her father was someone else. Wasn't he?
She slammed the book shut.
Damian appeared at the doorway.
> "You found it."
> "Tell me, Damian. Am I your father's…?"
He looked pained.
> "No. I did a DNA search two months ago. I didn't want to take chances. We're not blood."
She exhaled.
> "But you thought we might be?"
> "For one terrifying week, yes."
She laughed bitterly.
> "And you still kissed me?"
> "No. I kissed you after I got the results."
Pause.
> "That's worse."
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### **6. The Threat Grows**
Across town, the man in the shadows watched footage of Lady Ireti's visit. His private investigator had a live tap on the Stone estate.
> "So the girl knows," he said.
> "Yes, sir."
> "Good. That'll make her fragile. And when she falls… we take down the boy king with her."
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