Page 214 of My Ruthless Husband

I watch him rise from his seat, crossing the room to stand by the window, his broad shoulders tense as he stares out into the night.

“I took over IDG recently.”

I freeze but he continues, “Richard was already bankrupt, but your father spent what little he had left to sue me over it, but he lost. Every single penny.”

My dad. Christopher Gibson. The man I once saw as untouchable has been brought to his knees by my husband.

“There’s one last file in that briefcase. It’s the paperwork to transfer ownership of IDG back to your father. I had it drawn up. All it takes is my signature. I’ll sign it right now for you.”

I can't hide the shock in my voice as I ask, “Why? Why would you do that after what he did to you and your family?”

He turns slowly. “Because no victory, no revenge, is worth losing you.”

I draw in a sharp breath.

Before I can respond, he strides in my direction, eating the distance between us. Then to my utter shock, Damian drops to his knees right in front of me.

The sight of him like this—a man who never bends, now at my feet—steals the air from my lungs.

He takes my hands in his. “I don’t care about power or pride anymore. None of it matters if I can’t have you by my side.” His eyes search mine. “Come back to me, angel. Let me fix this. Let me fixus.”

“But you hate me—”

His eyes narrow. “How could I ever hate my wife?”

Tears sting my eyes as the memory of his words burns in my chest. “I heard you… You said you hated my father, and everyone connected to him.”

“Yes, I did.” His jaw tightens. “And I meant his partners and their families.”

“But I’m connected to him,” I whisper.

He grabs the back of my neck, pulling me closer. “No, you’re not. You stopped being his the day you became mine. From the moment I put that ring on your finger, you becamemyfamily, my only loyalty. You’re connected tomeand no one else.”

I swallow hard, clinging to the doubts that won’t let go. “B-but you married me for revenge, Damian…”

His expression tightens, a shadow passing over his face like the confession physically wound him. For a moment, he saysnothing, but when he speaks, his voice is heavy. “At first, I told myself that’s all it was. I wanted to believe it, to keep things simple, to convince myself I wasn’t weak. It was easier to call it revenge, to think I was in control. But I was lying to myself. I wasn’t ready to admit the truth.”

His hands come up, cradling my face as he lifts my gaze to meet his. “Raleigh was right. I married you because I wanted to. Because I couldn’t imagine not having you. After my parents died, I built walls, walls so high even Raleigh and Summer could barely break through. I kept my heart locked away, buried in ice. And when I was adopted, I built those walls even higher, stronger. No one got close. No one dared.” His voice drops, his thumb brushing against my cheek. “But you… you shattered every wall. I never stood a chance. You didn’t ask for permission, River. You walked straight into my life despite my cold defenses and claimed me before I even realized it.”

I stare at him, wide-eyed, breath caught in my throat as his words unravel every defense I’d tried to hold onto.

“My parents—they’re already gone,” his voice cracks just enough to betray his emotions. “They’ve already been stolen from me. But you? I can’t lose you too. I won’t. The revenge, the files, the leverage—I’ll burn it all. I’ll give your father back his empire. None of it matters if it costs me you.” He exhales a shaky breath and for the first time, I see a crack in his armor.

“Just… don’t leave me.” His forehead rests against mine. “I need you. I… I-I love you, River. More than I ever thought I was capable of.”

I squeeze my eyes shut as the sobs wrack through me. He scoops me off the sofa like I weigh nothing, shifting on the carpet and cradling me in his lap as though I’m the most precious thing in the world.

“I love you, River,” he murmurs, his voice thick and breaking. He presses his lips to my temple, repeating the words over and over, each one carving deeper into my heart.

How could he still love me? I am the daughter of the man who destroyed his world, the bloodline of his greatest enemy.

How could his heart, so burdened with vengeance and pain, find room for someone tied so closely to his suffering?

I should feel grateful, humbled even, that he’s chosen me despite everything, but all I can feel is guilt. Guilt for loving him when I know the shadow of my father’s actions looms over us. Guilt for being the reason he’s suffered more, for being the daughter of the man who left him broken.

And yet, there’s something terrifyingly beautiful about it too. That even after all he’s endured, after every wound my father inflicted on him, Damian has it in him to love. To choose me. It doesn’t make sense. It’s almost cruel, that he would open his heart to me, the one person who reminds him of everything he’s lost.

Maybe in me, he’s found the one thing that can overpower his hatred, even if it tears him apart in the process. And that makes me cry harder.

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