Page 22 of Secrets Of Blackwood

“Did you really think you could keep your skeletons locked away forever, Damien?” Her voice is like the edge of a knife, cold and sharp. “Take a good look.”

She tosses the envelope at my feet, and it skids across the gravel with an accusing whisper. I bend down, my movements stiff, and pick up the harbinger of my potential ruin. The contents are heavy in my hands, heavier than paper has any right to be.

“Go on,” she urges, relishing the moment. “See the power I hold over you.”

My fingers slide under the flap, breaking the seal as if releasing a curse. Photos, documents—evidence of every wrong turn I’ve ever made spill out. There they are: the fights, the cons, the late-night escapades that would scandalize the hallowed halls of this academy. It’s all there, a chronicle of my darkest chapters, ready to be broadcast to anyone who would listen.

“Victoria, why are you doing this?” My voice barely rises above a whisper, strangled by the vice of my own dread.

“Because I can,” she hisses back. “Because you owe me.”

My gaze flicks up to meet hers, searching for the girl I once knew in those ice-blue depths, but she’s not there. She hasn’t been there for a long time.

“Think about your future, Damien. Your reputation. You could lose everything.” Her words are like venom seeping into my veins, paralyzing me with fear.

The envelope crinkles in my clenched fist. I can feel the edges of the photographs biting into my skin, as if trying to draw blood. I have to decide now, and it’s ripping me apart—the thought of my world crumbling around me or the agony of pushing Lily away, losing her warmth, her light…

“Damien?” Victoria prompts, a devilish gleam in her eye. “What’s it going to be?”

“Give me time,” I beg, my plea sounding pathetic even to my own ears.

“Tick tock,” she taunts, stepping back into the shadows. “Time is something you don’t have much of.”

She leaves me standing there, alone, the night air now a cold shroud wrapping around me. The choice should be simple: my past or my future. But nothing is simple when it comes to Lily. She’s the hope I never allowed myself to grasp. Without her, it’s just darkness, the same darkness I’ve always known.

Now, I have to shatter that hope, break it into pieces before Victoria does it for me, in front of everyone. I have to be the villain in our story to protect her from the real monster lurking in the dark.

“God help me,” I mutter to the indifferent stars above as I steel myself for what must come next.

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I stride toward her, the gravel beneath my boots crunching like bones under the weight of the inevitable. Victoria stands by the old oak, its gnarled branches a silent witness to our bitter reunion.

“Enjoying the show?” I growl, the bitterness in my voice barely masking the desperation clawing at my insides.

“Immensely,” Victoria purrs, her cold gaze drinking in my torment. “It’s not every day you get to see Damien Blackwood squirm.”

Her words are like a blade twisting in my gut. She knows she has me cornered; the evidence she holds could burn my life to ashes. But it’s not the threat to me that has my heart hammering against my ribcage—it’s the thought of Lily caught in the crossfire.

“Let’s cut to the chase, Victoria.” I step closer, trying to appear unfazed, but my resolve is as fragile as glass. “What do you want?”

“Simple,” she says, circling me like a predator. “You end things with little Miss Sunshine, or I let everyone know just how dark your shadows are.”

I close my eyes briefly, images of Lily—her bright smile, the innocence in her sparkling eyes—flashing across my mind. The thought of her looking at me with anything other than trust and love… it’s unbearable.

“Fine,” I concede, the word tasting like poison on my tongue. “I’ll do it. I’ll end it with Lily.”

Victoria’s lips curl into a satisfied smirk, her victory complete. But there’s no triumph in my surrender, only the crushing weight of defeat and the sharp sting of betrayal.

“Good boy,” she coos mockingly, stepping back with the grace of a queen who’s just won a war. “Remember, Damien, I’ll be watching. One wrong move and I’ll bring your world crashing down.”

I nod, feeling a piece of my soul splinter away with the agreement. It’s a pact with the devil, but I’d walk through hell itself if it meant keeping Lily safe from this twisted game.

“Trust me,” I mutter, my voice laced with a darkness I’ve fought hard to keep at bay. “I’m painfully aware of the stakes.”

As I turn to leave, the gravity of what I’ve agreed to hits me. I’m about to break Lily’s heart to save her. I’m about to become everything I despised, all because I dared to hope for more than the darkness that’s been my constant companion.

“Damien?” Victoria calls out, her tone feigned with concern that doesn’t reach her eyes. “Don’t take too long. You wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.”

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