Page 10 of The Billionaire’s Contract Bride

“I know.” She hadn’t noticed until now.

She wrapped the cloth around her hand, noticing his initials embroidered in black thread at the corner.

“What happens now?” she asked, her voice tight.

“Your mother is being stabilized. Her surgical team has already been assembled.”

Aria looked at him sharply. “Dr. Patel said the surgery couldn’t happen without the deposit.”

“It can now.”

“Because I called you?”

“Because I anticipated that you would.”

A cold dread spread through her chest. “You authorized it before I even agreed.”

“I authorized the preparations.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t gamble with assets I intend to secure.”

The word hit her harder than an insult. “My mother is not an asset.”

“No,” he corrected quietly. “She is your vulnerability.”

Aria moved before she could stop herself.

Her uninjured right hand cracked hard across his jaw.

The sharp sound echoed in the enclosed car. Lucien’s eyes darted to the rearview mirror. The driver tightened his grip on the wheel.

Damien didn’t flinch.

A faint red mark began to bloom across his cheekbone.

Aria’s heart hammered against her ribs so hard it was painful. This was not a man people laid hands on. This was a man who dictated consequences.

Damien slowly turned his head back toward her. There was no anger in his eyes, only a dark, terrifying curiosity.

“Do that again,” he whispered, “and ensure you are prepared for how I respond.”

Aria forced herself not to shrink back. “Is that a threat?”

“It is a promise.”

“Are you going to hurt me?”

His eyes dropped to the frantic pulse fluttering in her throat. “Never without your consent.”

An unwanted, humiliating heat flushed beneath her skin. Damien watched it happen, his eyes darkening, though he made no move to close the distance between them.

“You’re disgusting,” she breathed, although her voice was breathier than the harsh tone she had aimed for.

“And yet I am the man you called.”

The hospital’s glass pavilion appeared through the window.