The promises didn't last.
Neither did the honesty.
Not because Damien didn't try. He did. He tried harder than he had ever tried at anything. He answered her questions. He told her where he was going. He came home when he said he would.
But it wasn't enough.
It was never enough.
Because Christabel didn't just want his honesty. She wanted his soul. And he didn't know how to give her something he wasn't sure he still had.
---
"You're lying to me," she said.
They were in the kitchen. He was making dinner. She was watching him from the counter.
"I'm not lying."
"You're omitting."
"I'm protecting."
She slid off the counter.
Walked to him.
"Tell me about the meeting yesterday."
"What meeting?"
"The one you didn't tell me about."
He set down the knife.
Turned to face her.
"How do you know about that meeting?"
"I have sources."
"You have spies."
"I have people who care about me."
He stepped closer.
"Who?"
"That's not the point."
"That's exactly the point."
---
She crossed her arms.
"The point is that you're keeping things from me. Again."
"I'm keeping you safe."
"From what?"
"From the truth."
"What truth?"
He was quiet for a moment.
"The truth that there are people who want to hurt you. People who know about the baby. People who are willing to use her to get to me."
Her face went pale.
"What people?"
"The same people we've been fighting for years. The ones who think they can take what's mine."
"I'm not yours."
"You are."
"I'm not a possession, Damien."
"I know." He touched her face. "You're not a possession. You're my heart. There's a difference."
---
She pulled away.
"Then stop treating me like something to protect and start treating me like someone to trust."
"I do trust you."
"No, you don't." She walked to the window. "You trust me to love you. You trust me to stay. You trust me to be the mother of your child. But you don't trust me with the truth."
"The truth would hurt you."
"The lies hurt more."
---
He walked to her.
Stood behind her.
Didn't touch her.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything."
"You can't handle everything."
"Try me."
He was quiet for a long moment.
The city hummed below them.
"The meeting yesterday was with a man named Viktor," he said finally.
"Viktor?"
"He's been asking questions about you. About the baby. About where you go when you leave the penthouse."
"And?"
"And I told him to stop."
"Just told him?"
"I made him understand that continuing would be... unwise."
"How?"
"Does it matter?"
"Yes."
---
He turned her around.
Looked at her.
"I broke his nose. His wrist. Three of his ribs. Then I told him that if he ever looked at you again, I would kill his wife."
She stared at him.
"His wife?"
"His wife. His children. His mother. Everyone he's ever loved."
"That's not protection. That's terror."
"That's what I am."
"No." She shook her head. "That's what you do. It's not who you are."
"It's the same thing."
"It's not."
---
She stepped closer.
Pressed her body against his.
"I know who you are, Damien. I've always known."
"Who am I?"
"You're a man who loves me. A man who would do anything to protect me. A man who is terrified of losing me."
"And?"
"And that's enough." She touched his face. "That's always been enough."
"It's not enough for you."
"It is."
"Then why do you keep pushing? Why do you keep asking for more?"
"Because I'm terrified too." Her voice cracked. "I'm terrified of losing you. Of losing our daughter. Of waking up one day and realizing that none of this was real."
"It's real."
"Then prove it."
---
He kissed her.
Hard. Deep. The way she remembered.
She kissed him back the same way.
But when he tried to carry her to the bedroom, she stopped him.
"Not yet," she said.
"What?"
"I want you to promise me something."
"What?"
"Promise me that you'll never lie to me again. Not by omission. Not by protection. Not by anything."
"Christabel—"
"Promise me."
He looked at her.
His eyes were dark.
"I promise."
"Say it."
"I promise I will never lie to you again."
---
She kissed him.
Softly.
"Thank you."
"Don't thank me."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm probably going to break that promise."
She smiled.
The dangerous one.
"I know."