Chapter 26 – Where Fire Meets Ice
Chapter 26 – Where Fire Meets Ice
Aurora stood frozen, staring at Damon through the half-open door. His eyes were dark and stormy, haunted by the remnants of whatever dream had driven him here. She could feel the heat rising in her chest, an uncomfortable blend of longing, confusion, and anger. She wanted to slam the door, scream at him to leave, to explain why he still haunted her thoughts like a ghost she couldn’t exorcise.
But instead, she stepped aside.
Damon walked in slowly, his gaze flicking around the cozy apartment she shared with Luca during their temporary relocation. A bouquet of sunflowers sat on the dining table—Luca’s signature gift. Damon’s jaw tightened. He didn’t comment.
“I shouldn’t have come,” Damon said, his voice gravelly, tired. “I just—”
“Had another dream?” Aurora cut in, arms folded.
He met her gaze. “Yes.”
A beat of silence passed between them. She hated how her heart thudded, how just being near him seemed to pull her back into the gravity of their past. “You can’t keep showing up like this,” she whispered.
“I know. And I’m not here to disrupt your life or…” His voice broke slightly. “I just needed to see you. To confirm that you’re real. That what we had wasn’t just in my head.”
Aurora bit her lip. “It wasn’t in your head, Damon. But it also wasn’t sustainable. You lied. You kept secrets. We both got burned.”
“I know. And I don’t expect forgiveness.”
“Then what do you expect?”
He was quiet for a moment. “Closure.”
She nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Then let’s get it. Now.”
---
They sat on opposite ends of the couch. Damon looked like a man unmoored, emotionally drained yet desperate to anchor himself. Aurora tried not to notice the way his eyes flicked to her lips when she talked, or how his hands trembled slightly when he reached for the glass of water she offered.
“I never stopped loving you,” Damon said softly. “Not for a second.”
Aurora’s breath hitched. “Then why didn’t you fight for me? Why let me walk away?”
“I thought I was protecting you. From the world I come from. From the parts of me that are still broken.”
“That’s not protection, Damon. That’s abandonment.”
He lowered his head. “I know.”
The tension in the room was thick. She should tell him to leave. To go back to Celeste, the girl who had been waiting so patiently for a real place in his heart.
But instead, she asked, “What was the dream about this time?”
He looked up, and for the first time in a long while, Aurora saw raw vulnerability in his eyes. “You were drowning. I was screaming for you, but you couldn’t hear me. And then you just... let go.”
She inhaled sharply. “That’s not a dream. That’s guilt.”
He nodded. “And fear. Fear that I’ve already lost you.”
Before she could respond, the door swung open.
Luca.
His eyes darted between them, his expression unreadable at first—until it hardened.
“Aurora?” he asked, voice quiet but stern.
She stood quickly. “Luca—this isn’t—”
He held up a hand. “I get it. You still love him.”
“No—”
“You do. It’s written all over your face. And his.”
Damon rose. “This is my fault.”
“Damn right it is,” Luca snapped. “But that doesn’t change anything.”
The room was suddenly too small, the silence too loud. Luca turned to Aurora. “I won’t be second place to a ghost. Figure out what you want. And if it’s him—have the decency to tell me.”
He walked out.
---
The next morning, the tension had not dissipated. Aurora sat on the edge of her bed, running her fingers through her hair. Luca hadn’t returned that night. Damon was long gone too. The apartment felt like a hollow shell of the emotional cyclone that had passed through.
Her phone buzzed. A message from Caleb.
Come to the office. We have a situation.
Aurora frowned. She dressed quickly and headed out, her mind still reeling from everything that had transpired.
When she arrived at Caleb’s office, she found him pacing.
“What’s going on?”
“We’ve been compromised,” he said grimly. “Someone leaked the testimony files. Gregory’s supporters are painting us as traitors. They’ve launched a smear campaign against you and Damon.”
Her stomach twisted. “How the hell—?”
“That’s not all. Celeste came to me this morning. She’s worried about Damon. Says he’s not himself. That he’s spiraling.”
Aurora hesitated. “What do you mean spiraling?”
“Drinking. Isolating himself. He barely speaks. She said last night he disappeared for hours and came back in worse shape than ever.”
Aurora’s heartbeat spiked. “Where is he now?”
“With Celeste. But she’s scared. She doesn’t think she can reach him anymore.”
The words hit her like a slap.
Caleb eyed her carefully. “Aurora… you’re not over him either, are you?”
She didn’t answer.
He sighed. “Look, whatever’s going on between you two—put it aside for now. We have a press conference in two days. We need to get ahead of this.”
She nodded, pushing aside the ache in her chest. “What do you need me to do?”
---
Later that day, Aurora sat with Luca’s jacket on her lap. He hadn’t come home, but he’d left it behind. She didn’t know if that meant he was coming back or not.
Her phone buzzed again.
Blocked Number: He needs you. You know that.
She stared at the message, fingers trembling. Who had sent it?
Moments later, another buzz.
Blocked Number: Before it’s too late.
She grabbed her coat.
---
Damon sat on the balcony of Celeste’s penthouse apartment, a bottle of scotch in hand. The skyline blurred before him. He barely registered the sound of the doorbell, or Celeste answering it.
But then he heard her voice.
“Aurora?” Celeste asked, surprised.
Damon turned, and there she was.
Beautiful.
Furious.
And exactly what he needed.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she demanded, striding past Celeste.
He stood slowly, unsteady. “Aurora…”
She slapped the bottle out of his hand. “You don’t get to self-destruct. Not after everything we’ve been through. Not after we got out.”
He stared at her. “Why are you here?”
“Because you’re still part of my story,” she whispered.
Celeste stood awkwardly in the background, her face a picture of heartbreak.
“I’m not your responsibility,” Damon said.
“No,” Aurora replied. “You’re not. But you’re still in my heart, and I’m not going to sit by while you fall apart.”
Tears welled in his eyes. “I thought I lost you.”
“You did,” she said softly. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t find something again. Even if it’s just… closure.”
Celeste turned and walked away, quietly closing the door behind her.
Damon and Aurora stood in the quiet, the night folding around them like a blanket of truth.
He reached out.
She didn’t pull away.