Chapter 6 Her Departure, A City Silenced

The termination papers arrived the next morning, delivered by Thomas, Damian's solemn-faced legal counsel. Nora signed them without reading the details, her hand surprisingly steady despite the hollowness in her chest.

"He's in meetings all day," Thomas said, answering her unasked question. "The car will take you wherever you wish to go."

"Thank you." She handed back the signed documents. "Please tell him... tell him I'm sorry it ended this way."

Thomas's professional mask slipped slightly. "Ms. Belmont—Nora—are you certain about this? Mr. Helios has been... different since you came into his life. Better."

She smiled sadly. "Sometimes better isn't enough."

Within hours, she had packed her essential belongings. The mansion staff watched with poorly concealed confusion as she directed the driver to take her to a modest hotel on the outskirts of Osiria. She had enough money now to start fresh anywhere, but something kept her from leaving the city entirely.

Perhaps some foolish part of her still hoped.

By evening, her absence from the mansion had been noted. Her phone buzzed with messages from Miranda, from the documentary producers, even from Lily Belmont. None from Damian.

She turned off her phone and ordered room service, trying to ignore the ache that had settled permanently in her chest. This was for the best. Clean breaks healed faster.

---

Damian stared at the termination papers on his desk, Nora's elegant signature a finality he couldn't process. The mansion felt cavernous without her presence—her laughter no longer echoing down hallways, her scent fading from rooms she had brought to life.

"Sir?" Miranda hovered in the doorway. "The documentary producers are demanding a statement about Ms. Belmont's departure. And the board has called an emergency meeting for tomorrow morning."

"Tell them both to go to hell."

"Sir—"

"Fine." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tell the producers we're taking a brief hiatus for personal reasons. Tell the board I'll be there."

After Miranda left, he poured himself a drink, staring out at the city lights. How had he miscalculated so badly? He had built an empire on understanding people's motivations, on anticipating their moves. Yet he had completely failed to see Nora's retreat coming.

Or perhaps he had seen it and chosen to ignore the signs, too caught up in the unfamiliar territory of genuine emotion.

His phone rang—Victor.

"Cousin," Victor's voice oozed false sympathy. "I just heard the unfortunate news. Your bride has flown the coop with mere weeks to go. How... inconvenient for you."

Damian's grip tightened on his glass. "What do you want, Victor?"

"Just to offer my condolences. And to remind you that Uncle's will was quite specific about maintaining a stable marriage for the full year. The board is already questioning whether your arrangement meets the spirit of his requirements."

"My marriage is none of your concern."

"Your marriage appears to be over," Victor countered smoothly. "Which makes the company very much my concern."

After hanging up, Damian hurled his glass against the wall, watching the amber liquid drip like blood down the pristine surface. Victor was right—without Nora, the inheritance was in jeopardy. Everything he had worked for hung in the balance.

Yet all he could think about was the look in her eyes when she had asked to end their contract. Not triumph or relief, but fear—bone-deep and familiar. The same fear he had glimpsed when she first arrived at his office, a woman who had lost everything once and couldn't bear to risk it happening again.

He had called her a coward, but wasn't he equally guilty? He had hidden behind the contract, behind the performance, never fully admitting what she had come to mean to him until it was too late.

---

By morning, Nora's disappearance had become front-page news. "HELIOS BRIDE VANISHES" screamed the headlines, accompanied by speculation ranging from marital troubles to kidnapping. Social media exploded with competing theories, the public that had followed their love story now divided between those who blamed Damian and those who condemned Nora.

In her hotel room, Nora watched the coverage with growing horror. What had been a private decision had become a public spectacle. Worse, Damian was being portrayed as either villain or victim, his company's stock plummeting as investors reacted to the uncertainty.

Her phone, briefly turned on to check messages, rang immediately. Miranda.

"Where are you?" the PR director demanded without preamble. "We need you back here immediately."

"I can't come back, Miranda. It's over."

"You don't understand. The board is meeting right now. Victor is making his move. Without you, Damian could lose everything."

Guilt twisted in Nora's stomach. "He'll find a way. He always does."

"Not this time." Miranda's voice softened. "Nora, he's not fighting. He hasn't even presented a defense to the board. It's like he's... given up."

The thought of Damian Helios—the man who had built an empire through sheer force of will—surrendering without a fight was inconceivable. Unless...

"What time is the meeting scheduled to end?" Nora asked, an idea forming.

"Noon. They're voting on whether to honor the inheritance terms or transfer control to Victor."

Nora checked her watch. Two hours. "I need a favor."

---

The Helios Media Group headquarters buzzed with unusual tension. Employees whispered in corners as Nora strode through the lobby, ignoring the startled glances and hastily raised phones capturing her unexpected appearance.

The security guard recognized her immediately. "Mrs. Helios! We weren't expecting you."

"Is the board meeting still in session?"

"Yes, ma'am. Twentieth floor, main conference room."

The elevator ride gave her time to doubt her impulsive decision. What if she was wrong? What if Damian truly wanted her gone? But Miranda's words echoed in her mind: He's not fighting.

The Damian she knew would never surrender—unless he had lost something that mattered more than the company.

The board room doors were closed when she arrived, a cluster of assistants and junior executives hovering nearby. Through the glass walls, she could see Damian seated at the head of the table, his expression impassive as Victor spoke animatedly to the assembled board members.

Without hesitation, she pushed open the doors.

Every head turned as she entered. Victor faltered mid-sentence, his triumphant expression souring. But Nora had eyes only for Damian, whose face registered shock before settling into careful neutrality.

"Mrs. Helios," the board chairman recovered first. "This is a closed meeting."

"I apologize for the interruption," she said, her voice steadier than she felt. "But I believe you're discussing matters that concern me directly."

Victor recovered his composure. "Your timing is impeccable, Nora. We were just discussing the... unusual circumstances of your departure. And whether your 'marriage' to my cousin meets the requirements specified in my uncle's will."

She met his gaze coolly. "I'm aware of the requirements."

"Then you understand our concern." The chairman gestured to the termination papers on the table. "These documents indicate your marriage was effectively dissolved yesterday. The will requires a full year."

"Those papers were never filed," she replied, heart racing as she improvised. "They were drawn up, yes, but after further consideration..."

Her eyes found Damian's across the room. He was watching her with an intensity that made her breath catch.

"After further consideration," she continued, "I realized that walking away would be a mistake."

Victor scoffed. "How convenient. The prodigal wife returns just in time to secure the inheritance."

"This isn't about the inheritance." She took a step toward Damian, who remained unnervingly still. "This is about something I should have had the courage to say before I left."

The room seemed to hold its breath as she approached him. Up close, she could see the shadows under his eyes, the strain in his features that spoke of a sleepless night.

"I was afraid," she said softly, for his ears alone. "Afraid that what we had wasn't real. That once the contract ended, so would your interest in me."

Something flickered in his eyes—hope, perhaps, or wariness.

"Mrs. Helios," the chairman interrupted. "While this is all very touching, we need clarity. Is your marriage genuine, or was it merely a convenient arrangement to satisfy the will's requirements?"

The question hung in the air. Damian finally stood, his gaze never leaving Nora's face.

"I believe I can answer that." His voice carried effortlessly across the room as he addressed the board. "When my grandfather included that marriage clause in his will, I was furious. I saw it as an antiquated attempt to control my life from beyond the grave."

He moved around the table, closing the distance between himself and Nora.

"I approached it as I would any business problem. I found a solution that met the technical requirements while allowing me to maintain control." A rueful smile touched his lips. "What I didn't account for was Nora herself."

His hand reached for hers, fingers intertwining. "I've built my career on calculated decisions. On never letting emotion cloud my judgment. And then I made the most miscalculated decision of my life—I fell in love with my wife."

Gasps and murmurs rippled through the room. Victor's face darkened with fury.

"This is absurd," he sputtered. "You expect us to believe—"

"I don't care what you believe." Damian's voice cut through the room like steel. "For the first time in my life, I don't care about the company, or the inheritance, or what anyone in this room thinks."

He turned fully to Nora, his hands framing her face with a tenderness that made her heart stutter. "I lied to everyone in this room. I lied to the public. For months, I even lied to myself. But I'm done lying."

His voice dropped, intimate despite their audience. "I love you, Nora. Not for a contract, not for a year, but for as long as you'll have me. If that costs me the company, so be it."

Tears blurred her vision as she reached up to touch his face. "You would give it all up? Everything you've worked for?"

"In a heartbeat." The certainty in his voice left no room for doubt. "You were right to question what was real between us. I should have told you long before now."

The board room had fallen silent, the members watching with expressions ranging from shock to embarrassment at witnessing such a private moment.

The chairman cleared his throat. "Well. This is... unprecedented."

Victor slammed his hand on the table. "This is a performance! They're manipulating you!"

"Perhaps," the chairman acknowledged. "But I knew Alexander Helios for forty years. He didn't include that marriage clause to torture his grandson. He did it because he believed Damian needed something more than success to truly lead this company."

He turned to Damian. "I believe your grandfather would be satisfied with what he's seeing today."

The vote that followed was almost anticlimactic. Victor stormed out before it was complete, but the outcome was clear: Damian would retain control of Helios Media Group, the terms of the will considered fulfilled in both letter and spirit.

As the board members filed out, leaving them alone in the glass-walled room, Nora finally asked the question that had been burning in her heart.

"Did you mean it? All of it?"

Damian's answer was to pull her into his arms, his kiss leaving no doubt about the truth of his declaration. When they finally broke apart, breathless, he rested his forehead against hers.

"I meant every word," he murmured. "Though I had planned a more private setting for that particular confession."

She laughed softly. "Since when do we do anything the conventional way?"

"Fair point." His expression grew serious. "But I need to know—why did you come back? Was it for me, or for the contract?"

"I came back because I realized something when I left." She traced the line of his jaw with her fingertips. "I realized that I'd spent my whole life afraid of being abandoned again. Of not being enough. So I left before you could leave me."

His arms tightened around her. "I would never—"

"I know that now." She smiled through tears. "I love you, Damian. Contract or no contract."

Outside the glass walls, employees had gathered, phones raised to capture the moment. By evening, the image of Osiria's most powerful media mogul embracing his once-estranged wife would dominate every social platform, accompanied by hashtags like #HeliasLoveIsReal and #ContractToForever.

But inside that moment, sealed in each other's arms, neither Damian nor Nora was performing for anyone but each other—their most genuine truth finally spoken aloud.