The headlines exploded before dawn.
By 6 a.m., it was everywhere.
BREAKING: Billionaire Damien Voss Secretly Married to Lawrence Heiress in Shocking Contract Marriage!
Exclusive: Aria Lawrence Pregnant with Damien Voss's Child Photos Leaked!
Revenge, Romance, and a Baby: The Secrets Behind the Voss-Lawrence Union
Aria woke to her phone buzzing uncontrollably.
Missed calls.
Hundreds of messages.
Social media mentions flooding in.
#VossAffair
#LawrenceBaby
#ContractLove
All trending.
She sat up, heart racing.
"What—what is happening?" she whispered.
Damien walked in, phone pressed to his ear, face like steel.
"Yes," he said. "Pull all statements. I want full media blackout in forty-eight hours. Shut down every leak."
He ended the call and met her eyes.
"It's out," he said quietly. "Everything."
Within an hour, reporters surrounded Voss Manor.
Cameras flashed at the gates.
Drones hovered over the gardens.
Paparazzi climbed trees just to get a glimpse of Aria through the windows.
Inside, she stood frozen at the center of it all.
"I can't breathe," she whispered. "I didn't ask for this."
"I know," Damien said gently, placing a protective arm around her. "But this is what he wanted. To humiliate you. To humiliate us."
Her eyes burned. "They know about the contract. About the baby. They're saying I trapped you for money."
He touched her chin, lifting her face. "Don't read a single word. This isn't on you."
"But it feels like it is."
Damien looked away briefly, jaw tense. "I should've stopped it sooner. I underestimated Kieran."
Aria clenched her fists. "What do we do now?"
His voice was firm. "We fight back."
Two hours later, Damien called an emergency press conference.
The media gathered outside the gates. Security kept them at bay as Damien stepped in front of the cameras.
He looked powerful. Composed. Dangerous.
"Today, you've all seen headlines built on half-truths and poison," he began.
"But let me be clear. Yes I married Aria Lawrence. And yes, our marriage began as a business contract."
A murmur went through the crowd.
"But what no one has told you is this Aria is the bravest, strongest, and most compassionate woman I've ever met."
A hush.
"She didn't trap me. I pursued her. I proposed. And the child we're expecting was not a strategy. It's a miracle. One I intend to protect with everything I have."
He paused, then continued:
"This attack on our privacy was orchestrated by Kieran Maddox—a disgraced former partner. He has violated federal laws and will face the consequences."
Then, Damien looked directly into the camera.
"And to Aria if you're watching this from inside our home I love you. Not for the contract. Not for the family name. But for who you are, and the fire you've survived."
The camera flashes went wild.
The internet broke again this time in Damien's favor.
Inside the house, Aria watched it all from the living room.
Tears rolled silently down her cheeks.
It was the first time he said it.
Publicly.
To the world.
I love you.
Not as a weapon. Not as a strategy. As a truth.
And she believed him.
That night, the gates were locked. The press pushed back.
Inside the mansion, Damien found Aria standing barefoot on the stairs, wrapped in a robe.
"I saw the press conference," she whispered.
He looked nervous for the first time. "And?"
She stepped closer. "I believed every word."
He exhaled slowly. "I meant every word."
Then she touched his chest. "Even the last part?"
He took her hand and pressed it over his heart. "Especially that part."
And when he kissed her—it wasn't for cameras or contracts or secrets.
It was for love.
But while the world calmed for a moment… the enemy was still watching.
Kieran Maddox sat in a dark hotel room, sipping whiskey and scrolling through headlines.
"That was a good speech," he muttered.
Then he turned to the woman on the couch behind him.
Long legs. Red lipstick.
Vanessa.
"He's in deeper than I thought," Kieran said.
Vanessa smirked. "I told you. The girl changed him."
Kieran chuckled. "Good. That makes him weaker."
He raised his glass.
"Now let's hit him where it really hurts."