Paper Walls

Aria Bell stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of her tiny apartment, watching the rain streak down the glass like quiet tears. The city below buzzed with muted chaos—honking horns, blurred headlights, the kind of restless energy that never really slept. But inside, her world had fallen strangely still.

She hadn’t seen Damian Voss in three days.

Not since he’d challenged her, unraveled her composure, and walked away like he hadn’t just peeled back her defenses and left her questioning everything she thought she knew about herself. Every night since then, she’d replayed their conversation in her head. His words echoed louder than they should have.

“You don’t understand this world as much as you think you do.”

She hated how much it got to her. Hated that a man she barely knew could unsettle her with so little effort. She had spent most of her life learning how to survive without relying on anyone, and yet Damian—aloof, commanding, infuriating Damian—was breaking through walls she didn’t remember building.

When her phone buzzed on the counter, she jumped.

She crossed the small kitchen and checked the screen. A message from her part-time manager at the café.

“Double shift today. Need you at 2 instead of 4. Can you make it?”

Aria sighed and quickly typed out a yes. It wasn’t like she had plans.

By the time her shift ended, she was exhausted. Her feet ached, her apron smelled like espresso and fryer oil, and her curls—usually pinned up—had slipped loose and clung to her damp neck. She was locking up the side entrance when a sleek black car pulled to the curb.

Her breath caught.

She didn’t have to see the man inside to know who it was. The windows were tinted, but her instincts didn’t lie. Sure enough, the back window rolled down, revealing Damian Voss in his usual navy suit and tailored coat, his expression unreadable.

“You're soaked,” he said, his voice cool and precise.

Aria blinked at him, shivering slightly under the weight of his gaze. “That tends to happen when it rains.”

“Get in.”

She frowned. “Why?”

“Because you’ve had a long day, and I want to talk to you.”

She hesitated, the little voice in her head whispering caution. But curiosity—dangerous, insistent curiosity—was louder.

Aria climbed into the car.

It smelled like leather and something expensive she couldn’t name. Damian didn’t say a word as the driver pulled away, the city blurring past them in streaks of light and shadow.

She glanced at him. “Where are we going?”

“Somewhere warm. You need food. And a real conversation.”

“I didn’t ask for either.”

He turned to her, and for a moment, his mask slipped. His eyes softened, just barely. “You didn’t have to.”

The place he took her wasn’t some five-star restaurant like she expected. Instead, it was a quiet, hidden spot near the water, the kind of place that didn’t show up on maps. Warm lighting, low music, private booths. It was intimate in a way that made Aria both cautious and curious.

They sat in a corner booth near a window. The waiter didn’t hand them menus. Apparently, Damian didn’t need one.

“You come here often?” she asked, watching him.

“When I need to think.”

“And you thought bringing me here would help?”

He studied her for a long moment. “You’re not what I expected.”

She folded her arms, leaning back. “What did you expect? Some wide-eyed girl desperate to escape her boring life?”

“No.” He leaned forward, resting his arms on the table. “I expected someone who would either flinch at my world or chase it. You’ve done neither.”

“I’m not a chess piece,” she said quietly. “I’ve spent too long being one.”

His brow lifted, intrigued. “And who moved you, Aria? Who controlled the board before you got tired of playing?”

She went still.

That question struck deeper than she anticipated. She thought of her mother—her warnings, her exhaustion. The string of disappointments that had taught Aria to never expect anyone to stay. Her father’s absence. The jobs that made her feel invisible. The invisible weight of just surviving.

“No one,” she finally said. “And everyone.”

Damian didn’t press. He just sat there, as if giving her space to unravel on her own time.

When the food arrived, she was grateful for the distraction. They ate in silence for a while—surprisingly normal, even comfortable. But beneath the surface, something simmered.

She couldn’t pretend she wasn’t drawn to him. The way his voice dropped when he said her name. The way he looked at her like he saw more than she wanted him to. Like he didn’t care about her past or her paycheck. Like he noticed everything she tried to hide.

And yet... he was dangerous. Not in the physical sense, but in the emotional. Damian Voss was a man with walls taller than her own, and power she didn’t understand.

After they finished eating, she reached for her coat.

“I should go.”

He didn’t stop her.

But when she stood, his voice stopped her in her tracks.

“Come work for me, Aria.”

She turned slowly. “Excuse me?”

His expression was calm, but there was something flickering behind his eyes. “I have a position. One that suits you. Something that could change everything.”

“And what exactly would I be doing?” she asked, suspicion rising.

He rose too, walking toward her with deliberate ease. “Shadowing. Research. I’ve seen your résumé. You’re wasted behind a coffee bar.”

“Why me?”

He stopped just in front of her, his voice low and direct. “Because you’re smart. Observant. And you’re not afraid to push back.”

She stared up at him, searching his face. “This isn’t about a job, is it?”

A pause. Then: “No. It’s not.”

Aria’s heart thudded.

And before she could speak, Damian added, “But it could be. If that’s what you need it to be.”

The air thickened between them. The edge of something unspoken.

She

didn’t say yes.

But she didn’t walk away either.

Not yet.