- 19 minutes ago
Ten Days Before He Steals My Soul Billionaire Romance
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00:01My fianc, Damon, gave me an exquisite pendant, a chain of dark silver set with a stone so
00:08black it gleamed.
00:09What I didn't know was that it was a soul stone.
00:13It pried my soul out of my body.
00:17Meanwhile, he stood devotedly at the side of the woman who had stolen my body.
00:22As they held each other, as he tenderly kissed the woman in his arms,
00:26Selina, I love you.
00:28Bear me five children.
00:30And all I could do, in my pale spectral form, was scream beside them.
00:34How dare you give my body to that whore!
00:37You actually used a soul stone to rip out my soul so she could wear me like a coat!
00:42If I get another chance, I swear I'll burn you both to ash!
00:47The words left me, and my body began to burn.
00:51I thought it was over, until that sickening voice whispered in my ear again.
00:56Arya, this necklace has been passed down through the Vos family for generations.
01:01Now that we're engaged...
01:06No one is more deserving of it than you.
01:09Wait.
01:10Why was Damon speaking to me again?
01:12My palm was ice-cold.
01:15The exquisite necklace lay quietly in the hollow of my hand.
01:18I'd actually gone back, to the moment that bastard had given me the soul stone.
01:23In my last life, Damon's mistress, Selina, was dying.
01:28He bought a soul stone from an evil witch to save her.
01:31The moment Selina died, he forced her soul into my body.
01:36After that, Damon and Selina used my body to live as lovers.
01:41Arya.
01:42I'd zoned out.
01:44Arya.
01:44Damon called my name again.
01:49Damon, I'll wear it every single day.
01:55Arya, please take good care of it.
01:57I nodded, and made up some excuse to leave.
02:00Damon had gotten what he wanted.
02:02He didn't try to keep me even a moment longer.
02:06Back in the car, I tossed the necklace into the deepest pocket of my handbag.
02:11Then I made a phone call.
02:15Find me someone dying.
02:17Ugly.
02:18Body crawling with disease.
02:19So Damon and Selina wanted their happy ending.
02:22Status.
02:24Glory.
02:25Love.
02:26They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
02:34They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
02:34They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
02:37They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
02:41They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
02:46They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
02:48They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
02:49They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
02:49They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
02:50They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
02:50They weren't going to taste a single one of them.
03:0110 days, 10 days until the moment in my last life when my soul had been torn out and they
03:07had finally found me a suitable candidate when they brought the dying woman before me
03:12everyone in the room hesitated miss ashford we bought bionic out of one of those underground
03:16places the doctors say there's nothing to be done she's carrying all kinds of disease
03:20they'd combed the entire city she was the only fit the woman's face was caked with grime
03:26i sent everyone else out i crouched in front of her and told her exactly what i needed to do
03:32with her
03:32body i knew better than anyone what it felt like to have your soul stolen so i wasn't going to
03:38force
03:38anyone not even for the kind of money that would have set her family up for generations after you're
03:45done with this body can you burn it to ash
03:52that way my parents can't sell my body when i'm gone just like they sold me to that place underground
03:58i want them in hell i understood her instantly do you want revenge can i
04:07i'm the heir to the ashford family whatever you want i'll give you it was the last thing i could
04:13do
04:13for her thank you miss ashford use my body however you need let those bastards die
04:23i left the necklace beside bianca and had her settled into comfort this time i wanted to watch
04:31when selena came back in a body rotting at the seams would damon still love her then
04:50see you there is a very nice hit and I'd like to see that before i turn into a break
04:51to her as well i let her make it feel that when i was like that the mosque's
05:05in the heart of the church i think that there was a significant amount of time
05:11and i i would i make it feel very important and i would need to have time
05:41Getting Bianca settled took longer than I planned.
05:45It was late by the time I made it home.
05:47I ran straight into Kieran in the entry hall.
05:50He'd only just gotten it himself, his coat still on, keys in his hand.
05:54His face darkened the moment he saw me.
05:56Coming home this late, aren't you afraid of running into trouble out there?
06:00I'd grown up at Kieran's side, but he wasn't my blood.
06:02He had come to us at twelve, after a fire took everyone he had.
06:06My parents took him in and raised him as their own.
06:08He was cold on the outside, warmer underneath, severe with himself in a way he never was with me.
06:13But hearing those familiar words again, after everything, the tears came before anything else.
06:19Don't cry. I just don't want you getting hurt out there.
06:23With my face buried in his shirt, I didn't see what was in his eyes.
06:26The deep tenderness he was no longer fast enough to hide.
06:30By the time I pulled back to wipe my eyes, his expression had reset.
06:34I know.
06:36My parents had drifted in from the front room at some point, seeing me in tears.
06:40They assumed Kieran was the cause and were about to scold him when I threw myself into their arms.
06:45In this life, I was a daughter who had been away from her parents for too long.
06:49I had missed them so badly, I didn't tell them what had happened.
06:52I knew my father.
06:53The moment he found out, he would have dragged Damon out and shoot him dead.
06:57But I didn't want Damon to die that easily.
07:00Across the room, Kieran was watching me very quietly.
07:03The kind of look that didn't belong on a brother.
07:06The kind that belonged to a man watching the woman he loved.
07:09Then it was gone.
07:10So quickly, I thought I'd imagined it.
07:35But I'm not afraid to get to my people talking.
07:40This is why I liked my son мог?
07:40The real version would be my baby.
07:40No?
07:44The thing, do you want me to come here?
07:58Because he's just a possessive.
07:58I'm on the right.
07:59There's a love.
07:59He didn't want me to go on any way.
08:04A few days passed like that.
08:06The day had come.
08:07The same day my soul was stolen from me in my last life.
08:10I feigned collapse.
08:11At exactly the same time, Selena died.
08:14After a full day and night of feigned unconsciousness, I slowly came to.
08:18Damon was at my bedside, his hand already holding mine.
08:21Arya, how are you feeling?
08:23Are you feeling any better?
08:25His eyes were full of hope, threaded with nerves.
08:28My father, my mother, Kieran.
08:30All of them stood gathered around the bed.
08:32Kieran was the one closest to the door, arms crossed.
08:35The line of his jaw set hard.
08:36He hadn't taken his eyes off Damon since I'd opened mine.
08:39He hadn't taken his eyes off the hand wrapped around my fingers, either.
08:43Something kept catching me off guard.
08:45He wasn't quite the Kieran I'd carried in my head.
08:47In my last life, I must have missed something.
08:49My parents only took Damon for a man genuinely worried about his fiancée.
08:54They didn't hold his overreach against him.
08:56I stared at Damon without a word.
08:58His brow knit slightly.
08:59What is it?
09:01Why aren't you saying anything?
09:02I looked up at him.
09:04I want to eat strawberry cake.
09:07Damon's pupils contracted sharply.
09:09Don't you hate strawberries the most?
09:10The hand Damon was holding mine with began to tremble.
09:14You've remembered it wrong.
09:15Strawberry has always been my favorite.
09:17Selina is the one who hates strawberries the most.
09:20At that exact moment, a filthy, disheveled woman burst through the door.
09:24Damon, I'm back.
09:25But what is this?
09:26Why have I turned into this?
09:50I reasoned this is.
09:52Someone kept incompetent.
09:55I wondering.
09:59I asked an answer from her,
09:59she asked me what you said.
10:00What are you doing?
10:09I'm looking forward to trying more.
10:09I don't think so.
10:13I'm looking forward to losing my friends.
10:14Whatever way up you're doing is you thinking of building a Neil?
10:20.
10:50.
11:20.
11:50.
12:20.
12:50.
12:51.
12:55.
12:56.
13:07Damon's face went white.
13:08He saw the state Selena was in.
13:10And for one unguarded moment, something soft crossed his eyes.
13:14He was already reaching for her when his bodyguard rushed up.
13:17Mr. Voss, she looks filthy. She's clearly sick. You don't want to catch anything.
13:20The man's voice carried. Every person in the room heard it.
13:23I saw a flash of disgust flicker through Damon's eyes.
13:26His outstretched hand hung in midair.
13:28Then he pulled it back, smoothly, without a word.
13:31He shifted half a step backward.
13:33Selena felt it.
13:35She started screaming.
13:36You're disgusted by me! You are, aren't you?
13:40Damon, it's me! It's Selena! You're Selena!
13:43No! I should be a daughter of the Ashford family!
13:46I'm Aria Ashford!
13:48Damon's jaw tightened.
13:49Get this lunatook out of here.
13:51Now!
13:52He snapped at the bodyguard.
13:54Selena stared at him like she couldn't process what she was seeing.
13:58But before she could say another word, the bodyguard had already dragged her away.
14:02Damon turned to me.
14:25I don't understand.
14:33She's a dumb girl.
14:33I don't want to do it!
14:33Isn't her giving her back and forth?
14:34I thought it was, for her now.
14:35She's a good girl.
14:35She's a good girl.
14:35In the last minute.
14:36I've had my own picture.
14:37And she's been a good girl.
14:55Aria, why aren't you wearing the necklace I gave you?
14:59My mother is planning to visit.
15:01She'd be so pleased to see it on you.
15:05I reached under my pillow and pulled out a chain.
15:12Wait, is this-
15:13God, I grabbed the wrong one.
15:15This is the one Karen gave me.
15:17I pressed my face into a look of pure guilt.
15:20It was nearly identical to the one Damon had given me.
15:23The only difference was a slightly paler stone.
15:26Damon was staring at the necklace in my hand like he wanted to burn a hole straight through it.
15:31Damon, I forgot to mention, Kian had given me a nearly identical necklace a while back.
15:38The day you gave me yours, I ran into a homeless woman on the way home, so I gave her
15:42Kian's to sell for money.
15:43I was tired. I must have mixed them up. I'm sorry.
15:46The moment he understood, Damon's expression curdled.
15:50Aria, how could you just hand away something that valuable?
15:54I lowered my eyes and let my voice go soft.
15:57It just hit me.
15:59That woman who burst in is the one I gave it to.
16:14Damon's face twisted through several expressions at once.
16:17He worked very hard to keep them all inside.
16:20I pressed on.
16:23Should I have the bodyguard bring her back?
16:26She could return the necklace?
16:28No.
16:28He said it fast.
16:30Absolutely not.
16:31It's just a necklace.
16:33You're more upset about the necklace than about Aria.
16:35Damon, do you actually love her?
16:37Kieran had stepped in.
16:38He came around to my side of the bed and didn't sit.
16:41He stood between me and Damon, one hand braced on the headboard above my pillow.
16:45The line of him was a wall.
16:47Damon backpedaled immediately.
16:48That necklace has been in my family for generations.
16:52I was only worried...
16:53If it's a family urn loom, I'll have someone track down that woman and retrieve it.
16:57Aria is tired.
16:58You should go.
16:59Kieran cut him off cleanly and showed him the door.
17:02Whatever Damon felt about it.
17:03He had no choice but to bow and take his leave.
17:06After he was gone, Kieran didn't move for a moment.
17:09Then he turned.
17:10Finally.
17:11And sat down on the edge of my bed.
17:13Closer than he usually let himself sit.
17:21What exactly are you doing?
17:23He was right to ask.
17:25He had never given me any necklace.
17:27The one I'd just shown Damon was a copy.
17:30I'd had it made to match his.
17:33Then borrowed Kieran's name for it.
17:36I told him everything.
17:39Every piece of Damon's plan laid out start to finish.
17:44Kieran went very still.
17:45His fist closed until his knuckles cracked.
17:48Damon Vos has gone too far.
17:51Don't be afraid, Aria.
17:53I'll pull every Vos contract today.
17:57Anyone who keeps working with him is against us.
17:59I grabbed his sleeve.
18:02But isn't that too easy for him?
18:05Kieran.
18:06Let me handle this.
18:08He used dark magic on me.
18:11I want him to pay it back.
18:15Personally.
18:16In full.
18:18In full.
18:20With his own hands and his own body.
18:30With his own hands and his own body.
18:34Let him walk through.
18:35By utilizing you.
18:48We have a nice life.
18:49.
19:19.
19:49.
20:40Kieran held my gaze for a long moment.
20:42Then, very slowly, he covered my hand with his.
20:47His palm was warm.
20:49Steadier than I'd expected.
20:51His thumb moved across the back of my hand.
20:54Whatever you need, I'll do it.
20:57I let him pretend it hadn't happened.
21:00For now, I walked him through the entire plan.
21:04Asked him to keep it from our parents, for now.
21:07To avoid suspicion, Kieran even sank a hundred million into Vos.
21:12Penance for losing the necklace.
21:14That was how the world read it.
21:16Everyone said Aria.
21:18Ashford was hopelessly devoted to Damon Vos.
21:21Everyone said even the Ashford family had a soft spot for him.
21:25Damon soaked up the false craze.
21:27Meanwhile, he was quietly tearing the city apart to find that homeless woman.
21:33She was, after all, the woman he loved.
21:36Word came from the people I'd sent to keep an eye on Selena.
21:39After Selena woke up inside Bianca's body, she refused to accept it.
21:54Kieran held my gaze for a long moment.
21:56Then, very slowly.
22:13.
22:14.
22:15.
22:45.
23:15.
23:25I'm Arya!
23:27I'm Arya Ashford!
23:31No, I'm Selina, the daughter of a wealthy merchant!
23:34She was out of her mind trying to find Daemon,
23:37telling anyone who'd listen that she was the true soulmate of the Vos heir.
23:42I knew Selina wouldn't survive long in that body.
23:45The soul stone wasn't foolproof.
23:47It could swap souls.
23:49But if the original soul was strong enough,
23:51there was still a chance it could claw its way back into its own body.
23:54In my last life, to make sure I could never return.
23:58Daemon had paid the witch a second fortune.
24:01She cast a binding with me.
24:03Something meant to keep my soul locked out.
24:05But my will was too strong.
24:07Selina couldn't hold against it.
24:09In the end, she was the one who paid the price.
24:13She only lasted a few years.
24:15Then she died.
24:17This time around, Bianca had already wanted to leave this world long before any of this.
24:23Her soul had probably found its peace long ago.
24:26Selina trapped in a body that was already breaking down.
24:29She wouldn't last long either.
24:31I read through the report my people had delivered.
24:34Then I dropped it into the fire.
24:36If they're truly soulmates, how could I stand in the way?
24:39I had Daemon's movements fed quietly to Selina.
24:42The next day, the Vos heir was caught in public with a homeless woman.
24:45The story was all over the city by nightfall.
24:54That morning, I was in my car, parked early on the street.
24:58Daemon would have to pass.
24:59It didn't take long.
25:00Selina appeared at the far end of the road filthy, hair matted.
25:03She launched herself at Daemon the moment she spotted him, sobbing and grabbing at his coat.
25:08I finally found you!
25:10Why have you been hiding from me?
25:12Daemon startled back.
25:13The smell hit him, and he couldn't quite control the nausea that crossed his face.
25:18Still, he caught her by the arm.
25:19Calm down.
25:21Come with me.
25:22Quietly.
25:24People were stopping around them.
25:26Where did she come from?
25:27The smell alone.
25:30That hair, and whatever that is on her face.
25:34The Vos heir?
25:35How did he get mixed up with someone like that?
25:38Selina's fingers dug into his sleeve, and wouldn't let go.
25:42She was crying harder now.
25:43You're my lover.
25:45You can't leave me.
25:46You're all I have left.
25:48Daemon tried to shake her hand free.
25:50A few people had their phones out, filming without trying to hide it.
25:53She held on like it was the only thing keeping her from drowning.
25:56He bent toward her, voice low, face strained with the effort of staying controlled.
26:01Let go.
26:02Let go.
26:03Let go so you can keep avoiding me?
26:06Daemon, pause!
26:07You liar!
26:10Before anything else could happen,
26:13a man shoved through the crowd.
26:17He backhanded her across the face.
26:25Then the others were on her too, kicking, hitting.
26:29I paid good money for you from your own parents.
26:32You think you can just run?
26:49Let go.
26:51Let go.
26:52Let go.
26:53Let go.
26:56Let go.
26:56Let go.
26:57Let go.
26:57Let go.
26:58Let go.
26:58Damon couldn't watch.
27:00He ordered them to stop.
27:01Stop it!
27:06I'd seen enough.
27:07I stepped out of the car and arranged my face into pleasant surprise.
27:14I walked up to Damon.
27:23Damon?
27:24What are you doing here?
27:26He hadn't expected me.
27:28The panic behind his eyes was brief.
27:33I was just passing through.
27:36He wanted me gone.
27:37Saw those men going after her.
27:39Couldn't let it stand.
27:40Let my gaze drift down to Selena.
27:42She was on the ground,
27:44staring up at me with eyes threaded red.
27:46It's you!
27:47You took everything from me!
27:49You took everything from me!
27:50My whole life!
27:51You stole it!
27:53I'm Area Ashford!
27:54I'm the Ashford heir!
27:58Damon stood there and listened to every word of it.
28:01He'd clearly spent a great deal of time painting Selena pictures of everything she stood to gain.
28:06Poor thing.
28:06She's completely unhinged.
28:08Someone should take her to a hospital.
28:10He'd fed her fantasy until it became an obsession.
28:15Yes.
28:16Yes.
28:17Absolutely.
28:18Let's go.
28:40Of course.
29:06Well, we did.
29:07We did.
29:07We had a swine.
29:07We can see this.
29:07The family is Sam.
29:08The family is a good thing.
29:09We're what they see.
29:09In the near the street there.
29:10We got a cool thing.
29:23Back home, I had the whole scene distributed everywhere it needed to go.
29:31Rumor had it Selena went straight to the Voss estate.
29:34David Vox, you liar! Open the door!
29:39Screaming that Damon had promised her everything, Damon had her bound and removed.
29:47He told anyone who asked that he'd never met her, that it was all slander,
29:52but the image of the Voss heir tangled up with a mystery woman on a public street was already too
29:56real to undo.
29:59The story ran on every major outlet within days.
30:02My parents were furious. They made noise about pulling our partnership with the Voss family.
30:09Out of options. Damon came to me.
30:12Arya, I don't care what anyone else thinks.
30:15But you have to believe me.
30:17He was right that he'd lost Selena for good.
30:19There was no going back to her.
30:21Now the only path forward was standing at my side.
30:24I stepped out of reach when he moved closer.
30:27Everyone's saying you don't love me.
30:30That you've been in love with someone else this whole time.
30:36I'm choosing to believe you anyway.
30:38So prove it.
30:45I will.
30:46I said it like a vow.
30:47Then left.
30:48I needed to push him to the edge.
30:50I needed to see which he'd choose.
30:53The woman he loved.
30:54Or everything he'd built.
31:27The answer came quickly.
31:29Damon sent someone to kill Selena.
31:32These past weeks, Selena had been surviving in Bianca's deteriorating body.
31:36Enduring humiliation without end.
31:38And now someone had been sent to finish her off.
31:44I saved her life.
31:46The man you gave up everything for put you in this body.
31:51And now he wants you dead.
31:55And I made sure she was there to hear the killer say Damon's name.
32:06I looked at her.
32:08She's going to go on to great things.
32:11And you are completely ruined.
32:15Selina broke.
32:16Are you going to let that stand?
32:18Ugly.
32:19Heaving sobs.
32:21She was shaking so hard she could barely stay upright.
32:24I won't let him get away with this.
32:25I won't.
32:27Good.
32:28That was exactly what I needed.
32:31I had Selena hidden and sent Damon word that she was dead.
32:35His birthday was coming up.
32:37I had a gift in mind.
32:43I had her...
32:45Vs.
32:46If we knew you had the Mambo.
32:47I have a gift in her.
32:48I don't want you to sharecomm��.
32:48You heard me.
32:49I will send Jim's name.
32:50I don't know.
32:50You have the one or have the one.
32:50How's it?
32:54Is that....
33:03Moly wanted the one forward.
33:04Is that the next thing for my Pet��다?
33:04And I know where ...
33:05I want toç±³ this shouldn't hear him now.
33:18You
33:38Damon had been trying to see me for days. I
33:41Turned him away every time
33:43He was getting desperate. Aria. Are you at home?
33:53I spread word that I was begging my father to keep working with the Voss family
34:01Meanwhile
34:02Kieran extended a formal invitation a gathering at the Ashford estate on the night of Damon's birthday
34:08The city took it as a public endorsement the Ashford's blessing Damon Voss in front of everyone
34:15Damon relaxed he walked in that evening like a man who'd already won chin up smile easy
34:22Peacock fanning out his tail
34:24Aria you really shouldn't have all this for me
34:28I raised a glass. Of course we should across the room. Kieran was watching from beside the window
34:35When Damon's hand settled at the small of my back possessively for the benefit of every photographer in the room
34:43The line of Kieran's shoulders went so tight I could see it from across the floor
34:49He looked away. The night moved on
34:52Conversation flowed
34:54Damon was swallowed up by the crowd buried under waves of congratulations
34:58He had no idea what was waiting for him
35:04I can't
35:25The Nancy
35:26Let's go
35:26The
35:47The
35:47.
36:43In a quiet corner, unnoticed, a woman in a server's uniform was slowly working
36:47her way closer. The room was deep in pleasantries when she moved. She drew a letter opener
36:52from somewhere inside her uniform and drove it straight toward a critical point on his
36:58body. The crowd that had pressed around Damon seconds ago lurched backward all at once.
37:03He tried to fight back and found that he couldn't. His limbs had nothing in them. He crumpled,
37:08writhing across the floor. The blood spread out beneath him. Something had been in the
37:13drink I'd toasted him with. The woman was Selina. I had arranged everything. She kept going.
37:20Past exhaustion. Past reason.
37:22You wanted me dead? Then you go first.
37:26When her arm finally gave out, she dropped the letter opener and raised her hand in a slow,
37:31deliberate gesture. My bodyguard materialized unhurriedly, and they restrained her. By then,
37:36the hem of Damon's deep navy suit was black with blood. He twisted his head toward me.
37:40Help me. Please. I leaned down and looked at him. Then I laughed. Just once, soft and quiet.
37:47I turned the cracked, curse, riddled pendant over in my fingers. Easy as anything.
38:02In a quiet corner, unnoticed, a woman in a server's uniform was slowly working her way closer.
38:08The room was deep in pleasantries when she moved. She drew a letter opener from somewhere inside her
38:14uniform and drove it straight toward a critical point on his body. The crowd that had pressed
38:20around Damon seconds ago lurched backward all at once. He tried to fight back and found that he couldn't.
38:55I cleared the room and brought my parents in. Kieran, too. Damon's parents arrived on their heels,
39:03having heard the commotion. They fell apart on the spot and begged my father to investigate.
39:10Damon was dragged back from unconsciousness. I had spoken to the doctor privately beforehand.
39:16No painkillers. He was still fighting to hold himself together when he opened his mouth.
39:21This is Selina's fault. That woman is poison. Aria, you have to believe me.
39:27Selina said nothing in her own defense. She just smiled. There was something bloody in it.
39:32As they dragged her out, she was still screaming.
39:35Damon! I love you! I'll find you in the next life!
39:41My parents looked on completely lost. Kieran and I exchanged a glance. We had the witch brought in.
39:47She was barely past 40. She was bent like something had been pressing down on her spine for years.
39:52But her hair had gone entirely white. Her expression was strangely calm.
39:56The Vos family saved my life once. I repaid that debt. I have no regrets.
40:02I took the cracked pendant and dropped it at Damon's feet. Like throwing out trash.
40:09Your life debt.
40:12Why did I have to be the one to pay it?
40:42All those long, rootless years, I had spent adrift as a ghost.
40:46All because of a debt that had nothing to do with me.
40:50Something seized inside my chest.
40:52Scalding.
40:53Violent.
40:54Unbearable.
40:55I was done.
40:55I pulled the gun from my bodyguard's holster and put a bullet through the witch's chest.
41:00Only when her body hit the floor did I feel like I could breathe again.
41:03The Vos family huddled together at the edge of the room, pale and silent.
41:08My parents watched me with open worry.
41:10Kieran came to stand beside me.
41:12He didn't reach for the gun.
41:13He didn't reach for my arm.
41:15He just stepped in close close enough that his body was almost pressed to mine.
41:19And stayed there.
41:19Don't worry. It's over.
41:22No one is going to hurt you again.
41:30I turned my head and looked at him.
41:32In the lamplight, his face was very still.
41:36Something in his eyes was not.
41:38It wasn't a brother's look.
41:40I let the gun go.
41:42He took it from my fingers and slipped it into his jacket.
41:45Then he walked to my parents with me.
41:47I told them everything.
41:49Every detail of Damon's scheme.
41:51Everything that had been done to me in my last life.
41:54From the beginning to the end.
41:56My mother pulled me into her arms and held on, crying too hard to speak.
42:00My father was quiet for a long time.
42:02Then he gave the order.
42:03Vos family was to be expelled from the city by Sunday.
42:06Anyone who continued to do business with them was an enemy of the Ashfords.
42:10Kieran, who had always been the composed one, handled Damon personally.
42:14He crossed the room, hauled him up off the floor, and started hitting him.
42:19He didn't stop for a long time.
42:21By the end, Damon's face was beyond recognition.
42:23When Kieran finally stepped back, his knuckles were split open.
42:27His shirt cuffs ruined.
42:29He didn't look at the body on the floor.
42:31He looked at me.
42:32I held his eyes and didn't look away.
42:40I turned my head and looked at him.
42:43In the lamplight, his face was very still.
42:46Something in his eyes was not.
42:48It wasn't a brother's look.
42:50I let the gun go.
42:52He took it from my fingers and slipped it into his jacket.
42:55Then he walked to my parents with me.
42:58I told them everything.
42:59Every day.
43:22I told him that he went to my father, my husband, my wife, and loved him.
43:30I ë°•itch.
43:30I told them I need to my offspring.
43:31I'm sorry to give him a man.
43:33I'm sorry to her life.
43:34I don't want to hold him at all.
43:34I slend him up my father, you him.
43:52.
44:22.
44:52.
45:22.
45:24I didn't have them killed right away.
45:26I had Damon and Selena locked in the same basement cell.
45:29Selena was dying.
45:30Damon was permanently broken.
45:32Every day I had them punished.
45:34Carefully.
45:35You ruined me.
45:36You ruined me first.
45:37I should have let you die back then.
45:40And I should have never loved you.
45:43Six months later, Selena died.
45:45Her eyes were wide open, fixed on Damon to the last.
45:48When I visited the cell, he was covered in dried blood.
45:51He didn't know who I was anymore.
45:53They told me he'd been left in that room with Selena's body for a full night.
45:57By the next day, he'd started laughing and crying with no reason.
46:00Talking to nothing.
46:01It turned my stomach.
46:02I am the Vos heir.
46:04I control everything.
46:06I have a beautiful marriage.
46:09My wife adores me.
46:11He owed this debt down to the last cent.
46:13And he was going to pay every single bit of it.
46:16.
46:27The day Bianca's body was cremated, a household on the outskirts of the city vanished without a trace.
46:33No one knew where they'd gone.
46:36Only my people knew.
46:38I had the couple taken to an empty room outside the crematorium.
46:41They went to their knees on the cold concrete floor.
46:44The man babbled prayers and apologies.
46:47The woman stared at nothing.
46:49Co-opt.
46:50Again.
46:50One of my people took a step forward.
46:52They dropped their heads to the ground.
46:54A dull, heavy sound.
46:56I stood to the side and gave the order, over and over, in a voice as flat as counting.
47:01These were Bianca's parents.
47:03They had sold her.
47:04Destroyed everything she was.
47:06And then, when she was dead, they had planned to sell her body to a sorcerer.
47:11One last profit squeezed from what remained of her.
47:14Bianca had told me she wanted them in hell.
47:16I couldn't do that for her.
47:18But I could make sure they lived out every last bit of suffering they had coming before they got there.
47:22Every person who had broken her.
47:24I kept them here.
47:26In this world.
47:27Accountable.
47:28From now on, every year on Bianca's death anniversary, I would come to this room and watch.
47:34Watch you kneel.
47:36Until the day they couldn't get back up.
47:54I came home to find Kieran waiting in the study.
47:57Sleeves rolled up.
47:58Knuckles scabbed and unbandaged.
48:00He slid a cup of tea across the desk without a word.
48:03We sat like that for a while.
48:05Are you hurting?
48:07Not entirely.
48:09There are too many people in this world who've been wronged.
48:12I couldn't save Bianca.
48:13Then save a few more.
48:15His expression didn't waver.
48:16Give yourself permission.
48:18I smiled.
48:19The silence stretched.
48:21He was sitting very still.
48:23You've been holding your breath since I came home.
48:25Years before any of this.
48:28The night I introduced you to Damon.
48:30The engagement dinner.
48:31Now.
48:34His hand on the desk closed slowly.
48:37Don't, Arya.
48:39Don't what?
48:40Don't push at this.
48:42Please.
48:42I had spent my whole last life on the wrong man.
48:45Half of this one on revenge.
48:47I looked at him now.
48:49The way his hair fell.
48:50The shadow at his throat.
48:51The hands he was keeping very carefully flat against the wood.
48:55I got up and walked around the desk.
48:57He didn't move.
48:59Didn't lift his head.
49:00Kieran.
49:13I came home to find Kieran waiting in the study.
49:16Sleeves rolled up.
49:17Knuckles scabbed and unbandaged.
49:18He slid a cup of tea across the desk without a word.
49:21We sat like that for a while.
49:23Are you hurting?
49:25Not entirely.
49:27There are too many people in this world who've been wronged.
49:30I couldn't save Bianca.
49:32Then save a few more.
49:33His expression didn't waver.
49:35Give yourself permission.
49:36I smiled.
49:38The silence stretched.
49:39He was sitting very still.
49:41You've been holding your breath since I came home.
49:44Years before any of this.
49:46The night I introduced you to Damon.
49:48The engagement dinner.
49:50Now.
49:52His hand on the desk closed slowly.
49:55Don't, Arya.
49:57Don't what?
49:59Don't push at this.
50:00Please.
50:01I had spent my whole last life on the wrong man.
50:04Half of this one on revenge.
50:06I looked at him now.
50:07The way his hair fell.
50:09The shadow at his throat.
50:10The hands he was keeping very carefully flat against the wood.
50:13I got up and walked around the desk.
50:15He didn't move.
50:17Didn't lift his head.
50:19Kieran.
50:24I came home to find Kieran waiting in the study.
50:27Sleeves rolled up.
50:28Knuckles scabbed and unbandaged.
50:30He said...
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