Six years later
Sienna didn't believe in fate until it slapped her in the face with a glass of champagne and tuxedo .
He was standing across the ballroom . Gray suit, shaper jawline, the same storm behind his eyes. DAMIAN HART.
She almost dropped her glass... No, not almost. Her fingers trembled so badly, She had to set it down on the nearest tray before it crashed.
He hadn't changed much. Older,colder.The boy she had loved had turned into a man she swore she'd never forgive.
His gazes locked on hers. One second,two,three.
Then came the smile. Not the warm one she remembered from late_night rooftops and whispered promises. This one was polite, distance and calculated.
Like they hadn't nearly burned down the world for each other once.
Sienna turned away.
"Didn't know you were back in the city," a familiar voice said behind her.
She stiffened. Her spine knew that voice better than her own thoughts.
"Wasn't planning on staying," she said without turning.
Damian stepped closer, the scent of expensive cologne and old memories closing the space between them.
"You always had a habit of running."
She finally faced him. "You always had a habit of lying."
His jaws tightened. A flicker of something _hurt, maybe_passed through his eyes before he looked away.
The silence between them stretched, thick with things neither had said for six years.
"I didn't come here for this," she said.
"I didn't invite you."
She almost laughed. "Of course you only invite the people you can control."
"And you only stay where it's easy to leave."
That one stung.
Sienna's breath caught. The music in the background faded into a dull hum. Her heart was beating faster than it should be.
"I see nothing's changed," she said.
"I was thinking the same thing," Damian said quietly. Then his eyes dropped to her necklace _the one he gave her, years ago, when love had felt enough. "Except that you still wear that."
She touched it instinctively, her fingers betraying her. " It's just jewelry," she said.
He smiled again. This time, something soft cracked through the cold.
"No, Sienna. It never was."