Leal | ✔

|| EPILOGUE ||

**TWO WEEKS LATER**

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KIARA LOOKED OUTSIDE from the mirror wall of her office, a cigarette between her fingers and a scowl on her beautiful face. Her red pencil dress hugged her curves perfectly and she looked like an angel in her attire, a dangerous angel indeed.

Her hair was tied up in a neat bun and red liquid lipstick adorned her soft lips. She held a glass of whisky in her other hand, taking sips from it in between her puffs.

She looked at the night sky that reminded her of the darkness that surrounded her world, yet unlike the sky, there were no stars or moon to light her life. She was alone, no matter what the others said.

Her phone buzzed and she opened it to look at the message she had been waiting some time for.

Zoya:

We are there. Thank you.

The message said, yet it didn't gain any reaction from her. She switched off her phone and continue to stare at nothingness.

The world looked so small beneath her feet, standing at the top floor of one of the tallest buildings in New York surely made one feel almighty. Yet, nothing pleased Kiara.

Maybe it never will.

Fate had played it's a cruel trick on her - snatching away her sister from Kiara first and then, destroying the memories of her lover.

Zain refused to recognize her, claiming that he remembered nothing of his past. It took a lot of time for the doctors to calm him down.

But Kiara saw it as a sign. A sign that the fates were showing her, a sign to let him go.

That Kiara didn't deserve a kind soul like him.

That she will ruin him.

So, she chose to accept their destiny, they were never meant to be. Damien had helped her set his security at the hospital, providing them with extra guards. Rajesh Gupta still lurked in the corner yet this time, she knew that she wasn't alone in this.

She arranged Zain's transfer to India, enrolled him in one of the best hospitals in India, and sent a caretaker with him so he won't be alone.

Zoya was a friend of Sejal, in fact, she was her manager. She remembered her very well, their friendship was surely worth remembering. Zoya and Sejal grew up together - going to the same school, doing everything together and somehow it comforted Kiara that if she died someday, there will be someone to take care of Sejal after her.

But after Sejal's death, Zoya was broken and surely, jobless. Kiara feared for her life too, since she was an orphan like her and there was no one to take care of her. She decided to send her to India with Zain where she would take care of him. Zoya was hesitant to accept payment for the task but Kiara convinced her. She needed money to start new.

New York would be long forgotten by her.

And she trusted Zoya to take care of Zain. To help him start a new life.

She didn't see Zain after that day, she couldn't get herself to. It took her a lot of time to suppress his fans who spread speculations about his accident. But in the end, everything did calm down. Desperate fans are the last thing Zain needs right now.

Now, all she had was her work. Which she did exceptionally.

She would never forget Zain - he was and will always be the love of her life. She had dreamt of a future with him, a future so bright that it was too good to be true.

And that surely happened.

Kiara threw the cigarette on the floor, crushing it with her heels. She drank the left whisky in one gulp and then, headed back to work.

A knock on her door interrupted her and the face of her secretary peeked in.

"Mr. Reynolds is here to see you, Miss," she says.

"Send him in," Kiara replies.

For some unknown reason, she had started trusting Damien more. She surely was closed off and gave him nothing. Yet, he stood by her side - something that she hated. Why can't he understand that whoever she cared about, in the end, died?

Damien walked in, a smirk on his face and looking as handsome as ever in his three-piece suit.

"What brings you here, Damien?" she asks, irritated with the interruptions.

She had a business deal to close off soon and she needed her full attention deviated on it.

"Well, you made a deal with me, Kiara. Remember, in my world, nothing is done due to the kindness in one's heart. So, I am here for you to fulfill your end of the bargain." he says as he hands her a pile of papers.

Kiara's expression changed, she knew that this was coming. Though not so soon.

Damien had promised to protect Zain and offer her help to build her empire again. But he demanded something in return.

"What is this?" she asked, as she takes the papers.

"Well, this my love is our new beginning," he says.

Kiara looks through the papers, her eyes widening as she read every single word of it. She cursed her luck when she had thought that nothing more could go wrong, it did.

They surely didn't give her any more break.

"Why is your name Damian Lorenzo here?" she asks.

He chuckles.

"Out of everything written in there, that was your concern?" he asks, a smirk plastered on his face.

Kiara cocks her eyebrow at him, her gaze deathly.

"I changed my name to the original. Did it a week ago when my dear father finally handed the company to me. If you weren't so engrossed in your own sorrow you would have noticed the headlines. The world now knows who Damian Lorenzo is." he says and his voice is a warning.

Kiara knew very well what he meant - he was breaking out of his shell. Letting the mafias know that their boss had woken up. Why? The answer was beyond Kiara.

She turned her attention back to the papers in her hand but remained neutral.

After she finished, she grabbed a pen from her table and signed those papers without any single thought.

She knew that this was a huge mistake, but she would never back down from her words.

She is a Kapoor.

A grin appears on Damien's face as he watches her sign those papers and then hand them to him. He never thought this will be that simple.

He walks towards her, his hands around her waist as he pulls her closer. His lips were inches away from hers and Kiara could feel his heart beating in his chest.

She felt weird, memories from their past racing back to her.

Damien kissed her softly on the forehead.

Kiara didn't know how to react - she had practically sold herself off to the devil when she signed those papers. She still doesn't know why she did it - wasn't the pain that she felt enough?

He lifts her chin up so that their eyes meet and then, whispers against her lips.

"Welcome to the mafia, Mrs. Lorenzo."

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**END OF BOOK 1**