Damon's POV

What the hell did she just say to me? Was she going to blackmail me into marrying her? This wasn’t the Anya that I knew and cared about. Since when has she been this way?

“I know that you’re hurt,” I try to reason with her. “I know you don’t mean anything you just said to me. You’re trying to hurt me for hurting you, and that’s understandable. I know that this must be hard for you, Anya. I never wanted to hurt you. I’ve always been conflicted over my feelings. I could never tell what I wanted. I decided to marry you for the wrong reasons. I should have never asked you to marry me. I should have never made you think there was a chance for us to be husband and wife. I know I was wrong. I know that I deserve to be punished.”

I take another step towards her. I would do anything for her to stop this madness. I couldn’t let her go through with this threat.

“Please, don’t punish Clarissa for something that I did. I was wrong. I was the one that hurt you. I was the one that betrayed you. She had nothing to do with anything. She’s innocent. Please, don’t do this.” I beg her. If I had to go down on my knees, I would.

Her jaw clenched as she glared at me. “Look at how pathetic you look right now. Begging for a woman that you could never be with. Society will never allow the two of you to be together. Everyone will turn against you. When you turn your back, everyone will laugh at the two of you. They will scorn both of you. Your lives will be over for good. If you care about Clarissa at all, you will marry me. I’m sure that’s why you even agreed to marry me, wasn’t it? To protect her. You did it all for her. Nothing was ever for me.”

I knew she was right. She was saying everything that I was afraid of.

“I agree that the wedding wasn’t because I wanted to marry you,” I confess. “But I have loved you in the past. I have cared for you. You know this. My feelings may have changed recently, but I’ve always protected you from everyone and everything. I know my actions in the past don’t make up for all the wrong I’ve done recently, but please, if you cared about me at all, don’t hurt Clarissa.”

She folds her arms over her chest stubbornly. “I already told you. Once you agree to marry me, I will keep my mouth shut. No one will ever have to know about you and Clarissa. The secret will die with me. You’ll be my husband, and I’ll be your wife. You’ll forget about her, and she will forget about you.”

My hands tightened into fists at my sides, “Are you okay with marrying a man that doesn’t love you? You said yourself that I was sick for wanting to be with Clarissa. Why do you still want to be with someone like me?”

She took a step towards me and buried her hands in my hair.

I couldn’t move even an inch. I was too worried that I would do something to anger her. I didn’t want her to snap and announce the truth to everyone. There were hundreds of guests present. All she had to do was walk into that room in her wedding dress, and all eyes would be on her.

I had to be careful with what I was saying to her. I couldn’t piss her off any more than she already was.

“Because, unlike you, I’m still in love with you,” she confesses. “Your feelings for me may have changed, but my feelings for you are still inside me. I can’t just let go of it. I want to marry you, Damon, despite how imperfect you are. I want to marry you for all the good times that we’ve shared, not because of the bad. The decision is in your hands now. It’s up to you what you want to do. Will you marry me, or will you let everyone know about your big secret?”

CLARISSA

I’d made it back. Finally, I had to give the news to everyone. It was time that they all knew who Anya truly was. I couldn’t believe that she’d made us all into fools. She honestly thought that she would get away with this. She was the evil mastermind behind everything all along. She was the one that leaked information to that witch. It’s why she’d known so much about all of us. Anya was the spy all along.

If Autumn and I hadn’t decided to do our digging, she would have gotten away with it. She would have married Damon and f*cked her way into our family. What was her next evil plan? To kill us all in our sleep?

She must want revenge for her mother’s death. She must have something planned. But what was it? If I confronted her about her lies, would she have a backup?

It seemed that even her sister had no idea what she had been up to. It was only fair that I showed this girl what her sister’s true colors were.

“I’ve been here before,” Willow tells me as we walk through the gates. There were hundreds of vehicles and people everywhere.

That was a good sign. The wedding hadn’t started yet. I wasn’t sure if confronting Anya in front of so many people would be a good idea, but I had no choice. They had to know now.

“You have?” I ask her.

“Yes. I followed my sister here,” she tells me. “Multiple times. But I lied to her. I wanted to see where she often went. She came here plenty. She has always kept everything from me.”

“Your sister hasn’t exactly been honest with you either,” I inform her. “She has hurt a lot of people.”

“That can’t be,” she defends her. “Anya has always been kind to me. She has always loved and protected me from everything. She can’t be a bad person. She wouldn’t hurt anyone. I’m sure that you are mistaken.”

I take a deep breath, “Has Anya ever told you how your mother truly died?”

“Truly died?” she asks. “What does that mean?”

Before I can say anything, I hear someone shouting my name. I see Autumn running towards me.

Her eyes widen when she sees the bruises all over my body. Even the dress was burnt in different places. I knew she would have plenty of questions for me, but I wouldn’t have the time to answer them.

“What happened to you?” she asks in horror as she reaches me. “Who did this to you?”

“Where is Damon?” I demand without answering her questions.

“I can take you to him, but aren’t you going to tell me what the hell is happening?” she demands from me.

“I don’t have time to explain,” I tell her. “I need to stop this wedding before it’s too late.”

She looks uneasy but eventually nods and pulls me along with her. I follow her for a few minutes with Willow right behind me.

However, something in front of me forces me to a stop.

It’s Damon. And Anya.

His hands are on her waist, she’s in her wedding dress, and they’re both kissing passionately like they can’t live without each other.

And just like that, my heart shatters in my chest.