Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Chapter 194: A Distressing Bump

The three friends in their casual clothes were sitting by the bar. They kept their conversation light as Caleb and Jeffrey tried to take Damien's mind off his worries. However, Jeffrey couldn't take his silence anymore.

"You look like shit, man," Jeffrey downed the last of his drink. It was his second glass of bourbon. His apartment was just a few blocks away so he didn't mind drinking.

"Mmm I feel like shit." Damien stared at the liquid in his glass an expensive glass of whiskey and an already melted ice. He still hadn't touched his drink since they got there two hours ago.

Caleb, on the other hand, was also on his second glass of Old fashioned a cocktail drink that screams dapper, it was perfect for him. "You need sleep."

"I tried. I couldn't." Damien finally pushed his glass away from him and rotated his head from side to side. He was obviously tired but his brain refused to let him rest.

Turning his body to the right, Caleb faced Damien and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Listen, bro I know you're too confused and uncertain right now. But think about Katherine."

"I have that's all I have been thinking."

"No. I mean think about her right now. She's at home, all alone. I'm sure she's more frightened than you are at the moment. I get that you're giving her space like you think she needs one. But I think she'd feel a lot better if you stayed with her. Go home." Caleb reached for his wallet and took out several bills for his drink.

Damien swallowed upon hearing his friend's words. He breathed deeply and let out a heavy sigh, running a hand on his face before slapping his hand on the counter. "You're right. What am I doing here? I've been too busy thinking about the future that I failed to see that she's hurting. God, I'm such a jerk." He hung his head low, pissed at what he was doing.

Caleb got off his stool and clamped his hand on Damien's left shoulder while Jeffrey patted the right a simple gesture that didn't need words but held a lot of meaning. 

After paying for their drinks, they got out of the bar and went their separate ways. Damien slumped in the driver's seat of his Aston Martin and tried to compose himself before turning the ignition. He had experienced different kinds of stress before but it was mostly related to his work. This one was totally different the kind that mentally, physically, and emotionally drained him. 

The drive back to Pearl Gardens took him thirty minutes and as soon as he arrived, he went straight to the master bedroom. Expecting to see Katherine in bed, his brows furrowed when he saw that it was empty. But the sound of the bathroom door opening and closing made him snap his head to the side.

"Damien" she muttered, her brows knitted in confusion when she saw the expression on his face. He was looking at her worriedly and she swore she saw him release his breath with their eyes met. "What's wrong?"

Shaking his head, he took long, hurried strides, pulling her towards him and pressing her against his chest with his strong arms encircled around her. He tucked her head under his chin and squeezed her, as if the more he hugged her, the more he could absorb her tension.

"I'm sorry" he whispered above her head. 

Katherine was still confused about what was going on. She felt him pull back and kiss her forehead, nose, cheeks, and lips.

"What's going on?" she probed, raising her head to study his eyes that were not as bright as it usually were. 

Bringing her hand to his cheek, he leaned against it and kissed her palm. "I'm just I feel so stupid. Baby, I'm sorry for not staying with you the whole day. I I thought you wanted some space so I stayed out of sight. I didn't know what to do" 

Realizing what he was doing, Katherine's lips trembled. She bit her bottom lip but it still quivered. Her eyes pooled but she still refused to cry. So she buried her face on his chest, forcing herself to be stronger so she swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry" she whispered.

Shit. Damien didn't like seeing her like that. It crushed his heart.

He carried her to bed and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her tightly and stroking her back. He knew that she was trying so hard not to cry in front of him. She hadn't shed a tear after regaining her consciousness back at Jeffrey's clinic. "It's okay to cry, Katherine"

She shook her head, nuzzling her face to his chest some more and clutching his sweatshirt in her hand. "I don't want to." They stayed in the same position for a long time just relishing each other's presence.

"How are you?" he asked sometime later.

"I don't know scared? Confused"

They pulled away but just enough to see each other eye to eye. He brushed her hair away from her face and waited for her to continue. He was giving her the chance to speak if she wanted to talk about it, but he was going to stay with her he was never going to leave her alone anymore.

Katherine stared at his chest as she tried to start what she wanted to tell him, "I don't know if it's real, Damien. It could be just a nightmare at least that's what I'm hoping it is. Everything just doesn't make sense to me. Why it happened why me? And that man I" She raised her gaze to meet his eyes. "I swear I don't knowdon't remember that man."

Damien nodded and pulled her against him again, kissing the top of her head. "It's okay, everything's going to be okay. We don't have to do anything you don't want to and I'll be right here with you."

As soon as they talked, he felt better and it was the same for her as well. There was something with cuddling that makes all their worries disappear. Even if it wasn't totally gone, they were both feeling more positive and less distressed.

"I'm sorry for not talking to you" Katherine leaned back and threaded her fingers in his hair, touching his cheeks with her thumb. She felt terrible that what happened also wore him down. "I missed you"

For the first time since yesterday, Damien formed a genuinethough smallsmile on his face. He tilted her chin up, ran his thumb on her bottom lip before he pressed his lips to hers. "Me too."

The two of them laid in bed until the sky turned dark. They decided not to let their worries ruin their days moving forward. What's important was that they had each other. This was just a bump on the road.

A distressing bump.

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