Chapter Twenty four

Ariana's POV;

I stood still, visibly shaken after Damien had roared at me and marched out of the room furiously. I wondered why he got so grumpy, I assumed he did not like the fact that I was comfortably asleep on his bed. I mean he did remind me of my low class status compared to his at every little opportunity he got.

I had no idea when I fell asleep but I was well aware that I was being carried out of the vehicle. I fell back into my slumber soon after and was oblivious of my environment because I was physically exhausted.

I felt someone tap me, I assumed it was Nolan because he had a habit of doing that whenever he would sleep over at my apartment. He used to tell me that I slept way too much and he was my personal alarm clock. I involuntarily smiled at those memories.

I looked around the room as a wave of exhaustion hit me, my brain could barely register what it looked like at that point. I took out the several bobby pins that held my hair up along with the gold headpiece that went with it.

I just found my way to the bathroom, wiped my makeup off with the wipes I found in there, then I slid out of my dress and took a long shower.

I picked up a spare towel I had found and wrapped it around myself.

I thought about what I was going to wear after my shower. I did not think about it beforehand.

I stealthily came out of the bathroom, searching for any sign of Damien. The coast was clear, I sighed in relief. My eyes went over to a door, I presumed belonged to the closet. I went towards it and pushed it open, I was right, it was the closet. It looked while a whole room on its own.

I was nervous as I went in, I saw Damien's cloths arranged accordingly, he hardly had any colourful suits, they ranged from black, to dark blue and finally, grey. I walked further into the place and saw his shoes placed on a huge rack. My eyes trailed it until I spotted my shoes on the other side of the rack.

My eyes went further and saw that the other side of the closet had been arranged with my stuff. I was astonished at how quickly things happened around here. Here I was thinking that my stuff were still stuck in the penthouse but they had been seen to without my knowledge.

I picked up a pair of my cotton pajamas and put it on quickly. I searched around for my phone, I couldn't find it. I remembered giving it to Fiona but I had no idea where Fiona would be.

A knock on the bedroom door interrupted my thinking session. I walked briskly towards the door, twisted the knob and pulled it open. I came face to face with a pale skinned young woman who I assumed from her attire was a maid.

"Good evening ma'am." She bade.

"Good evening."

"Sir Damien said to serve you dinner, ma'am."

I nodded in understanding and stepped aside for her to enter the room with a tray. She dropped it on a table set before the large couch and left after bowing.

I sat down and dug in quickly, I had not had anything to eat all day. Maybe it was the hunger but the meal tasted better than anything I had back in the hotel for the last few weeks. Hotel meals, I believed were just yucky and overpriced.

I brushed my teeth when I was done and laid on the couch to sleep, I took off my shiny rings and placed them on the stool next to arm rest where I laid my head.

The couch was soft and comfy and even wide enough to fit me, I adjusted accordingly and yawned tiredly before slowly slipping into a deep slumber.

****

I woke up with a start when I heard an alarm ring beside me. The bright rays of the sun stung at my eyes, making it difficult to open them. Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the light and I was able to open them properly.

I looked around me, only to realize that I was on the large king sized bed, which was strange because I actually remembered that I fell asleep on the couch. My eyes went over to the couch and my heart certainly missed a bit when I was met with a pair of greys staring right at me.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed reflexively and covered my mouth with my palm right after. I had my palm on chest the next second, trying to calm my racing heart.

"You should really stop doing that, it's creepy." I said, looking up at Damien who said nothing in return.

"Good morning." I bade.

"Morning." He said huskily.

Oh my goodness! His morning voice was so sensual and enticing. I fought off the thoughts in my head.

"Did you carry me last night?" I asked, staring at my fingers like they were the most interesting thing in the world. I lifted my eyes a little when I heard shuffling from his side, he was coming closer.

"And if I did?" He asked, arching one of finely carved brows perfectly.

"Why did you do that? I thought you didn't want me sleeping on your bed." I said.

"And how did you figure that out?" He asked with a little bit of mockery in his tone.

"Well, you did yell at me to get up when..." I caught him staring at me intently and the words hung on my tongue.

"You should freshen up, we have to meet up with my family for breakfast." He said, adjusting the buttons on the wrist of his black shirt paired with grey slacks.

"Now, Ariana." He said in his usual bossy tone and I stood up. He picked up his phone and went out to the balcony to make a call. I stared at his retreating back for a few seconds before looking around the room.

As expected, the room was in black and white with a touch of gold via his furnitures. It was large and could fit in my whole apartment back in New York. My eyes gave cursory glances to everything in the room until they stopped at a framed picture of Damien on the wall, I got closer to it. Then, I heard Damien coming in so I sped into the bathroom, not wanting him to yell at me so early in the morning.

I took a quick bath, applied lotion and then picked up a black formal dress from my side of the closet. I wore it quickly and tied my hair in a simple style behind my head.

I picked up a pair of grey flats and came out. That was when I realized that I was matching with Damien unintentionally, I did not want him thinking that I was eager to match outfits with him like a perfect couple so I turned on my heels to go change but he spotted me already.

"That outfit won't be necessary."

I tried explaining that it was a coincidence and nothing more.

"Wear something casual and comfortable." He said before I could even open my mouth. I nodded and went back into the closet.

This time, I picked a blue sleeveless shirt and black joggers and cute flip flops. He did say comfortable but I almost asked if it was okay for me to dress as such to his parent's house.

I came out and saw him eye me, there was something in his look that made me look away uncomfortably.

"Let's go." He said, walking ahead of me while I followed silently.

He pulled the door open, stepped out and waited for me to come out before shutting it behind us.

I stared at the large hallway decorated with lots of stunning paintings hung on the white walls and a few small sculptures here and there for decoration.

We soon got to a finely banistered staircase that led to the ground floor. We walked into the typically large living room, we went past it, towards another door. He walked so quickly, I half ran to meet up with him. As we walked through the large house, salutes from the staffs rent the air just as Damien answered according without staring at anyone in particular. I waved lightly at them whenever they acknowledged me.

He pushed the door open and I saw a wide dining table, his family members were already seated. The dinning room was connected to the kitchen, I saw, and from the looks of things, it was huge as well.

"Hello, my darlings!" Stella said sweetly as she came over to hug Damien and I. This was the first time I was seeing her in a casual attire excluding the customized pajamas she wore at my bridal shower.

"Morning mom." Damien said, giving her kiss on the cheek before going to take a seat at the head of the table.

"Good morning, Stella." I said.

"Oh no sweetie, you're part of the family now and you have to call me mom." She said wagging her fingers in front of me. I smiled. I hadn't called anyone mom for as long as I could remember so it warmed my heart that Stella was giving the impression that I was now her daughter.

"Okay mom." I tried the new title.

"There you go, sweetie. Now, go sit next to your husband." She ushered me towards a seat placed at Damien's left hand side.

I said hello to everyone and they replied warmly. Fiona of course, came to hug me and handed my phone over to me, apologizing for not being able to give it earlier. She wiggled her brows at me, telling me that I did not even need the disturbance because I must have been busy. I blushed at what she was implying and was glad no one else heard what she said.

Damien's father, Gerald was so warm when he asked about my well-being and welcomed me to the family officially. I smiled gratefully. Damien said nothing, he just continued tapping on his phone like no one else was present.

Did I mention that the whole family was present? My bad, Jesse came in late, after breakfast had been served. Damien glared at him the moment he rushed in.

"Sorry everyone, I know I'm late for breakfast, I was really occupied with some..." He was explaining when Tracy cut him off

"Seems like your one night stand did a number on you." She teased with a sly smirk.

He blanched and then turned as red as a tomato. Everyone else snorted and eventually burst into unending bouts of laughter at his expense, except Damien of course.

"Now, if you all are done with the chit chats, can we eat?" He said with an edge to his tone.

The room fell silent as a graveyard at once. Just what was wrong with this dude? He was such a spoilsport.

What astonished me the most was how everyone, including his family could not be carefree around him.

We ate our meals in silence, my eyes strayed over to him several times but I don't think he noticed.

"Is there something on my face, love?" He said, with sarcasm lacing his tone. He obviously wanted me to know that he knew I was staring at him.

Oops! There was a caught.

I stared around the room and saw that everyone else had their attention on us.

I shook my head and looked down shyly.

"Look at me." He said in a rasp voice. I slowly looked up.

"You can stare at me all day if you want baby, I'm down for it." He said seductively. I flushed, my cheeks burned and I was sure I looked as red as a tomato. He leaned in and kissed me on my cheeks and close to my lips.

"Get a room, you two!" Jesse and Fiona yelled while their parents chuckled.

My eyes stayed glued to my plate. I was mortified by his show of affection in front of his family.

Oh this man would be the death of me!