Chapter Forty six

Damien's POV;

I stood at the balcony of my bedroom staring up at the sky for a while with one hand in my pocket. I sipped on my whiskey and grimaced slightly at the strong taste it had.

I had been reflecting on Aiden's call for a while and it was beginning to worry me. How on earth had my sister found out about this and how did it escape me that she did not like Ariana? And finally, how the hell did Aiden find out about this?

I took another sip to calm my nerves. My mind went over to the beauty on the other side of the hall. We walked past each other like we were strangers, though we were strangers to each other somewhat but this time it was so weird.

I shook thoughts of her out of my head, I had more pressing matters to worry about now.

I approached my bed and laid down in exhaustion, I had such a hectic day going from one place to another, reviewing files and let's not forget, attending numerous meetings. My life was stress filled and I did not need any extra from my sister and my teenage ex who did not want to get over me.

I reached for the covers and pulled it over myself as I looked over to the left side of my bed the spot Ariana used to sleep on. I turned away and figured that it was best that she stayed away from me.

I shut my eyes and dozed off soon after.

****

Flames!

Everything around got razed down so quickly by the raging fire, it felt surreal.

"Amy!! Dad!!!" He had screamed so loud but could not go in to get them. The fire was just too much, he could not see anything he knew they were trapped inside and he just had to save them.

"Damien!" His mother's voice called out to him in obvious fright.

"Mom, they're inside,we have to get them!" He said frantically and tried going in but she stopped him, he tried pulling away from her grip but she would not let go.

"Damien we can't! They're trapped, let the fire service do their work." She said, trying to steady her voice but the fact that she was breaking apart was evident and he could do nothing but hold her and cry.

When the inferno finally came to a cease thanks to the relentless efforts of the fire service, it was too late.

They were gone, gone and never to be seen again and it was all his fault. The words echoed in his head as he screamed so loud but there was no turning back the hands of time for him, it was too late.

****

I woke up with a start, breathing heavily. I stared down at myself and saw that I was soaked in sweat and unconsciously shivering.

"No not now, please not now." I muttered under my breath with my hands clasped together in a pleading manner. I pinched the bridge of my nose, groaning in frustration as I checked the time on my digital alarm clock.

It was about 3am and I had only slept about three hours but from the looks of things I was not going to sleep anymore, not with my nightmares haunting me. They were back and this was not good, not at all.

I rolled out of bed and and went into the bathroom and stood under the shower for as long as I could. I just wished the cold water that gushed out of that shower head could was away my fears, wash away all those thoughts that had haunted me for as long as I could remember.

I just wanted to scream but I promised myself that I would scream only on the inside. No one had to hear me, no one had to know what went on inside my head. It was too much of a dark place to be in anyways.

I leaned my head on the glass that separated the shower from the other parts of the wide bathroom. I shut my eyes tightly, still trying to fight the thoughts in my head that would not let me be.

"I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine." I repeated though I knew in my heart that I was not. I needed help but I did not want to seem vulnerable, if anyone found out about my weaknesses, I was going to be at risk of losing everything I worked for, people always preyed on one's weaknesses and took advantage of them in the process.

I sank to the ground and stayed in a squatting position under the shower for as long as I possibly could.

This was not going to be easy but I just had to get it together. I just had to.

****

I had bloodshot eyes the next morning because I could not sleep. The rest of my night was spent doing nothing but staring into space because the moment I closed my eyes, I got horrified by the very real looking images from that terrible night.

It was morning and I felt I could distract myself with lots of things to stop me from thinking.

I stood in front of the mirror adjusting my cufflinks as well as my collar. I slid my Rolex unto my wrist and pinned it before taking one last glance. Satisfied with my look asides the sore redness of my eyes, I got out swiftly and headed down the stairs.

I did not have an appetite so I was going to skip breakfast.

"Good morning Walter." I said the moment I saw him.

"Good morning. Are you alright?" He scrutinized me with his sharp eyes as always.

"They're back." I said concisely and he solemnly nodded in understanding.

"You should go talk to Daisy." He suggested and I nodded in agreement.

"I'll have my assistant fix an appointment with her today." I said. He nodded and gave me a pat on the shoulder.

"Take it easy." He advised and I nodded before walking past him.

"Good morning boss." The guards situated at the entrance said in unison subtly bowing at me.

I nodded and walked towards the car parked in front of me. I paused for a second, contemplating my next move.

"Good morning sir." My personal driver bade while I nodded in response.

"Get me the Lamborghini Huracan, I'll be driving myself today." I said and he rushed off to do my bidding.

Soon, I had the grey beauty in front of me and I slid in immediately. The engine revved nicely and I smirked. This was definitely one of my favorite cars.

I sped out of the villa on to the highway and put a call across to Daisy myself.

"Oh hello, Mr Kingston." Her calm voice filled the vehicle.

"Hi Daisy. Are you free today?" I asked.

"Hmm not really but I can fix you in somewhere. How serious was it?" She asked knowingly.

"Very." I stated weightily.

"Can we have this session over the phone?" I inquired, scratching my chin while I did.

"You're driving Mr. Kingston and that's not good for our kind of conversations-if our previous sessions are anything to go by, that is." She advised and I concurred because her statement made a lot of sense.

"I'll be at the office in about an hour, you can come over then." She informed.

"See you soon then."

I ended the call and continued the driving in silence until I finally arrived at my company.

I was pretty early and there was hardly anyone who had resumed for the day so I just drove into the underground parking lot situated in the huge premises.

I got into the private elevator situated in the parking lot. I made it to my floor and got into my office and saw that the cleaners were doing their jobs. They hurriedly finished up after noticing my presence.

I sat down on my chair and exhaled heavily. I could feel a headache coming on and I could not even sleep. I got working to distract myself. My work did distract me so much I missed my appointment with Daisy. I punched my desk in frustration when I saw the time as well as a missed call from her.

She texted to tell me she was occupied for the rest of the day and there was no changing it.

I soon got a call that informed me that I was needed as soon as possible at my site in Italy.

I placed my hands on my waist and looked up, trying to fight off the headache that had been haunting me for hours. I groaned in pain.

I needed a break but I could not get it even when I wanted to. I had to leave as soon as I could so that my work would not suffer.

I called Ma Rosa and had her pack my bags for my trip.

"You're going away again. Just what is wrong with you boy?!" She yelled, increasing my already bad headache.

"Ma Rosa it's for work purposes." I stated plainly.

"Do you ever take a vacation, Damien?" She asked sarcastically.

"Touché."

"You and I have to talk. When are you coming home?" She inquired.

"I'll be there soon. I just have to leave some instructions with my assistant and secretary." I said.

"Okay. I'll get started on packing your bags."

"Thank you." I said and hung up.

I sat down for a while, sipping on some water hoping it would somehow help with my aching head when Drew came in and I dished out my list of instructions that he would have to execute in my absence.

"Yes sir. Have a safe trip." He said and walked me out waving until my car was out of sight.

I was sure if he was given the opportunity he would throw a party in my absence because of how I overworked him. I planned on giving him a raise sooner or later, he was very efficient although quite nosy.

The rush hour traffic delayed me for a while so I had to call on my team to get the jet ready so we would leave immediately I arrived at the hangar.

I drove speedily into the villa and called for my driver to get ready. I rushed upstairs to get my suitcase and saw that Ma Rosa was seated on my couch with her hands crossed and her left feet tapping continuously.

Oh good lord! I felt a lecture coming on.

Trying my luck, I reached for my packed suitcase on the floor.

"Not so fast mister." She tsked, continuously wagging her finger.

"Come sit." She patted the spot next to her on the couch. I begrudgingly trudged over and sat at one end of the couch.

"Why do you look so pale?" She reached out and touched my face, feeling my head for my temperature and all what not, like she always did while I was younger. I was like a son to Ma Rosa just as I was to her husband, Walter. They both had watched me grow and I had become so endeared to them, I could not imagine my life without their love and care. The way they could understand me better than my parents baffled me and even when I tried pushing them away, they still stuck around more than anyone ever did. That was why I spoke to them and treated them better than everyone else.

"I'm fine, Ma Rosa." I lied, looking away from her as I did.

"Liar." She retorted, narrowing her eyes at me. I looked down at my shoes.

"Walter told me they're back." She said in a whisper.

I swallowed and nodded slowly, looking up at her while I did.

"Oh dear!" Her eyes showed how worried she was getting.

"Ma Rosa I'm fine really, you don't have to worry." I tried to dissolve her fears with placation but she was not having it.

"You don't have to travel, let me take care of you." She tried convincing me but I disagreed.

"Your wife, Damien, let her help you through this." She suggested and I shook my head strongly.

"Not a word about this to Ariana." I gritted out.

"But..." She tried protesting.

"Ma Rosa." I said in my 'no nonsense' tone.

"Ugh fine!!" She gave in.