Chapter Fifty

"Today on entertainment news, Billionaire business mogul, Damien Kingston is rumoured to have allegedly been involved in a contract marriage to his newly wedded wife. Our source says that they had seen the contract for themselves and that their marriage is a sham.This is coming just three months after his sudden proposal and two months after the extravagant wedding which seemed rushed by the way, all these facts point to a solid proof of their marriage possibly being a sham." The news anchor recited and I just wanted to shrink and hide away from everyone.

I turned to Damien who was looking really furious. I got scared.

"Damien, I promise, I did not tell anyone about our deal, I-" I said hurriedly before he cut me off.

"This has nothing to do with you at all. I know exactly who did this." He clenched his jaw and fists simultaneously as he brought out his phone that had already started ringing.

I picked up my phone and it was the same thing. Social media was in a frenzy over this rumour.

I paced the room back and forth as Damien answered call after call, dismissing each and every rumor that those callers asked about. He took my hand and led me to his room.

"Boss." One of the guards came in looking frightened.

"What is it?" Damien asked now tuning to full boss mode.

"There's paparazzi outside the gates and they're trying to force themselves in."

"What am I paying the security for? Don't let anyone get in, call the authorities if you have to. They're trespassing on my property!" He yelled angrily and the guard and I both cowered in fear.

The man in suit scrambled out of the room after Damien's outburst.

He turned to me quickly.

"Let's go. We have to make our acting in front of the family convincing enough."

"But your family isn't the problem." I said in confusion.

"They're part of it. This isn't just about my business and reputation." He said and pulled me with him as we went down the stairs.

Everyone was already gathered in the living room having heard the raucous from outside.

"Damien's what's going on?" Mom asked him.

"Their little secret has come to light." Tracy said before Damien could speak and he glared at her but she seemed unfazed by it.

"Damien what is she talking about?"

"Hold on a a second, I'll let you people in on what's going on." Tracy said again, typing on her phone furiously and when she found what she was looking for, she flashed in everyone's faces and they gasped or gave an expression of shock one after the other.

"It's not true is it? Damien this cannot be fake right?" Mom looked like she was on the verge of tears and I really did not want to hurt her fragile heart.

"Mom, don't believe anything anyone says, Damien and I are married for real." I blurted in a bid to pacify her.

"My wife is right. We're married for real and our marriage certificate is there to show for it." Damien concurred.

I felt butterflies when he called me his wife. That was a first. Mom sighed in relief and I inwardly did as well.

"You both are liars." Tracy countered.

"I saw the contract myself." She confessed.

Oh no! Oh yes!

Oh no, because she had proof and oh yes because she admitted she leaked the story to the press indirectly.

"Is that so?" Damien quirked an eyebrow, he got the message clearly.

"So you're saying you leaked the rumor to the press and that's why they think it's true because you're apparently a reliable source." He stated with a blank expression on his face.

I looked at Tracy and saw that her cheeks had blanched. Busted!

"So what if I did?!" She regained her composure and retorted confidently.

That infuriated Damien even further and I had to pull him back from lunging at her.

"Are you trying to ruin my reputation?!" He thundered.

"No, I just want her to leave," Tracy pointed at me.

"She roped you into a contract and I'm trying to set you free." She whined like a child, hiding behind their father as she spoke.

Just ridiculous!

"Don't go about saying things you're not fucking sure of!!" He yelled and marched up the stairs in fury. I stood there clueless on what to do or say next.

Everyone else seemed as confused as I was. I decided it was best to let Damien be for a while as he was not the best person to talk to whenever he got angry. Everyone just kept exchanging glances even as Tracy stormed away as well.

"Excuse me." I said to no one in particular as I took few steps back and dashed up the stairs.

I picked up my phone which had been buzzing in my back pocket for a while. The caller ID had me skeptical about picking it up.

"Nolan?" I said.

"Ariana." He responded.

It was him but why was he calling at such a time? I had not heard from him for the last two months that I had been married and now he decided to call...

"Today of all days." I said under my breath slightly irritated.

"Did you say something, Ariana?"

"No. How are you?" I asked.

"I'm well. How are you and your husband?" He asked in a tone I could not decipher.

"We're fine, thank you." I responded plainly

"I heard from your father that you got a pretty good job." He told me.

"Hmm." I hummed uninterestedly, I had more pressing matters at hand so idle conversations like these were the least of my worries.

"Yeah. So I sort of heard something about your marriage-"

"And what is this thing that you heard?" I interrupted him.

"That your marriage is fake and as your best friend, I know you would do no such thing and even if you did, now that the world knows, you can be free." He rambled on foolishly. I apologize for my insult but he was really getting on my nerves with how petty he sounded.

"So, Nolan, I haven't heard from you for a pretty long time and for the first time in months, you decided to speak to me, you are trying to ruin my marriage with your so called advise." I said agitatedly.

"Ariana-" He tried saying something but I did not give him the chance.

"Hold it right there, you claim to be my best friend but you kept ignoring my calls and messages and I let you be and now you want to play the best friend card. Don't ever call me again if all you're going to do is dissuade me from being happy in holy matrimony." I warned him sternly and hung up before he could say anything else.

I grunted loudly and kicked the foot of the bed in blind rage. I sat on my bed breathing heavily until I calmed myself down by taking a nap.

****

Damien's POV;

I slept like a baby the previous night with Ariana by my side and I was really glad we had sorted things out.

The last three weeks in Italy were hell on earth. I could barely sleep and I was constantly haunted by the nightmares every single night. I hardly had any peace of mind and work was also very demanding.

I received calls from Walter, Ma Rosa and Daisy asking about my well being from time to time. I kept telling them I was fine even when I knew I truly was not. I did not want them to worry and I promised myself I would go see Daisy, my therapist, when I came back but now I had to deal with the media being on my neck, no thanks to Tracy and Aleena. I punched the wall in rage as a result of the thoughts haunting my mind. There was so much going on in my head, it felt like it was about to explode. Relying on medications would not help, they only became addicting, that's why I chose to not take any prescriptions.

I held onto the railings at my balcony tightly. An idea popped up in the middle of my muddled thoughts and I took immediate action. I picked up my phone and dialed my assistant.

"Drew."

"Yes sir." He responded hurriedly.

"Fix me an interview with Eva as soon as possible." I instructed.

"Sure thing sir. Anything else you might need."

"We'll need some damage control, get the PR team working on it."

"Yes sir."

"That would be all." I hung up

I called my head guard next.

"What's the situation with the reporters?"

"They've been evacuated by the authorities sir." He said.

"Good."

I hung up and sipped on my wine as I stared out into the horizon.

****

I had been working in my study for a while and I lost track of time in the process.

Night fell before I knew it and the fear of falling asleep soon crept in. As soon as it got dark, shutting my eyes seemed like an uphill task and I hated it.

The screams were coming into my ears again, they were getting closer and the room was no longer existent in my consciousness. I shook my head severally to rid it of the thoughts but it only got worse.

I got a tiny grip on my self and yelled for Alexa to play me soothing tunes. The sounds kept me calm for a while but then I had to be honest with myself, it was temporary, if I fell asleep, they would come back with full force, one that I may not have been able to fight.

I went to the bathroom and dunked my head in water and brought it out. I did that a few more times and sat on the bathroom floor for a while before I wiped my face and left the bathroom.

I walked out and knocked on Ariana's door slightly. There was no response and I decided to turn back since it seemed she was fast asleep. I was half way into my room when her door came open.

"Damien?" She called out.

"Hey." I said turning to her.

"Come on in." She gestured for me to come over as she pulled the door wide open.

I pushed past her as she shut the door behind me while I sat on her bed.

"Are you okay?" She asked concernedly scanning my face with her innocent pitch black eyes. She looked so adorable in her oversized PJs.

I scratched the back of neck nervously thinking of how I was going to tell her what I had in mind.

"I was wondering if you could sleep with me tonight." I said.

"What?!" She exclaimed with wide eyes. She glared and looked like she was about to punch me in the face and cuss me out in Spanish like she did whenever she was furious.

"Wait, wait! That's not what I meant." I clarified before she would throw something at me or punch me in the face or worse, kick a very sensitive spot- I don't have to explain further on that one.

"I just want you to sleep by my side, just like last night." I explained.

"Oh." She said, nodding in understanding although she blushed a little, probably embarrassed at how her mind went so far.

"Yeah. It's okay if you don't want to though." I said hiding my dejection because of the thinking face she had on.

"Is this about the nightmare?" She asked.

"More like nightmares." I said without thinking and her eyes went really wide.

"Forget I said that." I quickly said but it was too late, in fact, it raised her concern even more.

"Damien what are they about? Tell me so I can help you." She rushed to my side and turned my face to hers and held it in place. She removed her hands quickly when she saw me staring at them.

"Sorry." She breathed out. I shook my head slightly, I wanted her hands to stay there, I was only surprised because it was the first time she did such.

"I'll tell you about them at a later date. Just let me know your answer." I said to her.

"Of course. My room or yours?" She asked and froze.

"That sounded really weird." She chuckled nervously and I joined her, we soon ended up laughing for no reason at all.

I did not feel like going back to my room anymore so I must stretched in her bed and felt her rub my hair until I fell asleep.