Chapter Seventy eight

Third Person's POV;

The chilliness of the morning brought sinking feelings in the hearts of everyone in the Kingston villa. There was something inauspicious about the day but no one could place their finger on it.

Damien was up in his master bedroom, seated on the bare floor, staring out into space, wondering how he would get himself together because he was in one of the most disheveled states he had ever seen himself in.

Ariana was crouched on her bed doing the exact same thing her husband was doing in the room opposite her. Nursing the same sinking feeling in her heart just as everyone else.

She looked a mess, so did he. Were they going to let their appearances depict how they felt on the inside? No, of course not. Like someone of great repute once said; 'On those days when you're not feeling on top of the world like usual, you just have to pretend. Don't let anyone see through you.'

And that was what they did. From showers to makeup to dressing up, they were ready to conquer the world under their facade of a perfect relationship.

Coincidentally, they had stepped out at about the same time and met each other's eyes.

She tried walking past him but he stopped her with his words.

"I know we're not in good terms but can we just pretend to be cool at least for today?" He said so calmly she had to turn to take a thorough look at him.

She eyed him thoughtfully and saw how tired he looked. His bloodshot eyes were proof that he hadn't slept the previous night. She pitied him but couldn't show it because she knew he hated that.

"Please." He added, sounding desperate.

She swallowed and managed a nod.

"Alright then."

He had his hands in hers the next second and they awkwardly made their way to the noisy dining room.

By the time they walked in, all the noise had come to an abrupt stop.Then the screams and hugs followed.

"When did you two come in?" Stella asked holding on to her daughter in law.

"Last night mom. We thought you'd all asleep so we decided to not disturb you." Ariana said looking up at Damien and back to her mother inlaw as she spoke.

"Awww. I'm glad you guys are back. How was your honeymoon Damien?" Stella turned to her son.

"It was good mom." He said uninterestedly as he walked past her.

Soon they all settled in for breakfast and had their meals in silence.

Done with their meals, most of them tried excusing themselves from the table but Damien had an announcement.

"Remain seated, we have some things to discuss."

The surprised looks on all their faces could not be missed. And, Ariana was not excluded even as her eyes roamed around searching for Amy who she thought had come in with Damien the previous night.

"Boss." One of the guards came into the living room and whispered something to Damien who nodded curtly.

"Let them in." He ordered and the man in suit nodded before briskly exiting the room.

First came in the family attorney who had been working with them for years. Derek Riverton was a no nonsense middle aged man who Damien could trust at any point in time and his presence proved the graveness of a matter because he never showed up for trivial issues.

"Damien, what's going on?" Ariana whispered to him in concern, as the room had gone deathly silent and everyone seemed tense.

"Relax." He said to her and faced the legal practitioner who had been saluting everyone present.

"Good morning everyone." His raspy voice echoed through the living room while everyone else murmured a response, apparently questioning themselves over what was going on that would demand his presence.

Damien walked over and shook hands with him before leading him to a seat on the dining table.

"I'm sure you all are wondering the reason for my presence." Mr Riverton stated the obvious and they all nodded in reply.

"This is as regards the will of Late Mr George William Kingston."

"What about it?" Stella and Gerald said in unison.

Mr Riverton gave them no response while he picked up the documents from his briefcase.

"It is stated here that the late Mr Kingston had two heirs, twins in fact and the conditions to meet up for them to have their inheritance handed over to them are as follows;"

He flipped over to the next page.

"Both siblings must agree to the signage of each other's share which must be equally split. In the absence of one sibling, the other must be married on or before their thirtieth birthday to take their share while the rest shall be given to my immediate younger brother and his family. In the absence of both, my younger brother or his family get to inherit everything. And, in the absence of either parties, all of it must be donated to charity." Mr Riverton quoted.

"Well, Damien's sister has been dead for years so apparently, her share goes to me." Gerald spoke up with a confident grin. One that Damien really wanted to smack of his face.

"You can come in now." Damien said to everyone's hearing, including the person standing behind the door.

****

Amy stood behind the door and heaved continuous sighs. Her jaw had continued to drop over and over ever since she arrived and saw all the exquisite luxuries she had been deprived of for years.

Damien had taken her to the hotel for the night and that morning, he had a driver bring her over to his large villa. She was going to see her family for the first time in such a really long time and she did not even know how to feel. She did not know how they were going to react to her presence after being away for so long and she was overwhelmed by fear of the unknown.

She stared down at her simple jeans and t-shirt with a jacket for the mild cold.

She soon heard the voice of her brother boom from the other side of the door and she released a cold, shaky breath.

"Here goes nothing." She muttered under her breath.

She walked in and saw the heavily and expensively clad group of people seated around the dining table and immediately felt underdressed.

She looked up at Damien and saw how blank his facial expression was but she saw through his facade, he was scared, just like her.

She walked further into the room with him by her side and saw the perplexed looks on their faces up until her eyes fell on the one person that sent cold chills up her spine every time she thought about him.

***

Damien saw the terrified look in his sister's eyes and followed her gaze until it fell on the one person he hated the most.

Cold sweat broke out on Gerald's face as he abruptly stood up.

"No, it can't be. You're dead." He said pointing straight at Amy.

Stella looked like she had seen a ghost.

Tracy, Fiona and Jesse looked lost and confused about everything going on.

"Well she's not!" Damien snapped at him.

"Wait ,what exactly is going on here?" Tracy said eying the new person in the room and wondering who on earth she was.

"This is Amelia Kingston." He introduced.

"My twin sister."

The news about Damien having a twin sister was a bolt from the blue for the trio who never knew they had another sibling.

"Hold up. Where has she been ever since?" Jesse asked, still trying to process all that was going on.

"Ask your father." Damien retorted fiercely.

"Our father isn't your father? How come we bear the same surname?" That was Fiona who was practically gaping.

Instinctively, they all turned to Stella who had been quiet amid all the chaos.

"Mom! Please explain to us what the hell is going on here!" Tracy exclaimed.

"Go on. Answer them mom." Damien said wryly.

"Can we all please sit down?" Stella managed to say when she saw all eyes glued to her.

Hesitantly, they did and watched her actions closely.

"Over three decades ago, I found that I was arranged to marry a certain son of the Kingstons and when I first met Gerald, I fell in love with him. But my hopes of a happy life together were dashed when I found out I was to get married to his older brother who was out of the country at the time and happened to be the very wealthy one. That was what my parents wanted and I had no choice." She choked on a sob while her husband rubbed on her back.

"I got married to George and he took care of me and before I knew it I had both Damien and Amy and we were somewhat happy. I was willing to make the marriage work but he got so busy all of a sudden and soon did not have any time for me and I got lonely and-"

"-And you soon started having an affair with him." Damien spat bitterly, cutting her off as he glared daggers at both husband and wife.

"Damien!" She gasped out as the tears poured out.

"I'm saying the truth, aren't I?" He retorted.

"Fine! Yes, I cheated on your father but I had needs and he wasn't there for me when I needed him to be. I was trying to love him but he kept giving me reasons not to and now you're acting just like him!" Stella yelled as tears of anguish rushed down her cheeks like a torrential rainfall.

"This is not about me!" Damien countered, slamming his hands on the table with so much force, everyone else flinched.

"Right. It isn't. I loved and still love Gerald and after George's death, I remarried." She admitted.

"Do you mind telling everyone here how you deceived my father into believing that the three kids you had for Gerald were his?" Damien revealed.

The horrified gasps followed. And it was then they noticed that the workers were present including Ma Rosa and Walter who had seen it all from the very beginning.

Stella was tongue tied at this point and looked down in guilt and shame.

Damien decided it was best he took over the narration.

"I knew about all of this from the very beginning and she knew I did but she did nothing to stop herself until she got pregnant with Fiona while my father was away. And since I was really close with my dad, I told him everything in confidence and he promised to do something about it. I waited for months but nothing was happening but I didn't dare question his actions. I had no idea that the worst was about to happen."

Everyone listened with rapt attention as he narrated, trying to keep his emotions at bay.

"It was mine and Amy's fifteenth birthday and we were all celebrating. I've always loved tech and I had a contraption I had set up, plugged to the large socket in my room. My father treated us to a large dinner and were busy enjoying ourselves, when out of nowhere we heard sirens from the fire service because there was apparently an inferno brewing inside our large mansion. We had to be evacuated but Amy was missing and my father who was so fond of her went in search of her but never came back." He felt a tear drop before he could stop it. Now this was the demon he had been fighting for years.

"I blamed myself for it for so so long because I thought it was my fault that the robot I had created caused the fire. There was no thorough investigation, all we got was my father's remains which were properly buried. Amy however, we were not sure because her bedroom wasn't necessarily razed down by the fire and there was no trace of her remains so they all assumed she was dead but I did not believe it." He swallowed and wiped a tear with his thumb.

"Without anything, I could not commence the search for her so I had to wait. And when I was of age, I worked hard so I would be able to afford the resources I needed and find her."

"For over a decade, I have been searching and most of the time whenever I felt I was really close, something ruined it and I didn't know what. But I just knew that she was out there somewhere and I would have to find her before it became too late and I'm glad I finally did." He heaved a sigh of utmost relief, thankful that he hadn't lost hope.

"It wasn't until I found out about my father's will that I knew he really did something about the info I have him And now, I know for sure, the person behind this is going to pay for it." He concluded, staring straight at culprit who swallowed heavily.

This was far from over.