The Confession
“I think you should return to England and be with your family, Evelyn.” Damien said, still holding on to Evelyn and he felt her body suddenly stiffen.
Evelyn's mood changed and her heart felt as though it had been shattered into a million pieces. She wondered what she had done that would make Damien talk about sending her back but she found nothing as to her, she had done nothing wrong.
There was only one reason she could think of.
Harriett!
“It’s going to be best for you right now because I will no longer be able to spend time with you.” Damien revealed. It was still a wonder to him how she was able to live in New York for so long and still wasn't able to make a single friend except him.
He didn’t want to believe it but his gut was telling him that she was doing it on purpose as a way of making sure that she was with him at all times.
A few seconds went by and there was still no response from Evelyn so, he decided to reach out to her.
“Evelyn?” Damien pulled out of the hug when he realized that she had been crying.
“N-now that Harriett is back, you no longer have a use for me. Is that it, Damien?” She laughed dryly, not bothering to wipe her tears. Her brown eyes were filled with tears and her mascara was starting to break due to her tears.
She knew exactly why Damien was being this way but, she couldn’t leave, not after all the years she had invested in trying to become Mrs Daniels.
Damien, on the other hand, knew from the start that she wouldn’t take his suggestion well but he was going to try. With her around, he knew that he would always feel guilty when he was not paying any attention to her and in her words “ abandoning her ”.
She was his friend after all and for a brief moment, he had feelings for her.
“How can you tell me to return to England when you of all people know exactly why I left?” She cried, hitting his chest with her palm.
“Come on, Evelyn. With all the money I have given your parents, I don’t think they’d put any pressure on you to provide for them. If anything, they’d be happy to see you.” He said in an attempt to convince her but it was fruitless as her mind had already been made up.
Nothing he says would make her leave because the story about her parents wasn’t true to begin with. It was a cooked up story made by her to extort money for Julian for her parents who were as greedy as she was.
How could she return back to England when she had promised them that she would become Mrs Daniels soon?
Absolutely not.
She quickly slumped to the ground and began weeping, shedding crocodile tears to gain Damien’s sympathy. A few seconds after that, Damien crouched down to her level and a smirk appeared on her face but quickly faded as Damien pulled her chin up to his face. She knew that Damien still cared about her and was only confused because of Harriett’s presence.
She now knew what needed to be done to safeguard her place in Damien’s life.
“Why don’t you take sometime to think about it.” He said and was about leaving her side but she quickly grabbed him and hugged him tightly.
“You’re all I have, Damien. I don’t know what I’d do to myself if you leave me.” She said but it was more of a threat to Damien.
*
*
Evelyn finally left Damien’s office with a smile on her face. She knew that the battle was far from over but at least, she still had Damien’s trust and sympathy.
The week was also coming to an end and Harriett hadn’t been able to bring Damien to his knees. This made Evelyn believe that she had a good chance at winning the challenge.
As Damien finished with his work for the day, he could only think about one person- Harriett. Not being able to control himself, he found himself dialing her number. After four rings, she surprisingly picked the call.
“Hey.” Her soft voice filled his ears and he leaned back on his chair, smiling like a child.
‘When did you become lovesick, Damien?’ He thought to himself before clearing his throat and speaking up.
“It’s Damien.” He said and face palmed himself when he realized what he had said. Of course, she knew who was on the phone. His phone number was saved on her phone!
“I know that. What is it?” She spoke as though she was in a hurry and it made him wonder what she could be doing as it was already six in the evening.
A frown appeared on his face as he pictured his ex-wife and Tony spending the night in each other's company.
He quickly shook his head, getting rid of the image.
“How are yo—How are the twins?” He cleared his throat, stopping himself from moving too fast. She had already given him a hint on how to win her heart again and he planned on sticking to that.
“They are both doing great. Adrian is asleep while Addison is with her grandparents.” She said and he nodded, his heart aching when he remembered how Addison didn’t want to be around him.
“Can I visit tomorrow? I haven’t quite made an impression on Addison yet. I’d like to try and be her friend first. What do you say?” He asked and Harriett hummed, opening her mouth to speak when she realized that she was getting to comfortable with him over the phone.
“She’s your daughter, Damien. Of course, you’re free to be around her.” She said and Damien smiled, happy that she wasn’t being hostile towards him.
The line went silent for a few seconds when Harriett’s voice came through.
“What are you doing, Damien?” She asked and for a moment his heart leaped for joy, thinking that she was asking about his activities.
“Now? Well, I just finished with a few documents a while ago, now I’m about to-”
“Not that. Why did you call? I can tell that you are just using Addison and Adrian as an excuse.What do you want, Damien?” She said, cutting him off.
Damien chuckled sadly, knowing that it wouldn’t benefit him to lie so he decided to come clean to her.
“I just wanted to talk, Harriett. I-I miss you.” Harriett’s breath hitched and her body froze as she stood in the kitchen.
One minute goes by but neither of them say anything, both waiting for the other to speak first. All that could be heard on the call was their rhythmic breathing.
Just as Damien was about speaking, Harriett’s voice boomed through the phone’s speaker.
“Funny how you say this now but you were so sure four years ago when you said that you didn’t care about my feelings.” She chuckled bitterly.
She knew that she was dragging the matter from four years ago for too long even after his countless apologies but she couldn’t just let him come back after that painful experience. As a matter of fact, whenever she remembered his harsh words from then, her heart still ached.
“Harri, I-”
“I’m sorry but it’s going to take more than this to earn my forgiveness. I might be letting you meet your children and come to my house but, it doesn’t mean I accept you into my life, Damien. I’m just doing all of this because my children deserve both parents.” She said, thankful that her voice didn’t match the sadness that was etched on her face.
“I doubt there’s a future for us, Damien. All we have is a past. A past that I wish never happened.” She said with no emotion in her tone.
“I regret it as much, Harriett. But, I’m not going to make the same mistake with her present and future. You can continue chasing me away if it’ll make you feel better but I promise you Harriett, I’ll never give up on you. Not until we are back together.” He said and shut his eyes before saying the next words that he had never told any woman.
“I love you, Harriett.”
