Chapter 4

Chapter 4

“Damien Barksdale, your cousin….” Avon thought he heard wrong, but the strange eyes of this young man gleamed as a reminder. He did just refer himself as his cousin.

Avon looked down at the palm stretched out, hesitant before making contact with him.

“I know there’s a lot you have to ask, but I assure you there’s a lot more to share,” he spoke with warmth. “Now I’d be more please if you’d invite me to your home where we can have an actual conversation?” He subtly suggested.

Avon weaved no response other than stepped back to open his door wider, the gesture beckoning an invite to him.

Damian pasted a warm smile before his feet swung in, Avon led the both of them straight to his living room where there was nothing much to gush at.

He had just move in, hence furnishing the house was as fair as the night sky to the night dwellers; he’d redecorate once he’s more settled in and comfortable.

The both of them took their respective seat on one of the seaters with Damian on the opposite side of Avon.

“I’d offer you a drink, but I don’t know you that well or even feel like,” Avon cut into the silence, his weary gaze on Damian not softening anytime soon.

“That’s not problem, although it’s a bit harsh when you say it the way you did.” Damian chuckled, “So where should I start from? My origin? Or why I came to meet you? It’s a very long story,” his jaw flexed elegantly as he added.

“Start everywhere, I don’t care. I just want to know who you are,” Avon spat his mind.

“So I already introduce myself to you as your cousin, that’s exactly who I am. Your father wasn’t the only son Barksdale himself had, he had another child- but not with his wife, it was with another woman and it was that child who fathered me. My father reached out to yours countless times when he was alive, however he never wanted to engage their relationship but knows very well of his existence. Soon after he died with his family and we visited your family’s funeral, that was how I learnt that you might still be alive. People were sharing rumors about you……”

Avon followed his narration attentively.

“I heard what I needed to hear and began searching for you where I found out you’re very much alive, and that you’re not just a mere Barksdale man anymore, you became The Dragon General, I learnt everything about your reputation and that got me a bit scared to reach out to you. I assumed you were going to treat me the same way your father treated mine, it took me months but I later man up and tried reaching out only I couldn’t because you’ve disappeared. The Dragon General who raided the city to find his woman had suddenly vanish, not for a while but it’s approaching two long years, something had gone wrong and I could feel it then. I said screw trying to reach out and just went for you straight up where your wife told me you’ve fallen into coma. And this was two years after she’s given birth, I took pity on the state of your wife as she had become so sick from taking care of the newborn and worrying over you. It was then I learnt that your wife has become Mrs Wilson and was no longer your wife, and that she stays in your house with Richard himself who has you locked in a room and commanded guards to never allow anyone into that room. Including Lorraine herself.”

“I briefed her on who I am and told her to let me worry about you while she focus on caring for the baby. That was the first time I’d meet Richard who sent me out of the house. I was able to sneak in and take you away where I got you hospitalized in a place no one knows about and under intense care from the best doctors all around the world and for some reason they couldn’t pin point what got you in coma. All we could do was hope for you to wake up one day, your wife contacted me to know if I had anything to do with your disappearance but I lied to her. I can smell Richard is all over her and they’ll be on to me. I stay at the Capital where they’d think I’m hiding you, meanwhile I worked your transfer back to EastHill. It wasn’t too long before your wife forgot about you totally, as if her memory of you had gotten wiped all of a sudden and she has fallen totally for Richard. I tried to get her to remember you but there’s so little I could do about that, so instead I plan to protect all your assets from Richard after finding out he wants to lay claim over it all. It’s almost as if he knew about you getting in that coma, and believed you’ll never wake up from it.”

“He had came for all your documents, and I was able to swap the originals with forged replicas in time before he got it. He confiscated everything and recreated it under his name, unbeknownst to him that he destroyed fake papers and not the original one that I have stolen.” He suddenly paused, “I could use that drink you don’t want to offer me cause my tongue is running dryer than a desert.” He bared his tongue, to further showcase how dry his mouth had become.

Avon groaned with an eye roll, he had lower his suspicion about Damian so his expression was less guarded. He stood up and went to his kitchen.

He returned with two glasses of wine and the wine bottle itself placed together on a tray, he passed a glass over to Damian and sat down close to him where he sip gently on the second glass.

Damian down the entire content filling his cup in one swift go, he sighed as he dropped the glass. “Soon after Richard launched his claim over your assets and announced his relationship with your wife, he also paid multiple journalists to write you off as dead since you were nowhere to be seen. I did nothing because it wasn’t my fight, instead I make sure you’d have a weapon ready for use whenever you come back to life and ready to fight.” His story came into conclusion, he proceeded to refill his glass cup by himself.

Avon sat still in silence, letting the whole story sank in deeper. The confusing part of it was all, that he couldn’t quite get to settle in was the Lorraine forgetting about him part. Did she get into an accident that costed her memory? Or Richard had her brain fried?

“So you never think to find out how my wife suddenly forgot about me?” Avon grilled, the only thing skeptical about the whole story.

“Well she wasn’t my focus because I never thought such would happen. However when it did, I tried to find out why but got nothing, believe it or not I got nothing. And trust that it was sudden, out of the blue and ordinary.”

Avon’s eyes flamed at the mention of ordinary. Lorraine losing her memory and falling in sudden love with Richard isn’t natural, it is out of ordinary.

“All I know is your wife’s family, The Hales? Some things happened with them that got Lorraine arrested and it was Richard who bailed her out, that was the starting point of whatever is between them today,” he added.

But Avon needed no enlightenment to know what has been done to his wife. To know how her memory got tainted and her life rerouted.

“So I guess I owe you for keeping me alive? Thank you so much.” Avon could only imagine what would happen if he had woke up in Richard’s captivity.

With his powers nowhere to be found and he’s as mundane as a human could be, he’d simply order for his demise.

“You shouldn’t do that and you don’t owe me. You literally have no one, well not anymore but still….” Damian looked at him with intense affection, “Still I wish I had been there for you a long time ago.”

Avon cringed at his words but wouldn’t show it, “Thanks, but I still don’t trust you,” he told him outright.

Damian laughed at his sincerity, “Of course you don’t, and given what you’ve gone through, I wouldn’t dare to blame you at all. With all that settled, let’s move on to the next thing shall we? You’d have to give me a minute.”

Before Avon could say anything, Damian stood up and walked towards the exit. Perhaps he has something to retrieve so Avon didn’t attempt to stop him.

Few minutes later Damian returned with a briefcase which he stretched out for Avon to take. “It contains the files to your assets that Richard thought he had destroyed but very well still intact. Rest for today, and go make your move, Cousin,” he said to Avon.

Avon stared in silence as he took the briefcase from him. The battle has just began.