They arrive at the Paradise Resort in ten minutes, but it was a little far. Damien gave his fare and then ran out of the vehicle to chase his beloved girlfriend. Rain was starting to pour and he had forgotten his umbrella back home. The fence separated him from the entrance of the resort. He had to run to the gate because the taxi couldn’t get there for the roads were blocked.
Several expensive cars lined up at the sides of the road, but he paid no attention to them. He ran and ran until his lungs hurt. He finally reached the gate but the security stops him.
“Invitation?”
“I am Mister Richard's employee from Colton Corp. I have an emergency message to tell him.”
“Give us the message and we will tell him.”
“It’s discreet. Boss told me to keep it.”
“Well, your emergency message ain’t reaching him. Get out boy. You’re ruining the show.”
“Can’t you see I went into the rain to come here and deliver this message? It’s important!”
But the security was not giving in. Damien had to find another way so he could get inside the resort. He got out of their sight as they requested and proceeded to trace the fence of the resort. He found a small opening near the bins and quickly darted inside.
Some of the metal prongs in the fence caught his outfit and the mud from the rain was not helping him either. He got scratches, but it didn't seem to falter him a bit. Damien had to know.
He had to know the reason why she had replaced him with someone else.
He had to know what he lacked.
He successfully enters the resort and quickly made his way to the banquet hall where everyone was. The halls towards the banquet were quiet because everyone was serving, therefore, he got in there just fine.
However, he was caught by the CCTV cameras, and by the time he was heading to the banquet hall, the security was already on their way to apprehend him. Damien opened the door into the banquet hall and found a lot of wealthy people inside. Some were talking about business, and some— flirting.
Damien’s eyes caught a few security entering the banquet hall, and he already knew that they were looking for him. He blended into the sea of wealthy people and started looking for Clarissa. The noblemen cursed at him for pushing them off, but he couldn’t care less.
‘Where is she?’ this question kept repeating in his head.
A few moments later, she spotted her amongst the crowd with Richard . Damien squeezed through the line of people and eventually made it into the clearing.
The sight of the disheveled man immediately surprises Clarissa. When she looked at him further, it is only then that she realizes who he was.
Clarissa’s hand reached for Richard's and he looked at her with worry. The girl was paler than the white dress she was wearing. The man before them was terrifying. He was wet and muddied with swollen eyes because of crying, one would assume he was a beggar or addict.
“R-Richard.”
The male stood up and the crowd went silent. Everyone’s eyes turned to Damien.
“What is the meaning of this, Clarissa?” Damien took a step closer to the couple, but they retreated steps back. “I… I thought we were…”
Richard looked over to the woman beside him. She hid her body behind Richard , clearly shaken. “Call the security, Richard ! He’s dangerous!”
“What are you talking about..?” Damien’s voice was exhausted and painful to hear. “…I was the reason you came this far. That dress… it sure does look pretty on you.”
Clarissa clutched onto the dress she was wearing. It was gifted to her by Damien. She had always told him how she wanted to buy the dress but it was very expensive. It took two months worth of Damien’s monthly salary to purchase that regalia.
But he couldn’t believe it.
She had worn that dress for another man.
“Clarissa… why?”
“Who are you?” Richard's violent voice echoed throughout the room. “How do you know my wife?”
“Your wife?” Damien shook his head, droplets falling off from his wet hair. “Clarissa… tell him!”
“Do you know this man?” Richard turned to his wife, who immediately shook her head again and again. “N-No! Of course not!”
When Clarissa denied it, Damien’s chest suffocated more and more.
All his hard work… his wages… his hopes and dreams with her were all shattered. For the first time, Damien’s eyes clouded, and a tear strolled from his cheek.
“You said you loved me…” he mumbled. “…you said nothing can divide us.”
Everyone was gossiping around them and Damien was embarrassed and heartbroken. He never thought that such misery would befall him.
“I can that you’re an employee of my company.” Richard started. “Who are you? How do you know my wife? Are you a drug addict?”
“No. I am not.” Damien’s eyes flamed even more and he focused his emerald eyes at Clarissa. The girl’s chest trembled and she hid behind Richard, scared to her wits.
“Clarissa. We’re going home.”
Damien approached Richard and grabbed the wrist of his so-called lover. He was uncertain if she truly loved him, though. In his head, he just wanted to be with her.
“Talk to me.” He said, but Richard pushes him off the platform, causing Damien to stumble onto the floor. The audience gasped and the cameras started to flash.
“Security!!!” Clarissa screamed at the top of her lungs.
The guards quickly took a hold of Damien’s arm. And dragged him across the floor. “Take him away!!!” she screamed even more.
“No.” Richard turned his head at his wife and furrowed his brows. Clarissa turned paler. She shook her head at her husband.
“Richard, please, you have to send him away! He is scaring me! He is scaring all our guests!”
But Richard was a little skeptical. “Leave him. Let him stay. I want to hear what he has to say.”
Richard stared at Damien with suspicious eyes while the woman behind him was sweating buckets. Damien frowned at Clarissa, but she couldn’t possibly look at him straight in the eye. “Why does he know you?” Richard asked his wife. “Who is he?”She was shaking. The woman finally glanced at Damien and he shook his head terribly. All of a sudden, she replies.“Yes, I know him.”Damien’s heart loosened and a smile erupts from his hopeless face. A little bit of confidence poured into him, but it didn’t take long before all of those momentary relief becomes snatched. Clarissa’s eyes were then clouded with tears. She sobbed on Richard's shoulders and the cameras focused on her. Damien listened.“He was my ex-boyfriend! He abuses me every day and tried to touch me even if I protested. Richard, please… you have to send him away!”Damien turned pale as the cameras flashed before him, taking pictures of his shocked face. He couldn’t feel anything… he couldn’t even absorb what she had accused hi
That night, Damien lost a friend at work. His coworker looked at him at disbelief and pushed the male away from him. “You’re not like this before, Damien.” He said out of spite. “Even if you were angry, you’d never grab anyone’s collar like that.”Damien was silent. He clenched his fists and bit his lip until he could savor the metallic taste of blood. “I didn’t do it.”“Well you fucking say that to the media.” His coworked grumbled. “Now that you’ve shown your terrible side, I have no doubts you actually abused Miss Clarissa.” “I fucking didn’t.”“That’s why she probably left you.” “That’s fucking enough!” Damien launched himself towards his coworker and lands a punch on his cheek. The coworker drops to the floor, bleeding through his mouth. Damien stood there, stunned at what he had done. His coworker weakly looked at him and shook his head.He angrily stood up even when his legs were wobbly. He spat the blood to the ground and gave him a rejected look. “You fucking changed,
Damien woke up the earliest and bathed using a hose in the garden. He picked out what was left of his clothes, but they weren’t fit for work. He wore his gray hoodie and some worn navy-blue pants. He walked to work, even if was very far. He couldn’t afford to call a cab because he had no money. As he reached the urban part of the city— where the big skyscrapers mounted to the sky— he took a deep breath and made his way to the bank. The security guard looked at him with a suspicious face. Damien shrugged and then proceeded to the desk to inquire about a loan.“Do you have any identification card, Sir?” the lady in the desk asked her as she was getting out some forms to the small box beside her for Damien to fill out. Damien scratched his head. “I’m sorry, miss. I lost my wallet and it had all my I.Ds in it.”The lady stopped. She dropped the paper and then proceeded back to typing very fast in her keyboard. “You can come back once you have an I.D, sir. We cannot process that so quic
He picked up the piece of paper on the floor and then barged out of the company while gritting his teeth and holding the box of his last belonging with him. When Damien was out of the building, he approached a nearby pillar, put the box down, and then took a while to breathe. His palms were bruised. So bruised because he had been clenching them since the beginning of the day. The little money he had was the last thing he was holding on to. He checked the money inside the envelope. This was two months’ worth of pay. With that money, he could pay off half of his debt to the landlady. He stashed the money into his pockets, securely and then left. He walked home that afternoon, and of course, he arrived when it was almost nighttime. His knees were near to giving up, but Damien was used to walking home from another city away at that point. Whenever he would pass by shops with television on, it always showed the prestigious wedding premiere of Clarissa and Richard.Had Damien noticed it,
Damien is then sent to the interviewer’s office, where he waits on the same benches along with four other interviewees. After twenty minutes, a secretary came out of the interviewer’s door and calls out Damien’s name. At first, she was cheerful, but when she laid sight of Damien’s face, her smile quickly faded. “It’s your turn, sir.” Damien composed himself. “Thank you.”Why did he feel unwelcomed?He entered the interviewer’s office. He was a short, stout man with piercing black eyes and a credible mustache. He gandered at Damien and then offered him a seat. Damien settles down, gives him an envelope, and gives the interviewer the time to read his documents. Damien’s resume was brilliant. He had many achievements and awards from previous works, and one could tell from the first look at his resume that this man was the asset they needed. Damien was confident with his resume. He was even more confident of his performance.The interviewer began with some simple questions and then sl
Damien stared at the people before him and shook his head.“Look, I had a terrible day. If this is a prank, quit it out.”The girl named Ash sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I know you do not want to jump, Master Blackwell. Step out. Your father wants to see you.”“Father?” confusion is visible in the male’s eyes. “Sorry… I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t think it is me you’re looking for.”“You are.” Ash leaned closer to him until he could feel her breath on his face. Damien averted his eyes from her and looked away. “Emerald eyes and jet black hair, with a small scar on your cheek. You are indeed Lord Blackwell’s son.”“Who—”Ash placed a finger on his lips cunningly and then shifted her eyes to the men behind her. “It’s him. Take him.”The men in black approached Damien and pulled him off the edge of the bridge. Several cars in the street would look at the suspicious sight in front of them but figured that they didn’t want to get involved so they kept on driving.When
Lord Tyrell sat on the far end of the long table while Damien was on the other end. Ash moved his plates to his side and served as their referee when things heat up. The girl then stationed herself beside Lord Tyrell.The dining hall was very silent. The two didn't know who should start eating. Ash cleared her throat. “Please, Master Damien, dig in.” Someone had to say it.Damien said nothing and took his spoon and fork. He weighed the utensil in his hand and realized how heavy they were. He then starts eating his breakfast, and his father follows.Ash could feel the awkwardness between the two. She crossed her arms across her chest and leaned against the window while watching the two eat. Now, it would be interesting who would be the first one to break the tension.She waited and waited, but there was not a single word being shared between the two. They finished their meals and have not yet said a single thing to each other. She was about to break the ice, when all of a sudden, thank
TWO YEARS LATER________________In a dark, wet alleyway of 504 Greenhill Street, just near the dumpsters— a bleeding man is surrounded by five other men wearing black suits and dark shades, each of them holding a gun to his head. A black Cadillac parks near the alleyway, blocking its only entrance and exit to the main road— giving these mobsters their own privacy.The man is sent to the muddy, grimy floor— begging for his life. “Please don’t do this! Have mercy on me! I was only told to do it!”The drizzling rain covered the man’s muffled cries, making him unnoticeable to the people walking past the street. But even if someone had noticed them, they wouldn't dare interrupt. After all, the Black Vigilantes was a former mafia group and now works as the government’s lapdog. A huge business, for the Blackwell family, head of the mob.A woman’s powerful heels then join the scene— Ash Harlock’s haunting footsteps caused the man to tremble even more. “Is this him?” “Yes.” One of the membe