“Babe, please” Rebecca pleaded
She was with Alex in his office. It was a new day and a few hours after Damien’s arrest. At first, she let Damien be arrested as that might teach him a lesson not to interfere in her matters again. However, she thought his arrest would only last for the night.
When morning came, she asked Alex if he had released Damien but he replied that he had not. Alex had said he would release him later but after a few hours, he told Rebecca he changed his mind.
He wanted Damien to rot in jail for all he did so he was moving Damien from detention to prison. He deserved it. But Rebecca kept on pleading with him to change his mind. “Please, baby. You know how his poor people behave. They always feel entitled” she said
“And that’s why he needs to stay in there. Prison is the best place for him”
“No, Baby. Please, just release him. I promise he will not bother us again. I’ll make sure of that” she said playing with her index finger on his chest
Alex thought for a little while. “I’ll give it to you very well, today. As much as you want” she said
“Fine but if he dares me again. I’ll make sure he does not see the light of day for the rest of his life” he said and picked up his phone
He dialled a number. “Release the brat,” he said
“Thanks, baby” she placed a kiss on his lips “I’ll be back” she said and rushed out
She got in the car and drove off to the police station and waited for Damien in the parking lot. Thirty minutes after waiting, Damien stepped out and she got out of the car. He spotted her and thought maybe, there was a change.
She was here after all. What else if not to make amends? There was almost a skip in his movement as he walked to the lady in sunglasses. “Re-” she raised her hand shutting him up
“What don’t you get by we cannot work? I’ve moved on. Alex would get married to me soon. I don’t need you ruining things for me”
“Rebecca but you are my wife”
“Ex-wife. You signed the divorce papers and I did too. I’ve sent it to the lawyer and it has been stamped so we are no longer married, Damien. You are my past. Alex is my present and my future”
“Think this through Rebecca, please. I had money. I just-”
Rebecca took out the ring from her purse and threw it at his face. “That’s your cheap ring. I don’t want to hear your lies. This is a warning to you. Do not pester Alex and I again or you will not be going into detention but jail, do you get it?”
Damien did not look at her. His gaze remained on the ring on the ground. Rebecca got into the car and drove off leaving Damien standing in the middle of the compound contemplating his life and what next to do.
He picked up the ring and walked out of the police station. He thought of selling off the ring but it was not worth anything. They were in college when he got the ring. He had run out of pocket money after he helped her with a few things so he could only get a cheap ring from a local market nearby for the wedding.
The only solution now was to go to his family. He had nothing to sustain him. If he stayed out in the streets, he doubted he would survive. Like the prodigal son, he went back to his family house, the Alfredo mansion.
He went on foot and it was a distance away from where he was. It took him a few hours to get to the mansion. The gateman knowing who he was opened the gate for him but did not lead him to the door.
Damien with his entire countenance of remorse and regret walked up to the door and reluctantly knocked on the door. It took a few minutes for the door to fling open. “Young master?” the butler said
“Is… Is dad home?” Damien asked
The butler nodded and stepped aside for him to come in. The moment Damien got in, the sense of home hit him. It had been more than a year since he was disowned and had to stay with Rebecca and her family.
“I’ll go and inform your father of your return,” the butler said and Damien nodded
The butler quickly went up the stairs and when he got back, Damien’s parents were behind him. The butler excused himself and left them alone. Damien’s mother wanted to hug her son but her husband, held her back.
“Did you miss your way, young man?” his father asked
“Dad, em… I… I’m sorry, Dad. I was wrong, you were right. Rebecca divorced me and her family sent me out of the house. I have nowhere to go right now and-”
“And how is that our problem?”
“Dad, please, I know you are mad at me but I’m sorry. I did not mean to go against your order. I was in love so-”
“Then you should still be in love”
“Dad-”
“Stop daddying me. You chose your path and you went for it despite my warnings. You went ahead to get married to a low-class girl. I have warned you several times about your decision. What did I tell you the day you walked out of this house to get married to that girl?”
Damien remembered it quite well. “Damien! If you step out of this house and get married to that girl, forget that you are ever the son of this family!”
But Damien could not say it. “Good, now leave,” his father said
“I’m sorry” he knelt down
His mother took a step forward to go to him but her husband spoke, “Touch that boy and be ready for a divorce” and he went up the stairs
Reluctantly, his mother joined him
It was finally official that Damien had nothing. His wife was gone. She went to be with another man. Her family threw him out of the house.His uncle could not take him in be his father and his father did not also want him back. Damien left the mansion dejected. There was not a single idea of how to go about his life.He could not even start up something. Not a penny was with him, there was no roof over his head. It was slowly turning dark indicating the close of the day.This was the second day of him being homeless. Damien wandered around for a while until he decided to find refuge in a nearby church.He walked in with his hands in his pockets then took a seat at the last row of the bench. His eyes were glued to Mother Mary who was at the front, close to the altar.There was no one in the church except him. The plan was simple, he would stay in the church until he got something to do or at least a better place to stay.He did not even have friends he could call to help him at this p
“Hey," the lady said and looked away from him, wiping her face with her handDamien stood awkwardly for some time before he sat beside her. “I could not help but notice you were in a bad mood," he saidHe kept his distance so as not to scare her away. One thing a crying lady would not want was to feel threatened at her lowest emotional point. It worked when he dealt with his sister, mother and Rebecca so he believed so to be true.“What? You want to mock me?" she snapped at himDamien shook his head. “No, no. Everyone can break down once in a while. It's normal. I just thought you needed someone to speak to. You know, listen to you" he saidShe studied his face for a while then looked away. “I'm Damien" he placed his hand on his chest“So what now? I should tell you my name so you could question my weakness"“I can never do that. You can choose not to tell me your name. It's your choice. I won't force you"They both turned silent as she began to sob, her chest rising and falling. “I…
They had just stepped out of the male boutique where Joana spared no expense in getting him any clothes she thought would be good for him.Damien did not try to make a choice. He was not planning on having a choice when someone was helping him. Though at the back of his mind, he wondered what he was going to do with the clothes since he had nowhere to stay.Surely, Joana was not going to give him a place to stay because he coaxed her when she was down. He could not be walking down the road with nice clothes but empty pockets.But Joana had other plans and she asked the question after they had placed the bags in the back seat. Damien froze because he was not expecting it.“I'll pay you a thousand a month, plus a room in my house and meals every day" she added to her questionThat was an offer of a lifetime for him right now. He did not have a job anyway so he accepted. “I accept," he saidIn his head, he was taking a billion somersaults because now he did not have to worry about a roof
It has been three days since Rebecca finally settled down with her boss, Mr. Alex. The days leading up to their marriage and the three days after their marriage were bliss.Alex was all that family was looking for. He did everything they wanted and needed. Money was not the issue with him. Alex did not mind spending it on Rebecca's family and even Rebecca.He showered her gifts. Every day, Rebecca got new things. Clothes, shoes, new gadgets, anything she ever wanted. For her mother and brother, they got money every single time.Alex gave them all they needed. He bought them properties. He furnished the buildings for them. It was a dream come true for the family.Rebecca's mother would always make side comments about Damien. It was either 'If you had stayed with that fool, we would not have gotten to this point' or 'Glad the poverty that man brought left with him' and many more thingsRebecca said nothing. Even though she did not fully agree with what she said. Damien was a good person
Damien on the other hand was having a peaceful time of his life. All he did was follow Joana everywhere and protect her. It had been a month and he had noticed a few things.Apart from being surrounded by riches, she had no man in her life. Well, one man, her ex-boyfriend has continued to be a pain in both of their lives.Joana had said she blocked him but he kept loading up her phone with other people's numbers and threatening her. He was nothing but obsessive and overprotective.Sometimes it led to Joana crying most times that would require Damien to soothe her. They slowly began getting close. He got to know a few things about her. Her likes, her dislikes but they kept it professional. Damien was there to work and he concentrated on that.It was a Saturday morning, and Damien was busy working his way around the kitchen. He recently began cooking because he did not want Joana to spend money just for a meal when the money could save them a bunch just by cooking it at home.Because he
Damien knew he was not meant to say that. He acted out of impulse. He was just tired of seeing this annoying little man called Gabe. Damien saw him as nothing but annoying. Could he not get the memo? Joanna was done with him. If she wanted to continue with him, then Damien would have thought Joanna had gone crazy and did not value herself.He stiffened a little the moment he realized what he had done. Not only did he just call himself Joanna's boyfriend, but he pulled her closer to him. This was his boss. His saviour. The one person who made sure he did not die on the streets of New York with nothing on him aside from the clothes he had on.His mind travelled to several things at once. What if she denied him? What if she fires him? What if she sent him out of the house because of this? The thought made him more tense. He bit his tongue, cursing at himself for making this terrible mistake. Joanna definitely would not be happy about this.Joanna placed her hand on his chest. Yes, it too
The shock was quite evident on Damien's face as his fist almost collided with Joanna's face when she stepped in between him and Gabe. Damien wanted to teach Gabe a lesson and for some time, he lost his sense of reasoning. All he could think about was the things he had gone through over a month ago.It has been that long but it still has a great effect on him. He still felt the pain of it. He still could not take the memories away from his mind. What was crazier was he loved Rebecca still. But he should not. Rebecca cheated on him, insulted him and her family did the same.Just when he thought things would go smoothly, Gabe came out of nowhere and began degrading him, opening wounds that had yet to heal completely. Joanna could see how aggressive Damien was as he beat up Gabe. She was happy that there was someone to defend her.No one was open to doing so. Maybe because she brought it upon herself. She was meant to leave Gabe a long time ago. She did not have the mental energy to tell
Damien stared at the ceiling, his hand on his stomach. His thoughts were going wild and he needed to stop it before it went out of control. He knew who he was dealing with. He hates that he was in this situation but he was in it and he had to control himself. Not only is Joanna his boss and the one to pull him out of his misery, but he underwent a divorce not long ago.He could not possibly jeopardize the little peace he had now all because of some fantasy that had been dancing in his head non-stop. It has been two days. He had not spoken to her aside from mere greetings or to inform her to come down to the dining area for a meal. That was it.But it bugged him. What he saw and felt that day, he could explain but was still unbelievable to him. Joanna could not have possibly meant that in a sexual way, could she? He was so close to asking her that day but he chose not to. What if he was wrong? And what if she gets upset that he thinks of her that way after all she has done?He had not