Damien took the kids and headed back home. Armin seemed willing to hand them over to him without a fight, but he didn't want to do it for free.
"Nothing in this world is free," Armin said.
"What do you want?" Damien asked.
"I want you to find and kill a man on my behalf. I presume it'd be a small task for you," Armin said.
Damien furrowed his brows. "Why don't you do it yourself. It's not like it goes against your moral values considering you have none," he said in an amused tone.
"I have personal reasons which I cannot discuss with you right now. Do we have a deal?" Armin asked.
Damien stood up and shook his hand. "Only because these children are precious to me and I don't dislike you as much as some other people."
Armin grinned. "I am flattered. I will send you the details with the information on the target when the time comes."
****
Natasha was still sound asleep. She must've been exhausted from worrying and
Oh snap. I don't think Adeline is very happy about this!
Damien chuckled. He knew Adeline wouldn't take it well when he delivered the news. "Do you think you're funny?" Adeline demanded to know. "This isn't a joke. I made my decision. You will be my wife whether you like it or not." Damien declared. Adeline looked at him, dumbfounded. But Damien had decided already. He had always planned on making her his wife, but it wasn't going to anytime soon. But when he thought the kids were in trouble, he realized how much he cared about having a family. He realized he wanted a family of his own. And when he saw Adeline playing with Natasha's kids, he knew he wanted to grow a family with her and no one else. "I would never marry you. I hate you!" Adeline cried. Damien pretended to look surprised. "WHAT! I thought we moved past that, and you are now madly in love with me!" "In your dreams, Sky. I am only pretending to like you so I can survive this nightmare." Adeline pouted.
Adeline stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door shut as soon as Damien escorted her inside the house. Damien laughed and made eye contact with his bodyguard Akiko who hadn't said anything the whole time she was with them. "Are you sure it's a good idea to marry the girl you bought, boss?" Akiko asked, raising her eyebrow. Damien frowned. "You should already know by now that she is not just a girl I purchased at that horrendous auction. She is special. She is the love of my life." "I don't think she shares the same sentiment." Akiko laughed out loud as she heard Adeline cursing out loud and throwing things through the closed door. "That's just Addie returning back to normal," Damien smirked. He would take this over her other persona, "Selene" who looked like she was barely alive. Akiko shook her head. "You always seem to be drawn to the most difficult people. Why couldn't you find someone who is a little easier to 'tame?'"
Adeline took a quick shower then put on her nightgown. She didn't know when Damien would show up unannounced and the thought of it made her excited and annoyed at the same time. She was still mad at him for forcing her to marry him, but she couldn't ignore the butterflies in her stomach. Out of all the things he had done to her, a marriage proposal was the last thing she expected. Dammit Damien, why did he have to be so weird? She picked up a book from the bookshelf and started to read it. She stopped thinking about everything else as she became immersed in her book. She didn't realize how much time had passed before the door opened abruptly. She nearly dropped her book on the floor as it made a loud noise, and Damien barged in. Her heart jumped to her throat as she looked at his face. His eyes were missing their warmth. He looked angry. "What...." Damien threw a piece of paper at her face before she could finish her question.
Damien didn't look at Adeline after he got up to clean himself up. After he was done, he stormed off without saying goodbye. He didn't know why he was so angry. Deep down, he had known how much she hated him. She had always looked at him like he was a piece of trash even when they were teenagers. He must've been insane for thinking she would love him for one second. But sanity wasn't his strong suit, so he kept trying to win her back. He went into his office and pulled out the report that Mahoney left for him. The file had all the vital information about Adeline's former boyfriend, Tommy. Apparently he was a police officer. So little Tommy became a bad cop and enjoyed beating his girlfriend in his free time, huh? He is about to learn what real pain feels like, Damien thought and smirked. He couldn't wait to get his hands on him. It would be his pleasure to break his fingers one by one. The fingers that hurt Adeline. His Adeline. Damien
Damien woke up with cold sweats and a horrible nightmare. He quickly got up and gulped down some water. It has been a while since he had a nightmare like that. It must be from stress since he had been dealing with a lot of shit the past couple of days. And then the thing about Adeline... It crushed his heart. He felt like it broke him. But was he too harsh on her? He wondered. He hadn't gone to see her the past two days. He told his men to keep an eye on her, and that's it. No, he shouldn't feel bad because she hadn't been kind to her either. He had been trying everything to bring her back to him and all she did was insult him, made him feel like shit. Constantly. But he couldn't sit here and mope. He had business to attend to. For one, he needed to keep his end of the bargain with Armin. He needed to find the man Armin wanted him to kill. He looked at the picture and the bio of the man. Arash Hosseini, age 45, occupati
Adeline wanted to test out her freedom. She wondered if Yuri meant it when he said Damien granted her the freedom to go anywhere she wanted or was it part of Damien's game to torture her? First, give her hope, then take it away. But Damien hadn't lied about anything to her since he brought her here. She walked out of her room, but no one stopped her. She ran into Odette and some of Damien's men, but all they did was nod. She decided to hang out in the garden for a bit. Being in the garden brought back the memories of that night. The night when Damien took her to their makeshift prom. It was one of the best nights she has had in a long time. But thinking about it made her sad. It all seemed like a mere fantasy now. She stayed outside for a while, enjoying the cool breeze. It wasn't complete freedom, but it was way better than being cooped up in her room all day and night. "Ms. Adeline." Adeline looked up as a melodious voice broke the s
Damien met with Armin the next day. He needed to clear some things with him and make sure he wasn't made a fool out of. "Ah, it's good to see you again so soon. You don't look too well. You aren't feeling ill, are you? Armin raised his brows. Damien shook his head dismissively. He wasn't sick. But he must look terrible with bags under his eyes. He hadn't been sleeping well lately, not since he fought with Addie. "I am fine. I called you here because I wanted to discuss some things with you," he said. "Do tell. I'm eager to hear what you have to ask," Armin smirked. "Who was Arash? What's your relationship with him? Don't tell me I just killed your relative or something," Damien asked. Armin laughed. "Wow, you are a curious one. I didn't think you'd care about who dies in your arms. But to answer your question about him being my relative...yes. He was my brother. We are fraternal twins, in fact." Damien looked at him, startled. "You had
"Are you sure this is okay?" Adeline hesitated before buying her fifth outfit. Natasha nodded her head. "Of course it is. He buys me whatever I ask and I'm just his half-sister. You, on the other hand..." "His prisoner," Adeline finished. "His queen." Natasha giggled. "Queen that he imprisoned in his castle," Adeline said, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. So is this all you want?" Natasha asked. "Do you think we could go into that store over there?" Adeline asked and pointed at the fabric store. Natasha looked puzzled. "A fabric store? Why?" Adeline hesitated and looked down shyly. "I've always been interested in fashion designs. I used to make my own dresses and play with different designs before I moved out of my mom's house. I wanted to go to school for that." "Maybe you can still pursue that dream," Natasha touched her shoulder. Could she? It seemed impossible. Damien wouldn't even let her out of the hou