CHAPTER 9 VACATION

The toy

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Although it had been a week since Damon said he would handle the media, headlines still painted me as the crazy bitch. Meanwhile, pictures of him and Lucy have also been all over the media—romantic dates, holding hands at events. Seeing those photos made me relive the heartbreak all over again.

Jessie and I had decided to go on vacation to get our minds off things.

I glanced at the apartment, wondering how Damon would feel when he came back, and I realized I was gone. He’d definitely pull the life support on my mother by himself.

“Our flight is at 11 a.m. We’ve got less than two hours to get to the airport.” Jessie reminded me. “You’re taking forever. Are you scared the Demon will pull your mother's life support with his bare hands?” Jessie chuckled.

“You always know what I’m thinking.” I smiled, closing the door behind me.

"That is why we are friends. Just tell him you are going on vacation. You need some time for yourself,” Jessie said, tossing the luggage in the booth.

“He’s going to be mad.” I slipped into the passenger seat and fastened my seatbelt.

“Let him be.” Jessie started the car and drove off to the airport.

*****

The flight from New York to Las Vegas took about 5 hours. Jessie and I entered the hotel room with the porters following right behind us. The porters dropped off the luggage and excused themselves. I moved around the spacious room, inspecting the room. From the balcony, I could see the pool.

With a wide smile on my lips, I collapsed onto the double king-sized bed, its softness relieving the tension from sitting on the plane for hours.

Breathing in the air masked in vanilla, “Fresh air,” I whispered.

“I told you that house was suffocating you.” Jessie collapsed right next to me.

"So, what are we going to do?” I asked, facing Jessie.

“There are a lot of things to do, but let’s start by diving into that inviting pool,” she. suggested, rising to her feet. “We will wash away the bad demon's energy and his New York vibes.” I couldn’t help but giggle as she pulled me up

I sat on the pool deck, my legs dipped into water, watching Jessie play fish in the pool.I used to be a good swimmer, but after waking up from my coma, I suddenly became afraid of entering a pool. It’s funny how a near-death experience can change someone.

Jessie was an excellent swimmer. She had represented her school in competitions and always came first. I constantly reminded her that she was wasting her talent as an event planner instead of pursuing a professional swimming career.

Click! I took a picture as I posed, raising my cup of red mocktail that matched the red bikini I was putting on. I admired the picture before posting it on social media.

It didn’t take too long before comments started flooding in —“sexy" and “beautiful.”. Different people praised my appearance. I thought, What would happen if Damon saw this? Would he crave for me? I shook the thoughts in my head. I shouldn’t be thinking about him.The reason I took this vacation was to get away from him and handle my feelings.

Amidst the comments, a certain one caught my attention. My fist tightened its grip as I read it. “Isn’t this Damon Wesley’s toy?”

My heart sank at the hurtful nickname people had given me when Damon Wesley and I started a fake relationship. While growing up, I was labeled Ariel’s prototype—now I’m called Damon Wesley’s toy. It’s like the world keeps defining me as anything but my true identity, Aria Smith.

My phone pinged; it was a message from Damon.

Damon: Take down those pictures—I don’t like them.

A frown spread across my face as I read his message. He hadn't contacted me in a week, and now he just suddenly appears, demanding that I take my pictures down.

Me: Look who decided to rise from the dead.

Damon: hehehe.

Was he seriously laughing? What did he find funny?

Me: I’m not taking anything down. I didn’t post them for you

Damon: I see, you posted for those thirsty men in your comments. Are you with another man?

“Are you with your missing piece?” I asked, trying to taunt him.

Damon: Yes.

His words dealt a blow, shattering my already broken heart. A sharp pain surged through my chest, and tears blurred my vision. I’m not one to cry easily, but this man had reduced me to tears.

Jessie snatched the phone from my arms and sent him a message.

“The audacity,” Jessie said, switching off my phone.

“No more phone—we came all the way here to get away from him.”

“Why won’t he let me go?” I asked, my legs playing in the water.

I thought he would miss me while I was away. I thought he would beg me to come back—not beg, actually, since he wasn’t the type to beg—but write a long message about why I should come back to New York, like he always did. Instead, he was in the arms of the other woman.

“Maybe because the sex is too good.” Jessie joked, trying to lighten up my mood.

“We’ve never had sex,” I replied. I didn’t know how he felt or how he tasted. I’ve only gotten a glimpse of what his lips felt like when we kissed for show.

Jessie’s eyes widened in disbelief. She knew it was a fake relationship; for some reason, she assumed we were sleeping together. Since I wasn’t supposed to disclose information about our contract, I avoided discussing our relationship in detail. “So what did you do all the time you were together?”

“Talking. Some nights, he would cuddle me and tell me funny stories about his childhood. We would eat and giggle like kids.” I replied with a weak smile on my face, staring blankly at the pool.

Our sweet memories flooded my head—no wonder I fell in love.

Life was very difficult—coping with amnesia made everything harder. I couldn’t use my degree to find work. While working at my aunt’s cafe, I first met Damon. I remembered the way he looked at me like a ghost. He became a regular customer. When the business closed up, Damon came to me with the proposal. Desperately, I accepted it. Not only was he paying for my mother’s treatment, but he also invested in my aunt’s business and got me a job at Brey Event as an event planner. He was like a savior to me.

Jessie took a deep breath. “He’s probably a narcissist who enjoys toying with your emotions. Don’t give him the power to control you anymore,” she said, holding my hand. “And there is Logan—.” She started.

“Nope. I can’t treat him the way Damon is treating me.” I stated. “Can I—?” I began before Jessie stopped me.

“Don’t do that to yourself. You can’t make him fall in love with you. It’s easier to make someone hate you.” Jessie responded. She had read my mind again. She was right; if I couldn’t make him love me when there was no woman, how can I do it now when he loves someone else?

I couldn't help but wonder—if it had been Ariel, would he have fallen in love with her? I chuckled slightly because I knew the answer—he would have fallen for her, he too would have picked her over me. After all, Ariel was far better than I. She did everything better than I did, except causing problems.

“Cheers to making him hate me, then,” with a painful tightness in my throat, I said, clinking my glass with Jessie.

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Shortly after returning to our hotel room, there was a knock on the door.

"It's here," Jessie exclaimed, her happiness evident as she made her way to the door.

In moments, she returned, holding a cake. "Peanut cakes," she announced, placing them on the sturdy wooden table beside the white sofa.

I took a slice of the cake and ate. Within seconds of eating it, a strong itch crept into my throat. As I scratched, I felt my tongue begin to swell, making breathing increasingly difficult

Jessie's voice faded into a blur of mumbled words. As the pain overwhelmed me an image broke into my mind.

A memory of a diary.