AMELIA It was morning. I had woken up a few hours before, but I hadn't even thought of leaving my room. I just lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling in silence. They were two reasons was hiding away in my room: I wasn’t ready to speak to anyone yet. And the second- the most important reason- was that I couldn't stop thinking about what had happened last night. With a sigh, I turned over to my side. It was a wonder I had gotten any sleep at all considering the state of mind I had been in. The sadness I had felt after Damian had made his odd proposal was nothing compared to the gut wrenching sorrow I felt now. My agony had somehow created a rope of despair around my heart and with each passing moment, I felt like it would crush me to death. 'I will always protect you from myself.' Those words echoed in my head over and over again. How did a man, a good man, get to the point where he thought of himself like he was some kind of monster, a monster I needed protecting from?
DAMIAN The moment I closed my eyes, I found myself back in time to the neat living room of my father’s mansion with the perpetual smell of pine air freshener. There are lights everywhere, too many to count, because of mother’s fear of darkness. In the room, with my favourite action figure tucked into my side pocket, I was joined by my mother, a tall, plump, kind-faced woman who spotted me and exclaimed, "Oh Damian, there you are! Did you go to play in the toolshed again? Remember how many times I have-" "Mum!" I interrupted with a frown. "You promised that we would play. Can we play now? Please?" Her plump face relaxed into a smile as she bent to ruffle my hair. "Okay, kiddo," she said. "We'll play. How does hide and seek sound?" "Yay!" I excitedly jumped up and down on my sneaked feet until she told me to hide so she could find me. "Make sure you get a good hiding place," she called after me. "And count to a hundred, mum!" I called back. As I ran up the stairs, I
DAMIAN I turned on the television. On the news channel, I already knew what I would find. Only one thing had been the most talked about topic of conversation for the last couple of days since Amelia and I returned home from our ill fated trip to Morocco. Every news outfit, every blog was talking about the city's new sensation. This sensation was a big time investor who had recently moved into the city and looked set to settle here. Her appearance in the city had caused quite a buzz both in the business and entertainment circles. Amelia knew about her, of course. In fact, she had just been watching a news feature on the investor, but had immediately turned off the television and taken herself off to her room the moment I came in. I could not suppress a sad sigh. She had been avoiding me a lot these days. I understood why she was doing it but it hadn't made it easy to get used to. I turned off the television, more focused on my own problems than in some rich woman who had taken
AMELIA I waited until I was sure he had gone downstairs before I quickly got off the bed and curled by the window side. I took care to stay behind the curtains in case he decided to look up. It would be embarrassing for him to find me watching him especially since I’d made it clear for the past days that I wasn’t interested in him. If he spotted me, I wouldn’t be able to face him for a while. As I watched, Damian got into his car and drove off quickly. Something dark and ugly fluttered in my chest. Something I recognized as jealousy. Damian was off to a so-called breakfast meeting with that woman, Monique. There was something about the socialite that I did not like, something that made me feel threatened. I felt like she was up to something, something more than her obvious attempts to try to get her claws into Damian. I had tried, and was still trying, to shake off the feeling, but the more I tried to, the more it affected me. “She’s probably just desperate for partners.” I
DAMIAN I was so shocked I nearly choked on the coffee I was sipping. I coughed, and the coffee spilled over, staining my pants slightly. With a half smile on her face, Monique calmly handed me a napkin. I dabbed at my lips, and then my clothes. I still couldn't believe my ears. The woman had actually asked me to be her lover! Yes, she had been flirting with me despite my constant attempts to remind her I was married. But this offer was... outrageous. I paused to study her face, looking for signs that she was joking or just having me on. "You seem very... surprised," she said, licking her lips slightly. "I am," I admitted. "When you said you had a proposal, I wasn’t expecting this. Did you just ask me-" "To be my lover. Yes, Damian I just did. I'm a woman who sees what she wants and goes for it. I've wanted you since the first second I laid my eyes on you and I don't feel there is any need to pretend about it. We are both adults after all." As I searched for ways to exp
AMELIA The guilt came in stages. First I was so pissed at what Damian did that I did not want to pay attention to the voice in my head which kept telling me that I had made a wrong move. Then I told myself that I had perhaps been too harsh, but that Damian had deserved it. But by the next day, I was convinced that Damian had not deserved the comment I made about his father. That had been hitting way below the belt, and I never felt more ashamed of myself as I did when I woke up. I didn’t know how to apologize to him, what to say, especially since it was a very sensitive topic to him. I felt a mixture of relief and disappointment when Molly told me that Damian had left for work really early. Relief because I did not know to face him. Disappointment because I really wanted to talk to him. And then there was a crippling fear that he had gone to see Monique, still desperate to piss me off. I wouldn’t ever forgive myself if he did something stupid because of my comment. Ugh.
DAMIAN I looked up from my computer in surprise as Anton settled himself into the chair opposite mine with an odd expression on his face. He proceeded to steeple his hands over his chin, jerked his head towards the computer and asked if I was about done. I pushed aside my computer and turned to him. "You didn't tell me you were coming.” "I didn't know I would be coming either, but I just had to so I could impress the seriousness of the situation on you. I didn't think just a phone call would do." "What situation?" I asked curiously, wondering what would have made him leave work very early on a weekday to come see me. It wasn’t like he usually didn’t do that but he had been busy recently. Anton suddenly leaned forward. "Tell me. Have you told that woman that the deal you struck with her is off?" "What woman?" "Who else? Monique, of course." "Ah. Monique? And since when did she become 'that woman'? Last I remember, you were going on and on about her, singing her
DAMIAN “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” I slammed my hand aggressively on my steering wheel, my mind hazy with thoughts. How did I get myself into this mess? Monique was a psycho, and I just fell right into her clutches. I drove like a madman all the way home. I could feel my heart racing as I clutched the steering wheel, trying to beat the traffic. I jumped out of the car before it was barely parked and dashed inside. The moment I got in, I yelled for Molly. She came running from the kitchen. "Call a technician," I barked. "Now!" She nodded and hurried off. I began to walk around the house, looking out for cameras. I had to find out if Monique had also bugged my house. If she had, I had to get rid of the cameras before Amelia returned. "The technician is on his way, sir," Molly returned. “Sir, is everything alright?” "Tell me... and think carefully before you answer. Has any form of maintenance taken place here recently?" She thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes. Three days b