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"What do I even say to her?" Damien's hushed tone sounded slightly adorable to Katherine.

"What do you want to know?"

He didn't say anything. This was a difficult time for him and seeing that he was nervous about talking to his mother made her smile. It was stupid and if people could see her reaction now they would think she must be weird for finding that cute. But she couldn't help but feel excited that he was finally going to talk to Amelia—his birth mom.

She remembered the hints of tenderness in Amelia's eyes whenever they talked about Damien. It was so real and warm that it made Katherine miss her own mom at times. The reminder brought her back to that tragic night again from sixteen years ago and she sat straight facing him. Subconsciously, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Damien… that time… sixteen years ago when you came into my room that night, when the war in my house broke out... "

Baffled by her sudden eagerness, he arched a brow and glanced to the side briefly as though he was trying to recall the memory. It only took him a second because that was also the one night that left a thorn in his heart. He nodded, "Yeah?"

"Do you remember… that before you helped me climb out of the window, there was someone else who came inside that room?"

He didn't know where this was going but his heart started to quicken its beating. "What about it?"

"That was her."

A look of bewilderment ghosted his face upon hearing Katherine's words. He looked at her and his eyes widened as he stammered, "W-What do you… What do you mean?"

"Falcon learned that Frederick sent you there. She was there with Shadow. She wasn't even supposed to go with them on the mission but she knew she had to be there because she didn't want that life for you."

The scene of that night began playing in his mind up until that particular time when someone came inside Katherine's bedroom. Damien remembered even pointing his gun at that person. He didn't recognize the woman as it was quite dark and just like him, she had black stripes painted on her face. Was that really her?

It was the first time that he had seen her that night and he didn't even know she was his mother. There was a strange feeling within him that he didn't recognize. It was a gush of mixed emotions that coursed through him. It was only when he felt Katherine's fingers touch his face that he realized a tear fell from his eyes. What was happening?

Damien was so overwhelmed with these unknown emotions that he could only close his eyes and bury his face in his hands. He loosened the tie around his neck when he felt that he suddenly couldn't breathe.

"Damien…" Katherine worried. Should she not have said that? "I'm sorry… Are you okay?"

Realizing what he was talking about, she immediately consoled him, "But you didn't. She helped us out, remember?"

Damien was quiet once again. He didn't know what to think about Amelia. When his mother—Miriam left him when he was a kid, he missed her. He didn't like her so much because he always got scolded by her but he still called her 'mother'. There were only a handful of times that she showed kindness but when Nana told him the truth about his birth, he realized that Miriam was only ever kind to him when his father was around.

Because of that, he never really knew what a mother was like. But with what he lacked, Nana filled in. So even though he didn't feel the affection of a mother from Miriam, he still felt loved because of Nana. So what was he supposed to feel for his biological mother?

"You should talk to her…" Katherine encouraged. She didn't know Amelia that well so she couldn't say a lot of things about her. It was best that whatever Damien needed to know about Amelia should come from the person herself. 

The question was – Is Amelia ready?

…

Because Damien insisted that Katherine should rest more, he ended up coming out of her bedroom alone and found Amelia and Styles in the dining room. The two had just finished setting up the table for dinner.

Styles eyed Amelia but the latter could only stare at Damien, unable to start a conversation. He straightened up and nodded his head to the food saying, "Come and join us for dinner."

Damien didn't say anything in response but he went to wash his hands and joined them at the table. Styles sat at the head of the table with Amelia to his left and Damien to his right. The atmosphere was so bizarre that he felt a little awkward being there like the third wheel.

"Katherine woke up..." Damien started. He was staring down at his empty plate, refusing to look at his mother who was sitting in front of him.

Styles froze in the middle of putting food in his mouth with a fork when he heard Damien speak. His mouth was open, ready to receive the delicious sweet and sour fish, but he was too stunned to eat. His eyes darted to Amelia, wondering what she would do or say.

"That's great… Should we bring some food for her?"

Amelia's warm voice felt like a blanket covering Damien's shoulder. He had never felt something like that with Miriam before.

"She wasn't hungry. She's sleeping again."

"Okay… Well, you must be hungry. Would you like some?" Amelia brought the plate of sweet and sour fish closer to his plate. There was a small smile on her face as she waited for him to answer. Truth be told, she was also nervous. But seeing that her son was civil to her, her heart hoped that they could at least share a meal together peacefully.

Damien lifted his chin and for the first time, he met his mother's gaze. She was as beautiful as the one he saw in the picture that Nana gave him. She looked so young that it was weird. It was as if she didn't age at all. Her hair was straight… her eyes were the same colors as his. And her timid smile was so friendly that it pricked his heart.

Was she really his mother?

The question still rang in his head despite the already obvious facts that were told to him.

He couldn't respond to her, rendered speechless at the sight of his mother. His trance was interrupted when he noticed some movements in front of him and that's when he saw that Amelia had taken the initiative to scoop some food and had already placed them on his plate.

The gesture was so simple yet he felt that it was special — it was simple but Miriam hadn't done it for him even once. He hadn't spent longer than five minutes with Amelia at the table and there was already a huge difference between the two women.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Damien gathered his courage and uttered, "Thank you."