337 Suppression

It was half past eleven in the morning when Katherine managed to come out of her bedroom. She stepped into the living room and found Styles's excited eyes as he watched boxes and boxes of all the things he listed down on the email that he sent to Damien. He was like a little boy seeing his Christmas presents before him.

There was a mixture of small and big boxes filling the space in the living room and Katherine wondered if it would all fit in Styles's bedroom. As she scanned the area, her eyes landed on the man whose back was facing her while he was on a phone call. He was tall and looking so laid back in his casual outfit wearing a plain white t-shirt and black jeans.

She watched him talk for a couple of minutes before he turned his head in her direction and caught her staring. In a few seconds, he ended his phone call and walked towards her. "Ready to go?" Damien asked.

Katherine's breathing hitched when his familiar, delicious scent wafted in her nose, his clean aftershave and cologne blending together in a really tasty way — she had to swallow. And before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, catching him off guard.

Damien was surprised but he easily caught her slim body, taking in her soft and fragrant scent that he used to smell on her after her showers. She didn't have to say it but he knew that she was apologetic about what happened earlier and so was he. "I'll do better," he breathed against her neck.

"So will I…" she answered.

"Ummm… Sorry to interrupt your um... This." Styles shifted his weight as he spoke, not looking at the pair directly. "But I think we should go." He didn't really want to go yet as he was excited to get his hands on his new toys—gadgets—stuff for work, but they needed to leave.

Damien tightened his arm around her waist once and planted a kiss on her neck before letting her go. "He's right. We'll stop by to grab some food on the way. Let's go." He grabbed her hand and led her out of her penthouse while Styles followed behind.

This time, there were several men coming with them. A few of them wore black suits and some in their casual clothes that would blend in with the crowd wherever they go. Damien drove his Range Rover Sport towards the busy district near Katherine's old apartment. When they alighted the car at a parking lot, they put on their sunglasses and walked towards the busiest area.

Katherine's hand interlaced with Damien's as they casually walked around as though they were on a date. He suddenly tightened his grip on her and she turned to look up at him, seeing his brows knit ever so slightly as if he thought of something unpleasant. "What's wrong?"

"A couple of months ago, I was around this area... and I think I saw you." He clenched his jaw before adding, "I called after you but I lost you quickly…" He turned to her and asked, "Was that you?"

She nodded, not really knowing what else to say.

"Okay…" He nodded back. "At least now I know I wasn't just hallucinating then."

Ignoring the sea of people around them, she tiptoed and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I will try not to disappear on you again." She pressed her lips into a tight line.

He laughed at her words, shaking his head. Of all the things she could say, she chose to say those words in an attempt to cheer him up. "You should work on your speeches. That's not really convincing but damn it, I'll take it."

Katherine wasn't really good with vocalizing her thoughts and while she deeply loved, Damien was more eloquent with his feelings.

The group continued to walk around for a couple more minutes before finally finding themselves in Katherine's old apartment. And upon entering the place, they saw Edward on the shabby sofa quietly sitting by himself. He looked up when they arrived and there was an unrecognizable expression on his face. 

"Young Master," Edward greeted as he got up and made a bow, his head lowered as Damien walked up to him.

"Where's Amelia?" Katherine probed and just in time, the sound of the bathroom door clicked, drawing their attention towards it. 

They watched as Amelia came out of it, her eyes puffed and all red, looking like she had cried buckets of tears. Amelia had washed her face but it was evident that she had been crying a lot, making the others who just arrived wonder what happened before they came in.

"What's wrong?" Damien straightened, concern written all over his face seeing his mother in that state. They still had to work out their relationship amidst everything that's happening but he couldn't deny that he was worried for her.

Trying to defuse the tense atmosphere, Amelia slightly chuckled. "Oh, it's nothing… Just reminiscing some memories from a long time ago while I was talking to Edward earlier." She went to grab a bottle of water from the kitchen and continued to speak while she had her back facing them. "I can't believe three decades had passed already. I'm so old."

Turning around, a smile painted her lips. An odd and forced smile that was plastered on her face — it didn't match the loneliness in her eyes. And Damien saw that she was trying to hide something because she obviously looked pained whilst trying so hard to look okay, brushing whatever was making her sad away by nonchalantly laughing. As to what it was and to whom she was hiding it from, he had no idea. But whatever it was that's hurting her, he didn't like it.

"Oh, did you guys bring lunch? I was about to go down and get some. What happened at the penthouse by the way? Styles told me that Chris went there. He didn't hurt any of you, did he?" She eyed the three of them, examining if they were all in one piece.

Styles also found her mood and behavior slightly bizarre. He cleared his throat and brought the food that they got from a stopover and placed them on the kitchen counter. "Um…. I didn't really talk to him. Katherine..."

"I'll catch you up to speed but why don't we eat first?" Katherine gave Amelia a quick eye signal as if to tell her that it wasn't safe for Edward, who was an outsider, to hear anything that was related to Shadow.

Damien, who was still wondering about the reason behind his mother's state, couldn't help but glance at her every now and then. He had this nagging feeling within him that he couldn't brush away. He just hoped that Amelia could clear it up for him because his gut was telling him that it could be something serious.