357 Everything About Damien Is Manly

Katherine heard the opening of the door to her bedroom, the very light ninja-like footsteps, and the shuffling of the sheets. Her senses heightened but she kept her eyes closed and waited, knowing that whoever it was would approach her bed and she already knew what she had to do to defend herself. She remained still until the space next to her sunk and that's when Damien's familiar scent wafted into her nose.

She was alert for possible danger but only a couple of seconds passed when she realized that there was no danger at all. So she didn't open her eyes and kept them closed as she waited for Damien to settle next to her and pull her to him like he always did. Then she felt his lips on her forehead which instantly warmed her heart. She shifted in place to find a comfortable position and murmured what she thought was understandable, "I'm glad you came." 

But sleep intoxicated her so much that it probably didn't sound like it. She hoped that he understood her and she thought he did because she felt his mouth curl into a smile against her skin before he softly whispered, "Goodnight, Katherine…"

She couldn't find her sleep after being woken up and it only caused her subconscious mind to welcome unpleasant thoughts.

If only they met under different circumstances… If only they didn't have baggage with them… If only they were a normal couple… Katherine wouldn't have reservations about being with Damien. However, she dismissed this small thought in her head right away. If things were different, they wouldn't be Damien and Katherine. Everything else would change and they might not even meet. 

She contemplated which was sadder–how they were now, or not meeting at all. It took her only a second to decide—surely it was the latter. She had already gone through a lot with Damien that she couldn't imagine life without him.

But was it really enough just to love him? Could it justify the fact that he was from the Park Family? Who could tell her? Who could help her? Who could make her ill thoughts go away and just let her be happy without worrying about what she was supposed to do or not do?

What was right? What was wrong?

Just that afternoon, she had a short conversation with Damien's mother, Amelia. She didn't mean to talk about her relationship with Damien but Amelia asked out of concern. Amelia said she was concerned about Katherine and Damien's future but Katherine knew that Amelia was more concerned about her son. 

"Don't hurt my son," she said. Amelia's voice was soft and calm just like a mother would talk to a child.

Upon hearing those heartfelt words, Katherine froze for a brief second, unsure of what to say after that. She never had any intention of hurting Damien. 

Katherine found it a little unfair. She couldn't really blame Amelia because, after all, Damien was her son. 'But what about me?' she asked in her head. Who was going to say 'Don't hurt Katherine.'? There were two of them in the relationship, and if Damien would hurt, that also meant she would hurt. 

Who was going to protect her if she was in pain because of their relationship? If she made a mistake in their relationship, who was going to be her savior? No one. She brought this upon herself. She made the decision to try getting back with him even if she wasn't totally okay yet. So who was going to help her get up? No one but herself. That was just how it was going to be.

Katherine was an overthinker. It was undeniable and she couldn't help it. She knew her thoughts were wrong but she couldn't stop herself. She knew it was dragging her mental health down, but she couldn't stop it. 

Subconsciously, her hand gripped his shirt and she pressed herself more to him, finding comfort in his embrace. Silently, she prayed to herself and to him, 'Damien… Your mother said I must not hurt you. Will you tell me if I do?' At this point, she noticed his steady breathing and realized that he must have already fallen asleep. 'Damien… I fear that I'm only hurting myself and I would continue to do so in the future. For how long, I wouldn't know. And I'm not certain how I could prevent that from happening. Even so… Will you still stay by my side?'

Selfish. She berated herself. How could she ask that from him? She already asked enough and he had already given enough—even so much more than what she deserved.

But who could tell her what to do? How much should she give? And how much was she supposed to take?  

…

November 10

Katherine didn't know when she fell asleep but when she woke up, it was already seven in the morning. Her eyes fluttered open and she squinted when the ray of sunlight shone upon her. Turning to her left, she saw Damien's handsome side profile. He was still asleep and normally, he would have woken up already but she knew he came in late and she didn't dare to wake him up.

Careful not to disturb him, she turned to her side and stared at his features. There were subtle movements in his eyes as though he was dreaming and she wondered what his dreams were. His reddish lips were slightly parted and he looked so peaceful. 

Her eyes traveled south, taking in the length of his torso and noticing the hem of his white shirt on the waist area had slightly swept up. She tilted her head in an attempt to focus on the ink that was peeking out of his joggers at the same time that her fingers slowly drew near it to lift his shirt ever so slightly. However, just as she was about to, Damien's low and raspy voice made her flinch. "You're gonna have to try harder than that, Kitten."

"J-Jesus Christ!" Katherine's hand flew to her chest, patting her frightened heart. "You scared me," she said in her rough, early-morning voice. "I thought you were asleep."

A sexy smirk formed on his lips as he slowly opened his eyes. "I was." He turned to his side so that he was now facing her, his tattoo now impossible to see as he covered himself with the blanket. "Morning."

She tentatively gave him a glare before scoffing, "Morning." Pulling the blanket to cover herself as well, she moved closer to him and his arm naturally rested around her waist, his hand gently stroking her back. "You haven't slept enough hours. You should sleep more," she added.

"So you can take a peek again?"

"I wasn't gonna—fine, so what if I was? Why can't I see it?"

"I already told you. You can't see it yet unless you're ready."

"You can cover your manly parts. I only need to see the tattoo." She furrowed her brows and when Damien chuckled, she already knew what he was about to say. 'Everything about me is manly,' was probably what he had in mind and the arching of his brow confirmed it.

"Oh, get over yourself." Katherine rolled her eyes. "I mean it, you can cover your… Oh… Oh… Did you… Tell me you didn't…" Her grew wide and she gulped audibly as her mind ran wildly at the image of Damien's tattoo in his private part.

Amusement laced his eyes and the grin on his face widened when he realized what she was thinking. But he didn't confirm nor deny it. "Wouldn't you like to know, Kitten?" He winked. 

And soon, he rolled out of bed and took off his shirt as he sauntered towards the bathroom—the muscles on his back flexed as his arms moved. "You can join me in the shower if you're dying to see it."

Katherine was appalled at Damien's cheekiness. She grabbed the pillow next to her and flung it across the room. The pillow hit his back before it landed on the floor and his carefree laugh echoed inside the bathroom as he entered.