380 An Ambush

Young Mansion

Resort King Damien Park stood in front of Chairman Theodore Young and CEO Deborah Young in the large, lavish living room of the Youngs. Katherine's grandfather and aunt were sitting on the sofa while she stood next to her grandfather, facing Damien and getting her hands all clammy as she stared at him. She didn't know what would happen that night and the heaviness in her heart did nothing to calm her down.

Katherine watched as Damien slowly angled the upper half of his body into a ninety-degree bow. She hesitantly moved towards him but she caught his stare as if he was telling her 'no'.

"Chairman, President… Please accept my apology," he muttered while keeping his head down.

Seeing Damien bow to her grandfather and aunt while looking so humble like this was very new to Katherine. The living room was in utter silence after he spoke. There was a mixture of pain and adoration that's churning in her chest as she looked at him, and her grandfather and aunt's silence made her want to stand next to Damien—so she did just that.

Walking over to Damien's side, she followed what he did exactly, bowing to her grandfather and aunt. She didn't say anything and could only purse her lips together, wondering what's up with her grandfather. He was completely different compared to how he was earlier when she arrived and saw him smiling while playing by himself.

She took a peek at her right and saw Damien smiling at her, his face brightening at the thought of her joining his stance. She smiled back at him but kept her head down. "I… I'm sorry too, Grandpa… Auntie…"

Grandpa Young looked at the two young ones in front of them and a grin threatened to form on his face. Clearing his throat, he questioned, "What do you and your company plan to do about this?" 

Without raising his head, Damien answered, "I assure you, Chairman Young, President Young, the bidding process will go as planned. Young Corporation will still remain as an applicant. At Monday's meeting, we will announce the modified process."

"Modified process?" Deborah Young probed.

"Yes. Instead of a private presentation per bidder, it will be done in front of the other bidders," Damien confirmed.

Grandpa Young nodded and mumbled as he absent-mindedly looked at the side, "Transparency…"

There was another long silence and Damien was beginning to feel uncomfortable with his body's position but he didn't show it at all. Carefully, he snuck a glance at Chairman Young and when he met the old man's stare, he averted his gaze real quick and bowed again. He didn't get nervous often but he noticed that when he did, it was mostly because of Katherine or her family. He wanted so badly to get accepted and even with his status, he felt that he still had to prove himself to her family.

"Very well," Grandfather Young said. "Deborah, what about our PR?"

"I was going to talk to our Katherine about this… I don't want to release anything so rashly. So I'm just waiting for these two to tell me what's really going on between them…" Deborah observed the two and kept her face gentle, like how a loving aunt should be.

"That's enough… You can sit down now… Both of you," he told the couple.

Katherine and Damien straightened up and looked at each other, their eyes conversing silently with an understanding that only the two of them knew. He ushered her towards the sofa and they sat next to each other, in front of her grandfather and her aunt.

The servants brought some drinks over to the coffee table. Damien consumed the entire glass of water, clearly parched because of the mental stress that he was having. Katherine wanted to hold his hand but she held herself back because of the other two people in the room.

Grandfather Young waited until Damien set his empty glass down before asking the latter directly as a grandfather, "Young man, what do you think of my granddaughter?"

The question made Katherine's heart race and she snapped her head at the old man, "Grandpa!" Her brows furrowed, not liking why her grandfather was suddenly asking that question.

"It's okay, Katherine…" Damien gently placed his hand over hers and squeezed, reassuring her that he didn't mind the question.

Grandfather Young ignored his granddaughter's protest and asked further, "I heard that you two were engaged before… Have you two reconciled? Are you planning to get married again?"

"Grandpa! What are you doing?" Katherine was exasperated. Why was he asking all these questions now? Her face got redder by the second.

"I want to know and hear what he has to say about you. I'm your grandfather, Pumpkin. And I haven't been with you for many years but that doesn't mean I stopped caring for you. I will continue to be your grandfather while I'm still alive and I'll act like it every chance I have."

Katherine bit her bottom lip and felt a prick in her heart upon hearing what her grandfather had to say. She caught sight of her aunt and saw her smile, so she returned it with her own timid one and nodded. Turning to Damien, they exchanged looks and she listened as he spoke in such a confident manner.

This would be the first time that Damien would ever do something like this. His heartbeat slammed against his chest that he could feel it almost wanting to break out of him. But he manned up and used all the guts he had to say: "I… have tried my best to protect her and I still am and I will continue to do so. I am ashamed to admit that I've… hurt her in the past… I don't think I deserve her at all. But I love your granddaughter, Chairman Young. So if you give me your blessing, I would spend the rest of my life making it up to her."

Hearing him say the "L" word made her stomach melt into mush. The large hand that was holding hers at the moment burned her skin.

Katherine was so not ready for this. This was an ambush! Her casual Saturday with Damien went from exciting to sweet, to scandalous—and what was this now?