415 A Night Out 2

At nine in the evening on a Friday night, the bar was crawling with socialites and wealthy party-goers who came after concluding their work from their day jobs or their family businesses and were there to unwind. There was pop music blasting through the speakers and most of the guests had either hard liquor or cocktails in their hands. But not Katherine and Amelia's—they were the odd ones with beer in their hands.

Since Katherine saw Amelia drinking beer earlier, she figured that's what the other liked to drink so she ordered without asking. Now she was nursing a bottle in her hands, taking her sweet time so she wouldn't get tipsy… or sleepy. But as soon as Amelia broached the topic about Damien, Katherine suddenly felt uneasy. She was there to accompany Amelia—not gush about her love life.

"I'm not going to talk to you about Damien." Katherine took a swig of the beer. "It's your birthday, not mine. So you should be on the hot seat." It was a good thing that they were in the corner booth, away from prying eyes. They didn't have to shout in order to hear each other either.

Amelia's eyes smiled just like her mouth did. "Very well…"

"Why were you drinking alone?" Katherine wondered.

Amelia took a deep breath and she looked up as though she was thinking about a precious memory. From the way that she had a sweet smile on her youthful face, Katherine could only guess that she was probably thinking about Damien's father.

"I don't celebrate birthdays… At least I stopped at some point in college. I don't have many good memories about them, you see? Until Lawrence… Lawrence Park, Damien's father… Have you seen him? Damien looked a lot like him." Amelia paused to take a healthy swig of her beer, the smile on her face didn't go away. 

"I don't even know how he knew it was my birthday, or that I don't celebrate it. But after he got off work—before he went home—he asked me to go with him to a convenience store near the office. So I followed him and he bought two cans of beer, and then we sat outside and drank. I was baffled by how such a man who was high up the food chain would sit outside a convenience store with me and drink beer like it was normal for us to do so. We weren't together at that time yet. But I guess that's when I started seeing him differently...

"We didn't talk a lot but at that time, I thought that he must have done that so I don't feel alone. Kinda like what you're trying to do right now." She softly chuckled. "So, yeah… After I left the mansion, I've been doing the same thing. I only drink one of the cans though…" She drank her beer again.

It was quiet for a bit before she probed, "You must have loved Damien's father a lot… It's been years and you still talk about him so fondly…"

The beer bottle in Amelia's hand was cold, droplets of water trickled down the glass and settled on the coaster. She traced the liquid on the bottle with her pointer finger and swirled it absent-mindedly. She swallowed upon hearing Katherine's statement. "I don't know how to measure what I felt for Damien's father. All I know is that… I won't ever feel the same way towards any other man."

Amelia lifted her stare and met Katherine's curious gaze. "Doesn't make sense, huh? If I loved him that much… Why did I leave?" Katherine didn't say anything but Amelia continued anyway. "Honestly, I don't have any excuse for what I did, except that I was weak. I was surrounded by people who were out of my league, and it overwhelmed me that I wasn't one of them. Lawrence's father… Ah… It's no use talking about the dead."

"Do you regret it?" Katherine bravely asked.

"Everyday." Amelia finished her bottle and quickly wiped a tear that escaped her eye.

"Every damn day, I do. Even his death… I regret it even though it was an accident—and I keep thinking… Had I not left that day, would he still be alive?" The smile on Amelia's face didn't make her look happy. If anything, she looked even sadder. Just how much pain was she keeping inside her? "It sucks that I have all these 'What ifs'. I guess this is my hell while I'm still alive."

Oh god. How did Katherine end up in a situation like this? This was supposed to be a celebration for Amelia's birthday. She should have just bought her a cake and called it a day. But then again… Seeing her outside that convenience store earlier, she looked like she just needed a drink and a friend. And Katherine was bad at being one. She sucked in air and took a large gulp of the beer, the tiny bubbles bursting in her mouth and she grimaced at the bittersweet taste.

"His death wasn't your fault. And neither was it Damien's..."

"Why do you say that?"

"I'm not sure why he blames himself… But… that's what he said—that it's his fault his father died."

Amelia slightly nodded. The topic was getting depressing and she wanted to change it badly. She grabbed another bottle of beer and pointed the tip at Katherine. "It's your turn."

"What about me?"

"Do you… still love my son?"

Katherine shifted her gaze away from Amelia and she saw Felix, he was sitting at a few tables away. She kinda wished he joined them so she wouldn't have to talk about this with Damien's mother. Talking about Lawrence was different. That was Amelia's story and Katherine didn't know the guy. But talking about Damien with his mother? It made her nervous. "I'd rather not talk about that…"

"Why not? Do you not like him anymore?"

"No, it's not that. I just… I don't talk about this stuff openly." Katherine laid the empty bottle on the table and spun it around.

"I just told you about mine… Come on, I'd love to know more about him."

Katherine looked up and met Amelia's earnest gaze. She contemplated and thought that maybe it was okay to talk about it. "Okay… Well… He's… He's…"

"Really? Not one word?"

She took a deep breath and spoke her thoughts, "It's hard to describe. Damien is a lot of things, but he's also incomparable... He's assertive, a leader... really smart... He knows what he wants and when he decides on it, he'll be dead set and does whatever it takes for it to be his. He has different sides... One that he shows when he's with his business partners... another one when he's with his friends... another when he's with Nana... and another when he's with me... He may look like a tyrant and unreachable in the eyes of his employees but... above it all, he's just a normal person... He's strong but also has a kind heart."

"Very similar to his father," Amelia remarked. "Looks like you know him really well… You two look great together."

"Honestly, I don't think I deserve him."

"Is that so? What are you going to do about it?"

Amelia's question caused a stir in her heart and she chugged the rest of her beer. With so much certainty, she answered, "I'll prove it. I'll do whatever it takes until I deserve him."