429 Silhouette 6

Damien could have stopped Katherine from the start but he wanted to see how far she would go. He had no clue who the woman was; she suddenly appeared in front of them and started spouting absurdity. But with the way Katherine attacked, he could guess this wasn't the first time the two had an encounter.

He watched as Katherine pushed the other against the wall and when he thought she would cuss and shout, her fingers wrapped around the woman's throat—and the bloodlust in her eyes was clear. He hesitantly took a step forward until he heard her speak about Matthew with the woman, so he did a double-take and that's when he realized that she was the woman who came to Katherine earlier during the second segment of the program.

"...Tell me, do you want to meet him face to face in black and blue, or in red?" she said. 

It seemed like it wasn't him who needed Caleb and Jeffrey's help to hide a corpse. Even if Katherine didn't ask, he would readily do it for her.

"Katherine." Damien's voice was soft as he placed his hands on her arms and pulled her away.

"H-Help!"

He didn't give the woman a glance even when he heard her cry. Instead, he slid his hand to Katherine's wrist—the one choking the other—and pulled it away. "Baby, that's enough," he said in a gentle voice above her.

Katherine unclasped her hand from the woman's neck. The latter coughed and sunk on the floor, gasping for air as tears wet her cheek. Wordlessly, she whipped out her phone and called someone. In the next second, she spoke, "Hey, Matty, I found her. We're just outside the west wing double doors—okay." The woman looked up and her eyes widened when she heard the phone call. Then, she attempted to crawl out but Katherine blocked her with her foot.

"Don't even think about it. You better believe I'm in the mood to chase after you even if I have to do that barefoot," Katherine threatened and the violent look on her eyes said that she was telling the truth.

"Who is she?" Damien finally asked.

"She's Matthew's crazy, obsessed stalker." Katherine handed her phone to him, showing the message that she received from Matthew when she was on the rooftop earlier. 

The woman was the reason why Matthew had to move to a new apartment or house frequently in the past. It wasn't until he found the place in Pearl Gardens that the stalker couldn't reach him due to the strict security. But that didn't stop her from appearing anywhere else just to get to him. He told Katherine about this stalker a couple of weeks back when they had lunch together.

Damien read the text on her phone.

[Matty: Remember that crazy fan I told you about? She's the woman who approached you while I was backstage. Stay away from her. She's dangerous. I already called security.]

…

"I must have gotten it when she grabbed me earlier while I was getting in the elevator." Katherine didn't even notice the cut until now. The stalker didn't have long nails but she had a ring on her finger that was sharp and pointy. "I'm okay…" she said to reassure Damien, knowing that he could get crazy worried even with a small cut.

The door on the side swung open and out came Matthew along with two police officers. He glanced at them, trying to assess the situation when the stalker crawled to his feet and hugged his leg crying crocodile tears. "Matthew, that woman! That woman choked me!"

The horror on Matthew's face was indescribable. It was as though he wanted to kick the woman away but he just stood frozen on the spot.

"It was self-defense," Damien declared with a straight face and showed Katherine's small cut. "That woman attacked first."

Katherine looked at Damien's passive expression. This man told her earlier that she was a good liar but ever since she knew him, she thought he was a great liar. The man can lie without so much as a blink. She almost believed him if only it wasn't her he was talking about. 

That wasn't self-defense at all. Maybe back when the stalker grabbed her by the elevator and she was about to hit her, yes. But a few minutes ago, she didn't have to shove her to the wall and choked her. It just so happened that her emotions were through the roof due to what just happened, and she was frustrated about so many things that she just snapped when the woman spouted idiotic claims to Damien. Katherine knew that he wouldn't just believe anyone saying things like that but it still pissed her off.

Hearing him say that it was self-defense, she wasn't going to correct him, but she felt him squeeze her hand as if to say: "Just go with the flow and let me handle this." So she did.

Katherine curled her mouth into a frown, looking so hurt like a meek little kitten and leaned against Damien's chest. Then his arm naturally went around her like he was comforting her. Such perfect tandem only they can pull off.

"What?! That's not true! Don't believe her! She's really strong! I almost died!" the stalker shrieked. The officers looked between the two women as if they were trying to see who was telling the truth. 

Damien maintained his cold tone when he insisted, "This is a private function for club members only, and that woman isn't one. If you don't take her away right this second, I will file a lawsuit for physical injury and I will testify." This time, he directed his icy stare at the woman who cowered in fear from his threat.

The woman surely knew who Damien Park was and what his money and reputation could do that she realized it was better to keep her mouth shut or she would suffer more. After Matthew told the police officers that he could also attest to the stalker's aggressive and violent behavior through medical certificates and proofs, they arrested her and brought her to the police station.

"I'm sorry that she got to you," Matthew told Katherine. He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair, the wrinkling of his brows showed how worried he was.

"I'm okay, don't worry about me," Katherine reassured, "Just make sure she stays in jail this time."

Matthew chuckled in resignation and shook his head.

Damien handed a card to Matthew with his personal number written on it. "Give me a call tomorrow. I know a few people who can help."

"Thanks. Well, I better go, they need me at the station. I'll catch you again next time, Kathy." Matthew gingerly gave her a brief hug. This time, Damien allowed it and gave the two some time.

...

"Are you sure you're okay?" Damien glanced at her as he gently put a band-aid on her cut. They were inside an empty dressing room next to the event hall.

Katherine had a faint smile on her face as she watched him take care of her. "I've gotten worse before, Damien." He raised a brow at her like he didn't understand, so she explained, "I've been shot twice and had a knife slice my hand." The crease on his brow got deeper and she chuckled. "You're wondering why I have no scars?"

He nodded and helped her up from the sofa. "I've seen you naked plenty of times, Katherine."

The smile on her face widened at his statement. "Perks of being in Shadow. Not everyone gets the same treatment though. Only a few of us were given the privilege to receive high-tech scar revision surgeries. I can't have battle scars in my line of work."

Damien didn't even want to ask her to clarify what he was thinking. He either didn't want to know or didn't have to know.

"Come on, let's get back inside. It's time to collect what we came here for." He grabbed her hand and they headed back to the party.