448 An Angel

Amelia had never cried so much in her life. It was as though all thirty years' worth of ache came crashing down like a broken dam that could no longer hold. She was a mess, but Damien was patient with her. He let her cry on him until she felt better, and she clung onto him as though he was her lifeline.

Despite wanting to be able to hold her son like this, she didn't expect that she would ever have the chance to meet him. Maybe she did hope that she would but she didn't want to expect good things. After all, she didn't think she deserved his recognition.

After some time, the two sat side by side on the sofa quietly. She had a box of tissue on her lap and she wiped her eyes, patting it dry as she snuck a glance at her son next to her. She chuckled at herself and said, "I'm sorry, I ruined your night. You must be thinking I'm a mess. I didn't mean to break down like that." Her voice was hoarse from all the crying that she did.

"It's okay… I understand," Damien responded. He thought about what to tell her and after contemplating he let out a sigh, faced her, and started, "Listen… I'm not… I don't know what I need to do when it comes to you. I've never really known what a mother does because Miriam… that woman… hasn't exactly been an ideal one. But Nana has been very good to me. Even though she was always traveling, I can always say that she's my family and the closest to a mother that I could ever have."

He didn't know where he was going with this but he just thought of speaking whatever was on his mind. 

"All this time, I thought someone else was my mother. She left when I was eight and even though she wasn't exactly nice to me, I had always been wondering where she was and if there was something wrong with me… Until I just got used to not having a mother I guess. And then I found out about you months ago… It got me thinking. I couldn't bring myself to try and look for you because you left before you even got the chance to know me. So I thought… What was the point? If I tried to search and actually found you, would things be better?" He softly chuckled.

Damien thought about the letter that he still kept hidden in his closet. He had no clue when he was ready to open it. Even after meeting Amelia, he wasn't sure if he could find the courage to read what was written on it. Now that he was here with his mother, he suddenly had the urge to take a peek.

Clearing his throat, he turned to face her. "I can't tell you that I'm not mad anymore. I was at first, but I just want to move on. And honestly, it's exhausting… I just want to start over. I don't know how we're supposed to do this but I am willing to get past everything. So, I hope you understand if I'm taking my time."

She looked at his face, examining every feature as if she was searching for something. And then she smiled when she saw it. She didn't tell him what she saw and kept it to herself—Damien was a spitting image of his father Lawrence, and it broke her heart all over again. "May I hug you again?"

He smiled at her and when she went in for the hug, he allowed himself to relish the feeling of having a mother. His heart warmed at the thought and he looked forward to getting to know her more.

…

It was already ten in the evening when they decided to call it a night. Damien had thought of inviting her to stay over but it might be too much for one day for the two of them. 

Just after they put away the dishes in the kitchen, Amelia turned to face her son, who was currently loading the remaining dirty dishes into the washer. There was hesitation written all over her face and she clutched her hands together as she called, "Damien… There's something I need to tell you…"

When he faced his mother, he could see that she was nervous. "What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, she leaned her hip against the counter for support. "While we're doing this… 'getting to know each other' thing... I thought I should tell you something that you might want to know. I wasn't going to tell you this tonight but I guess there's no better time than today."

Giving his undivided attention, he softly nodded, allowing her to continue.

"Crown Resort Group… When you started it years ago, you ran into a bit of trouble with the funding…"

"How did you know that?"

"I was in the area and I thought I might check in on how you were… Anyway… Um…" Amelia didn't really know how to confess it. She was bad at this. 

"Just… say it…" he said, seeing how she was struggling.

She swallowed and finally told him, "ASLP. It's me... and your father... sort of..."

He knitted his brows at what he just heard. Confusion masked his face and he looked away as he recalled what happened in the past. ASLP was an anonymous angel investor of Crown Resort Group. Damien faced some problems back then and without ASLP, he wouldn't have his company today. But why was she saying that it was them? Where did she even get the money? "How?" was all he could ask.

Amelia couldn't tell what he was feeling, but she already started this—all she could do is continue. "Before you were born, your father and I set up an account. And we kept putting money there monthly. Of course, he put in more than me but it was sort of our savings that we could use for you. I was stubborn, you know? I told him I could only use money as long as I contributed—silly me was prideful and didn't want to feel like a charity case—which was why he decided to create that account. 

"After I left, I thought that your father had stopped or withdrawn the funds but I only learned many years later that he didn't stop the monthly deposits. Maybe he thought that I would need it someday and so he decided to keep it running. Anyway… When he... passed away, I became the sole owner of the account. It was full of money that I wouldn't ever touch… So… Years later when I found out about your situation, I decided to add some of my savings to the account and then put that money into use as your seed investor. ASLP… It stands for your father's name and mine. Amelia Silva—"

"Lawrence Park…" he muttered under his breath, and he swallowed the unknown lingering feeling within him.