476 Shiny Red Apple

Entering the living area, Damien and William met with Katherine again. But before she could speak, Frederick came down the stairs.

"Dad," William greeted, and all he got from his father was a grunt then the latter turned to the couple and said, "You're here. Welcome back, and Congratulations!"

Damien and Katherine glanced at each other, both wondering what Fredrick was congratulating them about. If it's because of the bidding, that would be understandable. But if it's about their engagement, then, was he a psychic? Damien met his uncle halfway, receiving the side hug as he questioned, "You've seen the results regarding the bidding? I didn't know you were keeping tabs on that."

"Right. Of course. You're my nephew, after all." Frederick cleared his throat, then he asked, "May I have a word with you, Damien?"

Nodding at his uncle, Damien turned to Katherine and squeezed her waist. He was hesitant to leave her with his cousin—not because he couldn't trust him, but because he knew that she didn't—and being in the same room with him made her uncomfortable. "I'll be right back."

When the two left, Katherine decided to mind her own business. She didn't want to deal with William as she had yet to talk about him with Damien. She realized that there was something Damien hadn't told her yet, seeing as the cousins were quite in a deep conversation earlier when they were out on the patio. She strolled towards the sofa, however, before she could even walk further, William caught her attention.

"It's nice to see you without the mask on," he commented.

She paused and turned to face him, not having any idea what the other was thinking at the moment. She had told Damien that William saw them leaving that night, but she wasn't sure if he recognized them—Damien hadn't told her anything about William either, so she was conflicted. Raising a brow, she waited for him to say something else.

"Oh, you don't have to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about. I know it was you."

Unsure of how to respond to his statement, she kept an impassive expression on her face. If the two talked about that night and Damien didn't tell her, he better square his shoulders. A little heads up would have been nice, Damien!

Completely masking her face, she crossed her arms in front of her and changed the subject, directing it to William instead. "I don't know what you are up to, but you better not betray Damien again."

Clearly amused, he smiled, looking so neat with his clean-cut look. He put his hands in his pockets and retorted, "Says the one who left him just recently?"

"You don't know a thing about me."

"Right back at you, Katherine."

Unperturbed by his comebacks, she kept her chin up and looked at him straight in the eye. "I'm warning you, William. He's had enough bullshît in his life. And I won't let you add to that and hurt him again."

Tilting her head to the side, she didn't back down when he stared down at her. "I'm not denying what I did, but I came back to him as fast as I could and owned up to it. What about you? Some family…" She scoffed. "If you really cared about him, what took you this long to turn around? It's questionable what you're really after because... You ruined what you two had—all for what? A woman who isn't even worth it?"

Just then Damien came back inside alone and went to Katherine's side. He could tell that the two had a heated conversation and he worried that it would get out of hand. Placing an arm around her waist, he asked, "Everything okay in here?"

"Swell," William responded, his face already devoid of emotions as he continued to stare at Katherine. He thought that she was so different compared to how she was before she left. Still snarky, but there was so much more than that now.

"Come on, they're waiting at the table." Damien urged Katherine to move, taking her hand in his and started pulling her with him. He could feel the tension and he was not liking it.

She didn't know why, but she felt like going off today. She had never liked William since the beginning and this new thing going on between him and Damien didn't settle right with her. She trusted Damien—but not William. Which was why she couldn't help herself but make her warning clear. "Hang on, Damien. It's not every day that I get to do this, so please let me." 

She felt him relax next to her and then she turned to face William. "Do you know why I don't like shiny red apples?" Her eyes darkened as she enunciated every word of her warning. "They look magnificent on the outside. But you won't know until you cut them open only to find it rotten on the inside. And I don't mind slicing my apples first if I have to eat them."

William swore his heart skipped a beat after hearing her threat. Wasn't he supposed to feel… threatened? She's definitely not the same Katherine as before. And because William was William, he replied with a chuckle. "Don't worry, Sweetheart. I'm no shiny red apple." He winked and left.

"Your cousin is an ass," she murmured.

"He is," Damien agreed.

Turning to him, Katherine narrowed her eyes when she saw him widen his smile. "What are you smiling about?"

He pulled her closer, his arms encircling her waist as he leaned and kissed the spot just below her ear. She shivered when she felt his hot breath fanning her skin as he whispered in a low voice that sent shots of jolts straight through her core, "You keep reminding me how much this side of yours turns me on."