Chapter 157 - Walking into the Lion's Den

Damien's eyes fluttered open when Bear pawed his hand. Lazily, he gave Bear a quick pat on its head before he turned his attention to Katherine whose arm and leg were wrapped around him with her face pressed on his back.

He smiled as he had gotten used to her sleeping habits. Katherine always liked to have something to hug or cuddle whenever she sleeps, so most of the time, Damien wakes up to a back hug or her head resting on his chest — whichever it is, he found it a wonderful way to wake up to.

Turning around to face her, he brushed her hair away from her face before pulling her closer and kissing her forehead.

"Nghh…" she groaned. "What time is it?" she slurred.

"6:30… We have to get up. Ali's leaving early," he whispered above her head. Katherine wasn't much of a morning person and Damien discovered this after witnessing her being grumpy whenever he wakes her up for a morning workout. Later, he learned several ways on how to wake her up without making her irritable.

He gently stroked her arm and back, making her lean more onto him as though she was asking for more strokes. It was like having two pets at home — a Kitten and a Bear.

"Yeah, we should get up," she murmured but remained motionless.

They stayed in the same position for five more minutes before Damien placed a kiss on her head and nudged her to get up with him, in which she willingly followed.

When they got out of the bedroom after washing up, the smell of breakfast and coffee wafted through the air. Alianna had woken up early to cook breakfast for them and when the couple arrived downstairs, she had just placed the last plate on the table. "Good, you're up." She beamed at them and watched Damien put Bear down on the floor. The fluffball hurriedly ran towards her and she cooed as she pets it.

"Ali… What's all this? We were supposed to cook for you this morning." Katherine strolled towards the dining area, taking in the plates of sausages, eggs, pancakes, bread, and fruits. Everything looked scrumptious and she suddenly became so hungry.

"You guys took care of me all week. This is the least I can do."

"You're always welcome here." Damien appeared from the kitchen after washing his hands. "You're going straight to work after?"

"Yes. I have a photoshoot at ten. Oh, and Caleb's picking me up so you don't have to drive me there."

The three of them sat at the table and started eating. Alianna was going to stay at the Park Mansion until she flies back to Italy. She wanted to spend time with Nana before leaving.

"By the way, Damien… Do you have Matthew Jeong's phone number?"

"I don't, why?"

Alianna shrugged and started playing with her food. "I haven't really talked to him after that night. I just wanted to say thank you… but it seems that he's always out, so I haven't had the chance."

Nodding, Damien responded, "I'll get his number and forward it to you."

The three of them continued to eat their breakfast and talked about traveling together in the future. Alianna always liked to travel everywhere and she thought it would be fun to go out of the country with Katherine.

…

Two weeks went by so fast and it was already Nana's birthday, August 12th. Damien and Katherine were in the master bedroom dressing up for the party. 

He wore a light blue suit and had the top button of his white shirt undone. He strolled towards Katherine who was checking herself on the tall mirror, making sure her dress was okay. 

She was wearing a nude pink bodycon dress, falling just below her knee. It had a sexy V-neck, soft butterfly sleeves and a ribbon on the left side of her waist. To complete her look, she wore a pair of nude metallic peep-toe Jimmy Choos. She kept her makeup really light and her hair neatly combed into soft waves, making her look like a doll.

The party was a fairly laid back and casual evening dinner with family and close friends so their outfits were just perfect.

Damien walked up from behind her, swept her hair to the side, revealing her smooth skin. He placed a kiss on the side of her neck as his arms slid around her waist. "You look lovely," he whispered to her ear, his breath tickling her skin.

Katherine spun around and placed her hands on his chest, smiling as she returned the compliment, "And you… look really handsome."

Tilting her chin up to him, he placed a soft kiss on her lips before taking her hand in his. "Let's go… We don't want to be late."

…

Park Estate

Entering the 14-acre land, Katherine was in awe to see the vast area. The road to the 2,550-square meter mansion was a long one with big trees on either side.

When the car came to a stop, Damien circled around and opened the door for her. "Shall we?" 

Katherine placed her hand in his and they walked towards the entrance as she continued to scan the exterior of the French chateau-inspired mansion. There was a guesthouse on the left and a pool house on the right. "Damien, it's so beautiful here," she muttered.

"It is." A small and brief smile formed on his face. He breathed in deeply before they entered the foyer of the house, a spiral staircase was on the side leading to the second floor. 

"Hey… you're finally here." Alianna appeared to greet them and they exchanged hugs. "Come on, everybody's in the living room." She ushered them to the spacious room on the right and saw about forty people inside mingling with each other — some of the guests turned their heads towards them and a few raised some brows as they saw Katherine's arm hooked with Damien's.

Lightly moving his head to whisper to Katherine's ear, Damien said, "You're amazing. You've got this." He kissed her temple before greeting one of the elders that approached him.

Alianna immediately pulled her to the side, determined not to leave her out of sight throughout the night. She knew very well how the members of the Park Family can be a little too much. Keeping a fake smile on her face, Alianna said under her breath that only Katherine could hear, "I forgot to tell you, Lexi's here… somewhere."

Katherine curled the corners of her mouth up and softly chuckled. "Of course she is."

"Don't worry, Kath. You'll be fine… If it helps, the only way to survive this bunch of—" she cleared her throat. "The only way to survive the night is to not let anyone step on your toes. In this house, they all respect Damien but to outsiders… they can be a bitch. So if they attack, claw them right back." She snorted.

Katherine turned her head and met Alianna's smiling eyes. "Okay… so basically, you're telling me that I just walked into the Lion's den… and I just have to survive in order not to be eaten? That's helpful..."

"Yup. Don't worry… Although it's a little intimidating, I'm sure they won't do anything insane… they wouldn't dare to do anything that would make Damien write their names in his black book." 

Katherine raised a brow, "He has a black book?"

Alianna threw her head back laughing, "I'm just messing with you. You'll be fine…"

Just then, the Park family's butler appeared at the entryway, clearing his throat to catch everyone's attention. 

"Good evening. Announcing the Madame's arrival," he said before stepping to the side and soon, Nana appeared wearing a gold floor-length dress. She was all smiles as she nodded to the guests who were greeting her when she entered the living room.

However, as soon as her eyes landed on Katherine, Nana's smile became even brighter and she excitedly walked across the room, giving Katherine a big embrace. "Oh, Katherine, dear… It's so lovely to see you. I'm very happy that you're here."

Nana's actions caused everyone to stir and whisper to one another, wondering why she was so friendly with Damien's date.

Feeling all eyes on her, Katherine's heart began to race. 'Sh*t.'