Chapter 170 - Katherine's Baby Bear

In the evening at Pearl Gardens…

Katherine just finished taking a shower and was doing her nighttime routine when Bear decided to be all clingy. She gave him a pet and played with him for a while. Bear had been with them for three weeks now and she was glad that she at least had a companion at home while Damien was out on a business trip.

Over the weeks, she taught Bear a few commands and the gentle giant was so smart to learn it quickly. Bear could understand and execute the commands: sit, high-five, and handshake. Katherine did all that and gave him a treat before she climbed on the bed.

Just as she laid down, her phone rang and she instantly smiled upon seeing Damien's number on her screen. 

"Hi... how was your day?" she asked as soon as she answered.

"Not bad. Yours?"

"Same. Are you back at the hotel? Have you eaten?" Katherine grabbed Damien's pillow from the side and hugged it in front of her.

"Yes and yes. Where are you? What are you doing?"

"I'm in bed…"

A playful smile split on Damien's face as he laid on the bed while he talked to Katherine on the phone. He was already dressed for bed in his comfy shorts and a shirt. "Oh yeah? What are you wearing?"

She lightly knitted her brows and wondered why he asked but she answered anyway, "Um… sleepwear?"

"I see… which one? What color?"

Katherine looked down on her clothes and described it to him. "The dark green one."

"Hmmm… satin? Shorts?" Damien knew exactly what she was referring to and his lustful mind imagined her right beside him.

Her furrowed brows deepened and she huffed as she told him, "I'm not going to have phone sex with you, Damien."

A deep rumbling laugh sounded from the other line made Katherine roll her eyes. Although she had missed him already, she wasn't going to do some nasty things with him over the phone.

"I was just asking, Kitten. Am I not allowed to imagine you now?" he asked, his voice sounded playful over the phone and it sent tingles all over her body.

With an amused smile on her face, she blurted, "That depends, what are you wearing?"

She heard him chuckle just before a shuffling sound in the background. "Now, I'm only wearing boxers," he said, having just removed his shirt off. 

It was Katherine's turn to be amused, finding the two of them being silly at nine in the evening. There was never a dull moment with Damien — there was always something interesting to talk about with him. A smart and sexy man like him… What else could Katherine wish for?

"Too bad, you still have clothes on," she softly chuckled.

With his thumb grazing the waistband of his boxers, he pulled on a smirk and replied, "That can be easily fixed."

"Oh shush, Mr. Park. I don't want this on the phone… I miss you, come home."

And with that, the smug look on his face turned soft and warm. He turned to his side and with a small smile, he told her, "I miss you too, love. I'll be home soon."

The two of them talked for several minutes more before saying goodnight. It was a Wednesday night and Damien was supposed to come home the next day but Thursday came and he had to call Katherine to tell her he needed to stay one more day. Though she was a bit disappointed, she couldn't really get mad at him. However, going home only to find herself alone in a big house was becoming quite lonely. 

…

The next day…

It was Friday and since Damien wasn't back yet, Katherine didn't have much to do in the office. She decided to go in a little late and had just gotten down the stairs on her way out when the housemaid Rose came rushing towards her with a worried look as she carried Bear in her arms.

"Ms. Katherine! Ms. Katherine!"

Katherine snapped her head and saw the expression on Rose's face and her eyes landed on Bear's state. Bear's mouth was foaming and the fluffball looked sick with its head shaking.

"Oh my god! What happened?" she panicked, unsure of what to do seeing Bear suffering in front of her — she could feel her heart constrict at the sight of it.

"I just took him out for a morning walk and… I must not have seen… maybe he ate a frog or something… I'm so sorry!"

Katherine's eyes widened and in an instant, she ushered Rose towards the garden and they washed Bear's mouth with water. A few weeks ago when Bear just arrived, she and Damien read a bunch of articles about taking care of dogs. She only briefly read something about frogs or toads being poisonous to pets. 

Without wasting time, they brought Bear to a Pet Hospital which was a 20 minutes drive away. Felix drove the car as usual while Katherine was in the backseat cradling Bear on her lap. The entire car ride was slow and torturous for her. "Baby, you're going to be okay…" She kept stroking Bear's body as gentle as she could. She was so stressed and worried, she didn't realize that tears already stained her cheeks.

When they reached the hospital, the doctors took care of Bear right away. They brought him to an emergency room where he was treated, flushing his mouth and putting an IV drip on him. 

Katherine sat on the sofa in the lobby of the small Pet Hospital as she waited for news. She was so scared and started blaming herself out of nowhere all because she didn't want to lose him. Several minutes later, a veterinarian came out to tell her that it would be best to keep Bear there for now so that they can keep monitoring him.

It was already nine in the morning and she was supposed to be in the office so when Felix asked if she wants to go to work, she shook her head. She didn't want to leave knowing that Bear could possibly still be in danger… there was no way she could work as if she didn't care at all. Even after the veterinarian told her that Bear's status was looking positive, she still could not brush her worries away.

More than an hour later, she was still on the sofa, her hands tightly wringing together as she waited and her patience started to fade. 

The space next to her on the sofa sank, making her turn her head to the side and saw Damien's gentle face looking at her full of worry. It didn't register to her right away that he was actually there with her until he placed his large hand over her cold ones.

"Hey… You okay?" he asked in a soft tone, lifting the corners of his mouth into a small smile.

Katherine was surprised to see Damien back that early when he told her was going to arrive in the afternoon. But seeing him there after being gone for days, her heart finally calmed down. "When did you arrive?"

He shifted closer towards her and placed his arm around her shoulders in a side hug. "Just now… I just arrived at the office when Felix called me. So I came as soon as I could." He stroked her arm gently as he reassured her, "Bear's going to be okay… you did a great job bringing him here."

"Did I? Why is he still not out then?"

"He'll be fine…" 

Even though he was only saying that to comfort her, Katherine definitely felt better and less worried now that Damien was finally home. 

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