Chapter 265 - King Charming Is a Keeper

Matthew drove his car with Katherine in the front seat and they're headed to the same place he picked her up a few hours ago. He didn't want to bring up Damien Park but seeing that she had been in deep thought since they left Mango District, he wanted to check up on her.

"Hey… You look like you have a lot on your mind.  Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.

Katherine had been thinking about Damien's expression and the thing he said earlier. She couldn't deny that seeing him felt really nice but it only made her miss him more. She began to wonder if it was too soon for her to come back. How could she do what she's supposed to do if he constantly pops up everywhere she was?

With all the nice feelings that she had from meeting him unexpectedly and even receiving very thoughtful gifts, she started to feel bad again. It was as though every time her heart pumps for joy, her brain scolds it, reminding her of all the things why she shouldn't… and then her heart aches again.

Forcing out a smile, she nodded to him. "I'm fine… It's just a little weird seeing him unexpectedly."

Matthew knew how awkward it could be. "You know, you did pretty good back there. It'll be okay, Katherine. You'll see." He patted her arm and Katherine gave him an appreciative smile.

When they arrived, he parked the car by the curb and faced her. "Do you want me to go with you?"

"It's okay, I'm pretty familiar with this place already so I know where to go. Thanks for lunch, Matty. It'll be my turn to treat you next time."

"I'll hold on to that. Be sure to text me when you get your new phone later. Let me know how your day went and update me with that new place, okay?"

"I have your number right here. I'll text you when I can." She waved the calling card in her hand and drew him in for a bear hug, kissing his cheek before pulling back. "Drive safely!"

As she got out of his car, she waved at him again and watched him disappear into the traffic. She stood on the sidewalk with people walking past her from all directions and going about their busy day. When he was out of sight, Katherine inhaled deeply and let out a heavy sigh. Reconnecting with Matthew was amazing, however, it was too taxing for her to keep a facade and withhold the truth from her very close friend.

She used to lie a lot before and she didn't mind doing it as long as it got the job done. But it's different when she had to lie to people that she cared about. It was heavy on her shoulders and she constantly had the nagging feeling telling her to just let go and tell him everything. She had no one to talk to. No one to listen to her talk about the truth. Even with Styles and Amelia, there were just some things that she couldn't tell them.

Matthew was just one person. It was the same with her family and friends. And of course, especially Damien. But she just couldn't. The burden that she was carrying was too heavy—it felt like she was carrying the whole world on her shoulders. But since she cared about these people so much, she couldn't tell them.

Reminding herself over and over that she was doing this to protect them was all she could do. All the secrets that she knew, she could only keep to herself. It was a matter of life and death and she very much cared about life now. No matter how much she wanted to scream what was in her head and tell even just one person about Shadow, that person would automatically become a walking target.

Being out in the open was already putting everyone around her at risk. How much more could she sacrifice? She already lost a lot… experiencing another loss would kill her.

…

Entering her apartment, Katherine saw Amelia and Styles who were chatting on the sofa, waiting for her. There were a few bags and a couple of boxes on the floor and some snacks on the coffee table.

"Hey, Queen. How was your date?" Styles asked as he peeked at her from the backrest of the sofa.

"It was great," she smiled. Her gaze shifted to Amelia and she told her, "Your son appeared out of nowhere. For a second I thought you may have teamed up and ganged up on me." She slumped on the sofa next to Styles. 

Amelia's eyes widened, straightening up on her seat and looked at Katherine. "I didn't! I have never talked to him!"

"I know…"

Amelia's expression softened and she wrung her fingers together as she asked, "H-How is he?"

Not wanting to worry her, Katherine didn't tell her about him seeing a therapist. She didn't know if it was right for her to do so but this whole web of relationships between all of them was just… stressful. "I guess he's okay," she replied.

"What's this?" Styles peered in the bags that Katherine brought, taking out the medicine gel and the cellphone box. A wide smile immediately appeared on his face as his brain worked on a guess which was totally spot on. "Ay… He gave these to you, didn't he?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

With knitted brows, Katherine snatched the medicine from his hand and scoffed. "How do you even know that? I could have bought these myself, you know?"

Styles guffawed as if he had just heard the funniest thing. "You? You are one stubborn person. You don't even visit the infirmary unless we drag you there to get your medicine. I'm sure you never even thought about your bruise huh? Look at this King Charming… He thought about everything for you. Medicine and a spankin' brand new cellphone! Gotta hand it to the man, he's a keeper."

Katherine's frown got even deeper as she swept her dress to the side and rubbed some medicine gel on her bruised thigh while listening to Styles's blabbering. She hated that he spoke some sense when he's talking about something she wanted to avoid talking about.

The annoyed expression on her face slightly softened when the cool gel started to work its magic on her skin. He was right… She hadn't thought about her bruise at all. If it was up to her, she would have just forgotten about it and let it heal on its own.

Her gaze landed on the cellphone box that was now set on the coffee table and decided that she would just set it up later before she goes to bed.

"What are we waiting for, by the way? Is everything set?" she asked the other two.

"Well, I'm pretty much packed up. What about you Falcon?"

Amelia patted the huge duffel bag on the floor next to her with her foot. "All packed and ready to go."

Tossing the medicine tube back into the bag, Katherine checked the time on her watch. "It's almost four. I guess we could start moving. Shall we get going?"

The three of them got up from the sofa and started picking up their stuff. Because Katherine had to live her 'lie', it was best for her to move to a better location where she would appear to live like a normal person—like how Katherine Young would live.