Chapter 280 - Pretense 4

The atmosphere in the dining room was a mixture of the group's emotions – Katherine was tense, Frederick Park was apprehensive as he looked at Damien who had been avoiding him since the news about Katherine came out, Nana was feeling warm and giddy, and of course, Damien was worried and happy at the same time to have Katherine here with him. 

Damien didn't expect to see her at all. If he had known, he never would have declined Nana's initial invitation. He would gladly leave any prior engagements just to have a chance to spend time with her. He felt instantly regretful for even thinking of ditching dinner tonight. If he did, he would have missed her.

Wanting to make sure that she wouldn't do anything foolish that night, Damien had to talk to her alone—out of Nana's earshot. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her up with him as he stood and said, "Excuse us."

Damien brought her to the hallway far enough that whatever they would be talking about wouldn't be heard by the people inside the dining room, while making sure that there were no servants around who might eavesdrop. 

He let go of her hand and faced her, his expression turning cold as he narrowed his eyes at her. "I know you're mad at my uncle but you…" his voice trailed, remembering the look of bloodlust in her eyes earlier. "You looked like you were about to kill someone. You can't do that in front of Nana. If you didn't want to be here, then why did you come?"

What he said struck her hard. This was one of the reasons why Shadow's agents must not have their feelings involved during a mission. Emotions shouldn't exist or it will lead to failure. Because of her frustration and drive to catch the people responsible for her parents' deaths, she almost lost it back at the dinner table. Damien was right. Who knows what she would have done if he wasn't around?

And yes, why did she come? Though his question was only rhetorical, Katherine couldn't help but feel a slight prick in her heart. It couldn't be that he didn't want to see her, right? She brushed her own question off her mind. What was it to her if he didn't want her presence? She was the one wanting to avoid him in the first place. She frowned and looked away.

"Nana invited me here. She sent someone to pick me up from the office... I couldn't say no. Have you not told her… about us?" she asked.

"I did. I don't know why she invited you over. She didn't tell me anything when she called me at noon," he said in a toneless voice.

Katherine chewed on her bottom lip, leaning back against the wall as she tried to calm herself down. She wanted to go home. Away from Frederick Park and away from the man who was currently staring at her.

Damien watched her as she avoided his gaze. How could she refuse to look at him? Does he look repulsive that she couldn't even look at him? He scoffed at himself. She didn't even reply to his message since morning. He was truly frustrated.

This woman.

How badly he wanted to kiss her to get rid of his frustration.

With a heavy sigh, he ran a hand down his face and told her, "Let's go. I'll take you home." 

"What?" His offer was sudden that it surprised her. He wanted her to go?

"I will tell Nana you're sick. I'll get you out of here and drive you home right away so you don't have to see my uncle anymore." His brows furrowed yet his voice was calm, wanting to show her he was only worried about her well-being.

Realizing what he meant, Katherine finally calmed down. He was only concerned about her.

This time, she looked him in the eye and told him, "No, I can't do that to Nana. She looked really excited to see me."

"I'm sure she is." Subconsciously, Damien raised his hand and brushed a lock of hair away from her face with his fingers. "I know I am."

Katherine bit her tongue, wishing that her blush won't show. 'Damn it, Damien. What are you doing?'

Dropping his hand to the side, he added, "Okay… Then, can you go back there with me and promise me you'll try not to kill anyone?"

She took a deep breath and with a serious voice, she answered, "I promise I will try ." The way she said the last word with too much emphasis made Damien shake his head.

He gestured for her to go first and he followed after her, placing his hand on the small of her back as they strolled back to the dining room.

…

Once they were back at the table, Damien checked on Katherine from time to time to see how she was doing. The small act didn't go unnoticed by Nana, what with her keen eyes. Her obviously cheeky plan was working and she was about to work on it more.

While Damien attempted to get Katherine to eat some more, Nana asked, "So, Katherine… Tell me where you've been recently. I heard you went on a trip?"

It was mentioned in the online article that they released last Saturday that she just got back from a vacation, visiting beautiful places everywhere. 

There was nothing beautiful about chasing criminals. Except — of course — the moolah that she earned while doing so.

With a sweet smile on her face, she faced Nana and nodded, "That's right, Nana. I went to a few places here and there. I first visited Mexico. It's a whole new world out there… really vibrant." 

Not to mention, it has dangerous regions where cartels operate. Boy was it fun to avoid getting shot at while she was chasing her first Skip. 

"After that, I went to a few other states. The last one I visited was California before I returned." She didn't lie about the places she went to. It was better to stick close to the truth.

The entire time, Damien just looked at her, wondering if she was telling the truth or was she lying again. Most of the time, he could tell when she did but this time, she looked as if she was telling the truth — however, if she was, what the hell was she doing in all those places? It was hard to believe that she was on a "vacation".

"Oh! How lovely! Did you see the Hollywood sign?" Nana asked eagerly.

"Yes, I did actually. You can't go to L.A without seeing it," Katherine answered smoothly.

Somehow, Damien knew that she was only telling the half-truth.

"My… Did you hear that, Damien? She went to a lot of places and even saw the Hollywood sign. Did you know about that?" Nana's singsong voice made the topic more interesting than it actually was.

Without taking his eyes off her, Damien replied with an unreadable expression. "No, I didn't. I didn't know where she was. It's the first time that I'm hearing this."

Knowing Damien since he was a child, Nana could sense the hurt in his words despite keeping his tone free of spite. Wanting to lighten his mood, she continued with the same eagerness, "Oh, you two should keep in touch. After all, you did get along really well."

With a devilishly handsome smile, Damien tilted his head as he faced Katherine and probed, "We did, didn't we, Katherine?"

Katherine almost choked on her food, feeling Damien's hand land on her thigh under the table.