Chapter 286 - A Harmless Hold

Katherine and Damien sat in silence next to each other in the backseat of his Rover, just enjoying the peace and quiet while looking at the stars above them.

It was incredible how messy their lives were right now yet they found solace in each other's presence. No matter how much Katherine tried to deny the fact that she couldn't be with Damien, she couldn't help herself but want more out of whatever they had right now. And yet… a part of her was screaming at her, telling her what she was doing was not supposed to happen… telling her that whatever this was would only end up in having her heart broken all over again.

But the thing was, she was too weak to even fight with herself. So even though she knew this was wrong, she just couldn't help herself but want to give in — even just a little.

When Damien thought that he had to initiate the talking, Katherine started, "How long have you started seeing… your therapist?"

"For the record, just so we don't misunderstand each other, I'm not seeing Eve, okay? We're not dating. But I go to her for sessions." He was never the kind of guy who would prolong a misunderstanding. As much as he could, he always wanted to clear things up with Katherine. He had been doing so ever since the beginning of their relationship.

He didn't need to clarify this one again because she believed him the first time he told her yesterday who 'Eve' was but she was thankful anyway.

"Just recently. Actually… I started therapy a few weeks ago. I didn't think I needed one. I thought I could handle it myself but I had a hard time sleeping and Caleb insisted I should talk to someone after I messed up one project a while ago."

Katherine could only imagine what he was going through because Damien never messes up work because of personal problems. She was not any better too but the difference between them was that she didn't have thousands of people depending on her.

"You fûcked me up real bad when you left, Katherine. But I'm not blaming you… I just…" He sighed. "Not seeing you and not knowing where you were, what happened to you or what you were doing… really messed me up. You'd be surprised at how I'm still not used to your disappearance even after experiencing them time and time again." He chuckled, amused at himself but the truth in his words caused their hearts to throb.

"Damien, I'm—"

"No. Please don't be sorry. You are not at fault. I could never blame you for running away from someone who…" His voice trailed off, unable to finish what he wanted to say. However, he didn't have to because Katherine understood him well. She couldn't hate him for being part of the Park Family but it still sucked that he was. And because of that, it was really hard for her.

There was a long silence in the air as the two sat, thinking about a lot of things while silently wishing they could be just like normal couples whose problems were only about where to eat when they go on dates or fight over whose turn it was to choose what to watch on movie night.

"I was bounty hunting," Katherine suddenly said, causing Damien to snap his head towards her, confused at what she just said.

"What?"

"Not since the time I left but… I did it for a month before I came back. I traveled for a while to those places I told Nana because of it." Her voice was calm and there wasn't an ounce of a lie in it.

"Is that what you are? A bounty hunter?" he probed, trying to fit the profile of her in his mind to that of a bounty hunter. He found it odd yet also sort of possible.

Katherine bit her bottom lip as she tried to think about what she could tell him and chose the safest route she could say, "Not really… but I have the skills to do so. I decided to do it for a while to set aside some money."

"I see… Are you good at it?"

"I guess…?"

"How much do you get?" Damien was truly curious as to how it worked for her. Knowing she was catching criminals piqued his interest. She never failed to impress him time and time again.

"It depends on the criminal's bail amount. I get 10 to 25% of it." She shrugged.

"Did you do well?"

"Well… about half a million."

His eyes went wide in surprise. "For a month? Impressive… I might be in the wrong business. Do you think I would be a good bounty hunter?" he asked, chuckling at the thought.

She snorted and rolled her eyes, "Oh please, what I earned isn't even a twelfth of how much you get in a day, Mr. Billionaire. Don't snatch this one from me and stick to your own business."

Damien got a good laugh from her statement and it made Katherine laugh with him. She never knew how much he was actually earning but she didn't have to. He earned every cent in his name through his hard work and smart approach.

Truth be told, knowing about what Katherine did while she was away got Damien worried because of how dangerous it is but he was glad that she told him about it and realized how capable she was. He knew there was so much more to her than what she let him know but he was already thankful that she was starting to let him back in even if it's very slow.

The two of them became silent again after sharing a laugh. She shifted in her seat and the backs of their hands accidentally touched.

They swallowed at the same time that their hearts started to race when they felt the electricity shot through their stomachs with just the tiniest skin to skin contact.

Katherine curled her fingers in, afraid that they would touch again. But just when she thought that Damien was going to do the same and retract his hand away from hers, he softly brushed the back of his hand with hers. The warm contact made her turn her head towards him and she saw him looking back at her.

His stare was so intense — it was full of longing and need… yet there was fear present in the dark pool of black eyes that were holding her gaze.

His eyes traveled south and landed on her slightly parted plump lips. He so badly wanted to kiss her. To touch those soft lips with his. But he was afraid that if he did, she would push him away.

Damien's gaze went back to hers and held it. Maybe she was thinking the same. Maybe she wasn't. And if she did, would she let him?

Trying to see if she was going to push him away, he moved until his large hand swallowed hers, interlacing their fingers together in the gentlest way possible.

It felt so warm and nice that even if her mind was telling her to pull her hand back, her heart was telling her to just let him… it was just a harmless hold, right?

Her thoughts went cloudy when she felt his other hand brush her hair to the back of her ear and cupped her jaw as he nuzzled on the side of her face. 

She could feel his warm breath tickling the skin on her neck when she heard him whisper, "I terribly miss you."