Chapter 293 - The Platinum Club 1

The ride all the way to the restaurant that Damien Park made a reservation for was spent in silence. Because of what Damien and Caleb witnessed a while ago with Katherine and her friends, the atmosphere was quite tense.

When Katherine left, it didn't only affect Damien but also her friends. Compared to him, her friends didn't have any idea as to what happened about her sudden disappearance without telling them where she was headed to or if she was coming back at all. A couple of weeks after she disappeared, Emma came to see Damien and asked about Katherine but all that he could say was that he didn't know. And that was the truth.

Now that Katherine was back and the whole thing about her being the heiress of the Young Family was made known, a lot had changed. It was understandable for Emma to be upset with what she discovered given that Katherine probably hadn't had the chance to talk to her friends yet.

Damien felt bad that Katherine was also upset about the whole thing. She was already going through a lot and having her friend get mad at her was just adding on to her burdens. He just wished for her to be happy… to see her smile… but she looked so sullen right now.

…

Central Harbor Restaurant

When they arrived, Caleb got out quickly to meet Alianna who was waiting by the entrance. Because of how exclusive the restaurant was, she couldn't enter without an elite member.

Damien rounded the car to open the door for Katherine who seemed to have been still in a trance. Leaning down to her level, he touched her shoulder and said, "Hey… we're here. Are you sure you still want to come up? I could drive you home if you want…"

She took a deep breath and pulled on a smile for him. "Sorry, I was just thinking about some things. Yeah, of course. I want to see Ali too."

Knowing full well that her smile was a lie, he couldn't help but feel a slight prick in his heart. 'Baby, you don't have to pretend for me. You can cry and scream if you want to. It pains me more to see you like this, pretending to be okay when you're clearly not.'

With all those thoughts in his head, he could only keep it to himself. Curling the corners of his mouth up, he stretched out his hand to take hers and told her, "You're a rockstar, Kitten. Come, let's go meet them."

As soon as Alianna saw Katherine approach them, she ran up to her and threw herself in for a bear hug like she hadn't seen the other for years. "Oh, my god! It feels like forever! How have you been? You look amazing!"

Despite some sleepless nights, Katherine did, in fact, looked amazing. She had been more active with her physical health than before. It was as though she was an agent again, following a certain exercise regime that Amelia designed for her.

Ah… Damien's mother. One more thing that she had kept from Damien. She had already kept a thousand things, what's one more, right? Except that this one, she knew that he would probably hate her for keeping it from him. But what can she do? It was not her secret to tell. 'I'm sorry, Damien.'

"You look fabulous as always, Ali…" Katherine squeezed Alianna, trying her best to transfer her appreciation for the woman for not getting mad at her for ghosting her and of course, her cousin. 

There was a lot of meaning to this hug. It looked like a friendly hug between two friends who just missed each other after not seeing each other for a long time but the two of them somehow knew that the hug meant so much more than just that. 

It was as if Alianna was trying to say: 'Hey, it's okay. I'm not mad at you. And I know you're having a rough time too. It's okay. You're okay.'

And Katherine's hug meant as though she was telling her friend: 'I'm so sorry Ali… Please don't be mad like Emma. Your mouth is worse than hers. I would probably faint if I hear you curse at me.'

Though Alianna didn't know the details about Katherine and Damien's breakup—because all Damien said was that it was all his fault—she was mature enough to think that the two of them were hurting. After all, she saw how the two of them still loved each other. And if anything, she knew how it sucked to be broken up with the person you love.

…

Central Harbor Restaurant was part of an exclusive club. The first floor had a bar and lounge area where one could enjoy an afternoon to late-night drinks. The second floor was a restaurant where all the members could dine for lunch and dinner — walk-ins were allowed but the tables were limited.

The third floor had several private rooms for a more intimate dining experience. The first time that Damien brought Katherine there was due to a meeting with some investors. After learning that the grilled lamb was her favorite in the restaurant, he took her back here the day after she confessed to him—the night they became official.

As they rounded the corner, Katherine saw the familiar hall that was leading to the restroom, making her gasp. She stopped in her tracks and allowed the memory of a few months ago to flood her mind when she bumped into Chris that day.

She forgot about it until just a second ago. Her eyes flitted from side to side as she recalled what exactly happened that day. Why was Chris here? Who was he with? He clearly knew it was her then but because of what he did to her, he was flustered to see her in this exclusive place.

"Katherine? Are you okay?" Damien tilted his head at an angle as he studied her face, worried about what she was thinking about at the moment.

Hearing his voice, Katherine snapped out of her daze and looked at him in the eye. The two of them stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak until she was finally able to come up with the words to ask him, "Damien… That time…. When you brought me here… do you remember when it was?"

Damien's brows relaxed upon hearing her question and a charming smile formed on his face. "Of course, how could I forget?"

"What date was it?"

"It was the day after the opening of the new resort. May 19th. Why?" He watched as Katherine processed his answer, unsure of what she was thinking at the moment. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah… Everything's fine." Whipping out her phone from her bag, she pressed a speed-dial and turned to the side. "I just need to make a phone call real quick. You can go ahead. I'll be right behind you," she said as she turned her back and moved to a quiet corner.

"Yelow!" Styles's voice came through the other line. "Are you coming home for lunch? I'm starving."

"Just order something. Listen, Styles… I need you to look into something for me. Grab your laptop."

A shuffling noise was heard from the other end of the line for a few seconds before Styles came back and said, "Hit me."

"Check out Central Harbor Restaurant on May 19. See if you can trace Chris's whereabouts or whatever he's doing here and who he met."

"Got it." Quick tapping sounds were heard as Styles started to look into Katherine's request. "Oh, hey… Cronuts."

"Sure. See you later." 

Katherine hung up the phone and turned around to follow her friends inside the private room only to find Damien waiting for her outside the door. 

He looked up as she approached and a sudden thought came to Katherine — she needed to be a member of this exclusive club.