Damien felt like his whole world crashed on his head. He didn't want to tell Addie the truth: that she got drunk, took ecstasy, danced naked for half the school, and he'd taken her to this hotel room to get her sober.
She was the one who came on to him. He knew Adeline loved him even though she's looking at him with pure hatred now. And he wished all the love he felt for her in his heart would turn to hate because he loved her so much, and he just knew he's going to be stupid for her just like his dad was for his mother.
Damien knew this was his consequence for being weak to temptation.
Systema had taught him never to give in to temptation. That's why he didn't indulge in alcohol, and he was trying to stop smoking. He didn't do drugs, either. And he only had sex with women who didn't matter to him. Now he'd had sex with a woman he loved, and it wa
Adeline felt sick to her stomach. The drug must not have worn off yet. She decided to spend her entire day locked in her room, staring at the wall. She ignored her nagging mother and annoying stepbrother and stepfather, even when they yelled and banged on her door. Today, they don't exist.She looked up the after-effects of ecstasy online and figured out that was why she felt sick. She basically used up a year's worth of dopamine in one night. No wonder she was miserable.She couldn't stop thinking about Damien. Her mind showed her vague flashes of Damien making love to her. She kept remembering him being gentle and loving. Only she felt detached from her body, and it was as if she was watching from the ceiling.No, there was no way he was gentle. He raped her, right? she thought. But
Adeline went home and called her dad. She was tired of everything. Bad things keep happening to her. Terrible things. She couldn't take it anymore. She knew if she lived with her father, she'd have to take care of her bratty half-siblings, but anything was better than this. She needed to get out of this shithole town. Away from her mother, her abusive classmates, creepy step-family, and Damien. Especially Damien. He had hurt her the most.She didn't realize she had feelings for him until now, and she wanted to erase them. Damien would bring nothing but misery for her, and she had enough shit to deal with.Thankfully, her dad picked up the phone on her first try."Hey Adeline, what's going on?" her dad asked.Adeline couldn't hold it i
Ten years later...Adeline had the rare Saturday day shift. She was off by 3 pm. Of course, she started at 4:30 am, but now she'd have some time to spend with her half-siblings: Marla and Little Dave, who were thirteen, and Stewie, who was ten.She hadn't seen them in a while because she worked nearly seventy hours a week at the diner as assistant manager. She planned to make the best out of this day. Thankfully, Tommy wasn't getting out of work till eight this evening.She stopped by Dunkin Donuts, even though their mom Steph watched their sugar consumption like a hawk, but Addie seldom got to visit them these days so she was pretty sure her stepmom would let it pass this once.She and Tommy lived in Humboldt Park, while the James-Silvermans lived in Beverly. After her father died seven years ago, she and Stephanie struggled by themselves for a while, until Steph met Dr. Brian Silverman, an English professor at the University of Illinois, a couple of yea
TRIGGER Warning: violence against womenAdeline couldn't stay long with her family after that. She didn't want to infect them with the ugliness from her past that came back to infect her like black mold once more."Adeline?" Steph grabbed her shoulder before she reached the door. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."Adeline almost jumped, her stepfather's threat still ringing in her ears. She needed to get away from this house as quickly as possible. She was cursed. "It's my mom, Steph. I gotta go back to Detroit. She's really sick."Stephanie's lovely face crumpled with concern. "Oh, angel. I'm sorry to hear that. What about Tommy? Will he let you go?"
Damien flung the quarterly reports across the room and lit up a cigarette. His bodyguard Akiko raised an eyebrow but didn't flinch. She's used to her boss's occasional outbursts of rage. This was actually one of his better days. Usually, it was a paperweight she had to dodge."What the fuck am I looking at, Robbie? Why have our profits taken a fifteen percent dive from last quarter?" He nodded at his other bodyguard Nemiah, who was in the Israeli secret service. She stepped forward and filled his glass with Balvenie thirty-year single malt scotch, his favorite.Robbie had become an accountant who was in charge of keeping track of the investment firm's profits and was also the compliance officer, to make sure that Damien did nothing to violate the SEC. "Damien, I warned you about Eastside Crips teaming up with the Cubano Manos. They're trying to corner the distribution of crack cocaine in all of Detroit.""Well, shit, Robbi
TRIGGER Warning: self harm, casual drug useShe had to act fast. She'd taken this dose before and all it did was knock her out for two days. She did it right after she lost the baby because she didn't want to deal with the pain. Tommy was so much bigger than her, so his metabolism could burn through it quickly.She put on her kitchen gloves, cleaned up everything, and made sure she washed the plates and utensils, especially what Tommy used. She wiped the entire kitchen free of her fingerprints. She wiped down the bathroom surfaces too.She took her dirty uniform as well as the two beer-soaked towels and stuck them in quick wash. Afterward, she pulled out her large stand-up suitcase from under the bed and filled it with jeans, shirts, socks, underwear, and a couple of casual dresses.Then she put on the g
Damien decided it was time to pay a little visit to his stepmother Nadine and Natasha at his old house in Grosse Pointe. He wasn't particularly excited about it. That house brought nothing but bad memories and restless nights. If it wasn't for Natasha living there, he would've burned it down ages ago."Anyone home?" Damien's voice echoed through the house as it was dead silent. He heard the squeak of wheels and turned around to face his stepmother."Damien, you finally came to see us," Nadine said weakly. Whoever thought this woman used to be a seductress back in the day. At the age of forty-five, she had already had a stroke and was now wheelchair bound. All because of a cocaine overdose. She had to use a wheelchair because the left side of her body was paralyzed.Damien hated her at one point but he couldn't stay angry at this vulnerable woman who looked ancient at such a young age. He had done his part to provide nursin
"What the fuck are you talking about, Steve? What do you mean my mama is dead?" Adeline said sharply.Steve stared at her for a minute, then burst out laughing while Adeline looked at him with confusion."I'm just fucking with you," Steve finally said after he was done laughing. "She is in a long-term care facility because I ain't taking care of her."Adeline held her anger back. Now was not the time to let her emotion run out of control. "Stop being an asshole for once and tell me the name of the place," she said."Fuck if I remember. Hey Jimmy, What's that place called? The one Rita is staying at?" he yelled across the room."Sunrise Home or some shit," Jimmy yelled back.
Damien walked into his office and squinted his eyes. Something was off. No one dared to enter his office and mess with his things because he always found out. But someone did dare and that someone was in a heap of trouble. He smirked as he saw a tiny handprint on his desk that most likely belonged to the culprit. "Mila? Get in here, right now!" he yelled. He leaned back in his chair and smiled when he heard the pitter-patter of small feet approaching. "Da, papa?" a small voice spoke from the entrance. He stared at the tiny version of Adeline in front of him. She had just turned five. Mila had deep blue eyes like him and Adeline and thick brown hair. She wore a white cotton dress that Addie made for her that made her look like a princess. His little printsessa. "Did you touch the cookie jar on my desk?" he said and narrowed his eyes. Mila looked down on the floor with her hands behind her back. "No..."
Damien observed Adeline's face. Was she scared? Upset? Angry? He couldn't tell as she was just staring at him without showing any kind of emotion. "Addie?" Damien called her, breaking her out of her trance. Adeline slowly turned toward Damien. "You dragged Tommy over here. All the way from Chicago?" Her voice shook. Damien nodded. "You asked me to bring him here, remember? So...um...happy birthday?" Tears streamed down her face. She bit her lower lips as if to stop herself from sobbing loudly. Damien was taken aback. Maybe he shouldn't have brought him over. It was upsetting her more, and that was the last thing he wanted. He didn't want to make her cry on her birthday. "Malen'kaya ptitsa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," Damien said. Tommy finally spoke. He looked at Adeline straight into her eyes. "Addie, baby. Look what this monster did to me! He beat me to a pulp then tortured me. Make him stop. I am
Tommy wailed like a street cat as Damien broke his fourth finger. "Stop crying like a little bitch. I thought you were a cop. Aren't they supposed to be tough motherfuckers?" Damien said irritably. If he had to keep listening to Tommy's screaming, eventually, he'd become deaf. "Let me go, asshole. I told you I didn't do anything wrong. So what if I smacked her around a little? I was just disciplining her because I was too afraid to lose her," Tommy said. He could barely talk as he was gasping for breath. Damien grabbed the back of Tommy's head then slammed his face on the table in front of him. Tommy started coughing out blood. After he was done, he stared at the table with a horrified expression as two of his front teeth were now rested comfortably on top of it. "Wha...what did you do?" he managed to say between choking and coughing. "Looks like I rearranged your teeth a bit. But back to business. I don't appreciate you acting like it was oka
Damien was in Chicago, watching and observing Tommy's movements. He ended up staying home with Adeline after that night as he woke up with a sick hangover. Stupid drug.... He flushed it all down the toilet. "I'm sorry for making you take it. I don't know what's wrong with me sometimes," Adeline had said. Damien wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hair. "I'm glad you did. Now we are even." "You don't have to go, Damien. Can't we just forget about Tommy? I don't even think about him anymore because he is dead to me," she whispered against his chest. Damien stroked her hair slowly. He knew Adeline didn't like the idea of hurting someone, even though that was someone who abused her constantly. She may want to forget all about it, but Damien couldn't. Not after the bruises, he left on her beautiful body. "I want him dead, Addie. I will bring him to you like you asked, but if you don't kill him, I will," Damien said.
It didn't take Damien long to recover, just as Nancy predicted. He was back on his feet within a few weeks. He decided to go back to business. Robbie had been filling him in about everything that was going on. He even gave him regular updates on Tommy. "Do you want me to kidnap him and bring him to the warehouse?" Robbie asked. "No, I want to do this personally. Tommy is mine," Damien said. "But you haven't recovered fully yet," Robbie raised his eyebrows. "I am well enough to travel," Damien said dismissively. "If Addie found out you are about to take a long trip, she will kill you." Robbie laughed. Damien winced. He forgot about that. She had been taking care of him for the past few days, which consisted of constant scolding because he refused to stay in bed. "I'll make up an excuse." "Good luck with that," Robbie said. Later that day, Damien brought up the subject. "No." Damien groaned. He was afraid
Damien tried not to collapse as long as he could. He didn't want to look weak in front of Adeline, but the pain became unbearable and he had lost too much blood. That bitch got him good. How did she learn how to twist a knife like that? Hopefully, she didn't hit any of his vital organs. He didn't want to die before he had the chance to kill Tommy. He lay on the ground with his eyes closed. He could hear Akiko screaming at Yuri to get the van ready, but he couldn't hear Adeline. Where was his wife? "A...Addie..." he managed to let the word out. It was starting to get difficult to breathe. Something soft touched his forehead. A hand, he realized as it was gently stroking his hair. "I'm here." Adeline's voice was soft and loving. He had always dreamed of her speaking to him that way. Maybe she was taking pity on him because he was hurt. Damien opened his eyes and saw her face. Her cheeks were wet, soaked with tears. Was she crying?
Damien ran into the house as soon as they arrived. "Where is Addie?" he roared. Odette came running. "What's going on?" she asked frantically. "Adeline. Where is she?" he repeated. "Ms. Adeline was outside when her friend visited," Odette said. "Is everything okay, sir?" Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Alison was already here. Damien's eyes glowed with anger. If she put a scratch on her body, he'd cut her arms off. Damien walked toward the garden before answering. He saw one of his men, Luke, standing at the entrance. "Is my wife out there?" Damien tried to keep his cool. He realized Luke had no idea that Alison was dangerous as he didn't look alert. "Mrs. Sky and her friend went into the bedroom," Luke said. Why the hell didn't he follow Alison and Adeline? Damien decided to be angry at Luke later. But, first, he needed to go to the bedroom and handle Alison. He hoped it wasn't too late. He quickly ran
Adeline was restless. She had been waiting for Damien for a few minutes now. She knew it hadn't been that long since he had left, but It felt like she had been waiting for an eternity. She went to her little library and tried to read a book but couldn't pay attention. She decided to sit in the garden instead. She stayed out for a few minutes and stood up to go back inside but stopped as she saw Odette walking towards her. "Ma'am, there is someone who wanted to see you," Odette said. "Who?" Adeline was surprised. How can she have visitors? It wasn't like she had a social life. Was it Robbie? Or Natasha? "A woman. She said she is an old friend from high school," she said. Adeline was even more confused. An old friend? "Did she say her name?" Adeline asked. "No. She wanted it to be a surprise. The guard is holding her at the gate for your own safety." Odette said, then handed her an iPad so she could look at the security f
Damien stood in front of the burning building. The fire department was called, but most of the club was already consumed in flame. The club was a goner. "Did anyone get hurt?" Damien asked Akiko. His face was grim. He would lose a lot of money. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was still a waste of business. "Not that I know of. It seems that the dancers were warned ahead of time. That means someone did this intentionally," she said. "I see," Damien said. He turned to one of his men. "Pay off our insider at the police department and tell them to rule it out as an accident. I don't need police sniffing around this property. I want to find things out on my own," he said. Was Enzo behind this? he wondered. He was mad about how Damien took his knee out and decided to burn his own club down. No, Enzo was spineless. He was all talk and no play. He wouldn't do something drastic like this. Was it Alison? The thought occurred to him, but i