Thursday morning.
Another day at school, but Damien didn't mind because compared to his shitty life out there, school seemed like heaven.
The first thing he saw walking down the hallway was Adeline. This time, she wasn't alone. Four girls surrounded her. One of them was Molly.
"What's your problem? I never did anything to you!" Adeline exclaimed.
"We don't think a slut like you belongs in our school," Molly grumbled.
"Oh? Then why are you guys are still here?" Adeline snapped.
Damien snickered then kept walking as he didn't want to deal with their girly bullshit. He tried to sneak away before Molly noticed him, but she saw him. Her
Adeline went to her class in a sour mood. She had no idea why those girls would be mean to her all of a sudden. And why are they calling her a slut? She hadn't even been here long enough to sleep around with boys. She saw Mandy at her desk and smiled. Mandy looked at her and waved. Oh good, at least Mandy was still on her side."Hey Addie," Mandy greeted her as she put her bag down. "Sooo...I need to ask you something.""What's up?""What the hell were you thinking?" Mandy narrowed her eyes.Adeline raised her eyebrows. "What are you talking about?""Why would you accept a ride from Damien Sky of all people? I warned you about him, didn't I?" Mandy said."Well...what's the big deal? I missed the bus today, and I was going to be late for class, and Robbie insisted, so I figured why not," Adeline shrugged."I mean, now everyone in this school will think you
Vanya took Damien back home after they got the job done at the strip club. Damien was still nauseous from the incident. He has had to endure many torments from his father and his men but never had to hurt someone this badly."Finally popped your cherry, eh mal'chik?" Vanya flashed him a toothy grin. Damien didn't respond. He tried not to think about the man's screams, but he could see that face full of agony every time he closed his eyes. Guess tonight's going to be yet another sleepless night.Ivan was waiting for them at the house. He stood up with his hands in his pockets as he saw Vanya and Damien come in. His eyebrows rose inquiringly as he stared at Damien's pale face."What you got?" he asked Vanya directly.Vanya smirked. "Got the job done. He paid up.""Hmm...good work," Ivan looked at Damien. "What's his deal?" he narrowed his eyebrows."I asked Damien to cut the
Adeline couldn't sleep after Damien left. She kept tossing and turning all night, thinking about him. Why did she let him in? She must've been high or something. Or stupid. After spending hours agonizing and overthinking things, she finally dozed off.In the morning, Adeline realized she had overslept as soon as she opened her eyes. She groaned and rushed to take a shower, but by the time she made it downstairs, she heard the school bus leaving. She cursed under her breath and proceeded to walk out the front door but paused as she saw Damien and Robbie waiting for her outside.He can't seem to leave her alone no matter how hard she pushed him away, Adeline thought to herself. She couldn't help but feel a flutter in her stomach."Who's that punk? You fucking him?"She cringed at Jimmy's crude remark behind her. "That's none of your business," she snarled. She didn't want to deal with him this morning. She i
Damien tried to get Adeline out of his mind, but her face kept appearing in front of him. He kept thinking about how upset she looked when her asswipe of a brother harassed her. But why should he care what happens to her? It was none of his business as she reminds him all the time.He needs to stop being so hung up on Adeline. He wasn't some weak asshole that falls in love with some girl just because she was pretty.Love. What a waste of emotions and time. He saw what happened to his father because he was so in love with his mother. He never cared about him or Nik. His whole world revolved around their mother. She was his queen. When she died, all hell broke loose. He beat and tortured them because he was angry. Angry at the world, angry at them. Especially Damien. Damien had to take on extra beatings because he looked just like his mother. His dad took his anger out on him.Damien wo
Damien mentally prepared himself to attend his Systema class. Prepod Antonov had another gruesome yet effective training planned for him. He had to be in a strong mental state, and that encounter with Adeline made him feel restless again."Good, you're here. I hope you're ready for some pain," Antonov grinned."Aren't I always?" Damien barked."We'll see about that," Antonov said. "You there! Get your asses over here," he called out, and three guys walked in and crowded Damien."What's going on?" Damien asked. He had a bad feeling about this."What's going on is that these guys are gonna punch the shit out of you, and you will take it all," Antonov declared."Why the fuck would I do that?" Damien barked."I'm teaching you how to take punches without flinching by taking in pain and turning it into a rage. It will convert your rage into energy and help you win fights," Antonov said."You're kidding me!" Damien exclaimed."
Damien hopped in his car and headed to school. He smirked as he remembered Adeline's face from yesterday. She thought he didn't notice her since he was too busy making out with Betty from math class.But he noticed.He saw how jealous she looked, and it pleased him way more than Betty's tongue.He got out of the car and headed towards the school. He stopped as he saw four junior mafiosos approaching him. Unlike the other gang members, they were flashy with their gold chains and their chain wallets.What do those assholes want from him? Damien thought irritably. He knew they were Mafia wannabes who called themselves Cosa Nostras, which meant 'our thing' based on "The Godfather." The last time he remembered, he didn't have any beef with them."Damien Sky, just the person we wanted to see," their leader Tony said."What do you want?" Damien barked."Tell your
Adeline didn't move from Damien's side for a few moments. She watched him drift into sleep then placed her hand on his forehead, carefully, so he didn't wake up. He was burning up.Adeline's chest tightened at the sight of him so vulnerable and helpless. Why couldn't she control her emotions? Every day she told herself she didn't give a hoot about this asshole, yet seeing him like this broke her heart. Especially when he said thank you. His eyes were gentle, and he looked like he truly appreciated her, and it was nice to be appreciated for once.Be strong, Adeline, she told herself. You don't really care about Damien. He is a terrible person and only cared about himself. So what if he was hurt? It was probably his own fault. No one asked him to go around and fight other kids at school. She headed to the bathroom. She needed to wash the
Damien woke up in his bed alone. His room was dark, and he felt chilly. He looked around to see if Adeline was still here, but she was gone. Of course, she left. Why would she stay? Damien thought. Her scent still lingered in his room.He got up and looked at his wound in the mirror. He had to hide it from his dad. The last thing he needed was to be verbally abused by his father about how useless he was and how much of a scoundrel he was for picking a fight with some puny gang members.He went downstairs to find Maxim and Mrs. Petrushka."Damien, honey, why are you walking around? You need to rest!" Mrs. Petrushka exclaimed."I don't feel like lying in bed all day. Where is Maxim?" he asked."Here I am," Ma
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