"You're my father?" I can't believe this. I think I might pass out. Ferdinand Cooper is my father? How? This can't be true. It just can't. "This can't be happening.""The first time I saw you," he begins, "I found you familiar. Do you remember? You look like your mother, but I couldn't tell you that at the time. I thought it was a mere coincidence. I didn't think Daisy was pregnant when she left. I had no idea at all." Daisy? He means my mother? "I should've investigated. None of this would have happened if I had."I remember that. Damien invited me to that dinner at the lounge. It was the day I snapped a photo of Elizabeth and Ethan kissing in the staff room. I was shaking. He introduced Ferdinand to me as an old friend, and asked me to keep him entertained. He asked me if he knew me, but I didn't take his question seriously.How would I have known?"Close the door," he says, taking a seat. He gestures to the empty chair across him. "Take a seat. I think we have a lot to talk about,
Devon finds Elizabeth sitting with a cocktail in front of her.When he received her text, he has to confess; he looked twice. There was just something off about it. She said she wanted to see him, that she had something important to say to him. She wanted to meet him at the secluded bar downtown, where they first met. He found it strange. Lately, they've been meeting at restaurants, more public places. The last time he saw her, he asked her if she would tell Damien of it, and she said she wouldn't.Her exact words were, "Why would I do that? I want him to get fucked." He didn't believe her, but he didn't do anything to stop her. He figured that it would be better if she outed Amelia. Damien would send her away and all of this would be behind them. But he hasn't been able to contact Amelia for the last seven hours. He has no idea why her phone is off. What if Elizabeth really told Damien, and the worst happened? What if Amelia is dead right this minute?It's the only reason why he res
It's Aaron's funeral today.It's just the three of us here, watching the coffin being lowered in the ground. My mother and I are watching without shedding a tear. There isn't a single tear left inside of me. These past couple of days have been torturous; hopelessness and despair has been clinging to us like a cloud, and by us I mean mom and I. My brother's loss rocked us; I felt worse the second day. I woke up feeling empty, overcome with loss. I felt defeated, deflated, lost. Ferdinand has been trying to reach out to me, but I can't and won't let him in. I'm indifferent towards him solely because he didn't help Aaron, he let him die, but I'm sure that if my mother decides to tell me about him, the whole unfiltered truth, I'll despise him. She hasn't talked to me since the day I arrived. She hasn't said a single word. She was locked in her room the whole time, holding pictures of Aaron. It's heartbreaking and shattering.Ferdinand told us yesterday at breakfast that there would be a
My mother won't talk to me.It doesn't matter how hard I push her, she won't budge. How can she tell me she had an affair with Gabriel Keller and not elaborate? She just left me hanging, and I need answers. She needs to explain this to me in detail. How did Aaron find out about their supposed affair, and why would he want to kill him because of it? This just makes everything more complicated than it already is. I thought it was bad enough as it is. Did Damien know about this affair?I preferred it when I didn't know anything, when I was ignorant about my mother's past. I vehemently wish that I had gone home when I had the chance, none of this would have happened. She wouldn't have come here looking for me, and I would most probably never have met Ferdinand. Aaron wouldn't go to him for help. This remorse kills me. Frankly, I would have preferred never knowing about this. She slept with Damien's father, how fucked up is that?I'm in the dining room having brunch when Ferdinand stride
My heart's racing.He looks like he's seen a ghost, and perhaps that's exactly what I am to him. I don't even know if he found out about Ferdinand's deal with Hans, or if my presence here is a shock to him. I guess that shouldn't matter right now. I'll find out soon enough if the latter is the case. I wasn't expecting him to be here. I never in a million years would've guessed that Ferdinand would bring me to an event Damien would be attending. Perhaps he didn't know, but why do I feel like this was a set up? He didn't mean to introduce me to anyone, or rather, that wasn't part of the plan. I'm not an idiot, mom told me that he always planned on having a daughter so he could marry her into the Keller family. And I don't think he gave up on that plan.We stare at each other for a long time. Well, it feels like a long time, but it's probably only been a few seconds. I'm the first to look away, because I can't stand the intensity of his gaze. I can feel his hatred—or is it something els
Devon pours himself a drink first.I sit and wait patiently for him to start talking. I know he's doing this on purpose, he doesn't want to tell me anything. But I'm determined, and I'm not leaving until I get answers.He sinks into the couch with a groan, and I'm really trying to stay calm. He sips his drink, then sets the glass on the coffee table between us. He says, "Where do you want me to begin?""When you left town with Aaron, Ferdinand's was the first place you went, right?" I figured that out by myself. It's pretty obvious, where else would they go? Ferdinand was the one who sent them money to leave in the first place.He nods. "That's right. He took us in, showed us around the city. Aaron was excited to see him, he thought he was dead. He had fond memories of him, in fact he would tell me when we were younger, about parties and presents. I thought he was crazy. Or making it up. All I knew was poverty and I didn't think people lived different lives. My mother always told me t
Damien watches Amelia walk away, and every step she takes is a blow to his soul.Ethan watches him with an unreadable expression. Damien doesn't meet his gaze. He knows what his cousin is thinking, and he isn't going to go down that road with him. He doesn't need anyone's opinion; he doesn't expect anyone to understand."We have to go," Ethan says, interrupting his train of thought. "We're going to be late."They should never have come. If he had known Amelia would be here, he would've declined the invitation. But a part of him came to life at the sight of her. Her words stung; that conversation was the hardest one he ever had. Her pain was palpable, and so was her hatred towards him. Him. The deepest, most vulnerable part of him would take her in his arms, but Damien Eric Jameson Keller is anything but vulnerable. He can't afford to look weak, not before his opponents and especially not before his family, which is why he decided to have her killed in the first place, even though his
The smell of disinfectant tickles my nostrils.I hate how hospitals smell, and this doesn't stem from my childhood. I was a fairly healthy kid, I rarely fell ill. Perhaps it has to do with my mother. When she passed out a few days after Aaron was convicted, I was desperate. I didn't know what to do. They told me she was really sick, and I had to wait outside her room the whole day, waiting for her to wake up. I don't know what I would've done if she didn't. I remember feeling terribly anxious and afraid. What would I have done without her? I shake my head to get rid of these thoughts. I'm ready to go, but they're still keeping me here for some reason. Felix is gone, I don't know where he is. I haven't seen him since I got here. It's not that I want him around me; I know that he's probably already told Ferdinand about this and I'll have to deal with him when I get back. He must have followed me, which means he saw me with Devon. I wonder if that'll implicate him in some way. I'm mad