Damien closes the door to his bedroom.With his good hand still on the knob, he wonders how the fuck he's going to tell Ethan all this. It's two in the morning, but this can't wait.He'd want to know, too.He stops by Theo's room, because she's the one who knows how to deal with situations like this, and she was eager to find out who their brother is, too. Her room is dark, but he switches the lights on. His right hand hurts like a bitch, but he'll ignore the pain. In fact, it'll keep him anchored to reality because it feels like he's in a fucking nightmare.She groans before sitting up in bed with some difficulty. She rubs her eyes and squints at him. "If the world isn't ending, we're going to have a fucking problem, Damien.""It's Ethan," he says without introduction. He closes the door and makes his way to her bed. He sits on the edge, cradles his sliced hand."What do you mean?" she asks. "And what the hell happened to your hand?""Ethan's our brother. He's Daisy George's fucking
I can't sleep.Damien's been gone for about two hours. I want to know what's happening, how Ethan reacted to all this. I don't know why I care, but I do. About his reaction, I mean. I'm anxious. I'm imagining all sorts of reactions from him, but he isn't happy in any of them. I don't believe this will change anything between us. He won't see me differently now just because he found out we're related.I'm only interested in what they'll do about my mother.I have to fight the urge to venture downstairs. I better stay in here, where it's safe, but I don't know what to do about my anxiety. There's nothing to distract me here, anyway. All I have are my thoughts, and they're not helping. I wonder how she's feeling right now. She knows they want me to kill my own brother, that's not something that can be taken lightly. She's already lost Aaron. She didn't know Ethan, I think, but that doesn't mean anything. She fought to keep him safe, to keep him away from Ferdinand. She loved him, of cour
"A Jasper Huntington is here," the boy says, shifting nervously on his feet and not staring anyone in the face.Sebastian looks around once. He hates this place, and whenever it's announced that there'll be a meeting, his stomach drops. The fact that they're under the ground in a forbidden place gives him the chills. It's a small cramped space and their plastic chairs are arranged in a circle around the dark room, their backs to the wall. There's some bottled water in a small wooden table nearby, but if he has another bottle he'll need to relieve himself and there isn't a bathroom anywhere down here. How easy would it be for someone to put an end to them. No one would even know where to look. It'd be as if they never existed. He shakes his head lightly to clear his thoughts.No one's paying attention to what he said and he isn't sure why. Jasper could be an asset and it's the only reason why he decided to join this meeting. He's Ethan Keller's brother and if he wants to meet them, tha
I'm about to go inside the doctor's office when another wave of nausea hits me. I suppress the urge to double over and instead keep walking and place my hand on the brass knob.It's been getting worse, the nausea. I feel like throwing up all the time now. I'm not sure if it's a symptom or if my body is overreacting. Everything's a blur. I feel like my own body has betrayed me and I don't know why I feel this way. It could just be a missed period, there could be a simple explanation behind it. Yet I know that that's impossible.I feel it in my bones that I'm expecting.When I told Damien of my suspicions, he went all silent on me, which is the worst thing that could ever happen. I was hoping he'd say something, especially since we talked about it briefly earlier. I don't know why I didn't click; I mentioned pregnancy, yet I didn't remember my missed period. It's been two weeks and I didn't notice it. I wasn't paying attention to my body. I should've been more careful, but it's too late
"Pregnant!?" Theo practically screams on the phone.Her ears must be deceiving her. Damien did not just call her to tell her that he got Amelia pregnant. This can't be happening to her family. This is it, the last nail in the coffin. There's no going back from this. The Keller Family has officially disbanded. Ethan's already leaving, and this pregnancy isn't going to convince him to stay.She hangs up the phone. She sits on her bed and seethes. Her family is breaking apart and there's nothing she can do about it. She grabs the nearest lamp and hurls it across the room. She'd tear this house down if she could, if her leg weren't still healing from the accident that killed her girlfriend. She really liked her, and every time she thinks about her death, she's filled with guilt. She only died because of her, because she was involved with a Keller. And Damien promised to take care of whoever tampered with their brakes, but so far he hasn't done a thing about it. He never gets involved in a
Damien puts down the phone.I can't believe he just called Theo and told her about the pregnancy. He said she had to know, but maybe we could've kept this a secret until a later date? Why tell them now, when everyone's still so upset with everything that's going on?I cross my arms over my chest and stare out of the large window in his office. It's getting dark, I didn't realize so much time has passed. I spent the entire day with him, just sitting on that sofa in the corner. He doesn't trust me to leave his side, that's what he said.We haven't talked much about the pregnancy, and I was surprised when he called Theo. Why did he do that, I wonder? If I didn't know any better, I'd think that perhaps he's happy about it. But this was unplanned and unexpected, and we haven't even discussed other...options.It crushes my heart to think of that. I didn't plan on being a mother either, but I don't think I can bring myself to terminate the pregnancy. I grew up in a religious home, and mother
Devon gulps down his whiskey.Pregnant? Dammit. He could believe it when his spy, Courtney, told him over the phone. Amelia's fucking pregnant. Expecting Damien's child. That's fucked up. That fucked him up.He didn't see this coming. He knew she was living with him currently, that he had killed Ferdinand and took her with him. He knows her mother is with Bertha's sons—yes, there's two of them. He couldn't believe it when Kaitlyn told him. She had twins and both are Ferdinand's. He was right about the alias, too. He—or rather, they—are known as 'The Ghost'. That's because he could disappear and be in two different places at once. No one knew how he did it, and they quickly turned to the supernatural, but come on. That makes sense now, and there's a simple and quite rational explanation for it. They couldn't think that perhaps there were two of them? With the exact same face? He wouldn't have guessed either, but still. The world is a pathetic place.He thinks of her again and his stoma
I was so agitated that I never got to ask Damien what he meant by 'this city won't sleep unless he's found'.Did the twins get away, is that what happened? That's a question for later, because right now I'm about to meet my mother, and I'll have to tell her what's going on.I try to organize my thoughts. I separate the lies from the truth and take a deep breath. It's harder than I thought, since they've all jumbled up in my mind and I don't know what's real and what's fabricated. All I know is that there are things I'd rather not tell her, like the pregnancy. Yes, there's no reason for me to spill that, especially since there's so much uncertainty surrounding it.Getting her out of this city is my priority at the moment.I'm not sure if she'll take the money, but it's worth a shot. When he handed me the bag, I couldn't even bring myself to thank him. Following my meltdown, I couldn't say much. I'm calmer now, but that doesn't necessarily mean that my feelings have disappeared. I'm sti
Six months have passed.They've been peaceful and for the most part, quiet. Tremendously busy, but I'm used to that part now. Working alongside Damien is the best part about it. I get to be with him all day and make sure that he isn't exerting himself. He has a lot more work now; he had to take over Ethan's duties. Theo helps, but there are certain things only Damien can handle. When Ethan was here, he took care of it, but he's been gone for half a year and there's no one capable enough to replace him. I think that deep down, Damien doesn't want anyone to take over Ethan's job, but he'll never admit it out loud. I help him whenever I can. There's a lot I still don't understand, but I'll get there.It's only a matter of time.He doesn't ever ask me to go home when there are people coming over to meet with him. We never talked about what happened with Ash, but it changed a lot of things. I gained some respect after I killed him. I see it in the way people look at me whenever we're at so
I help him peel his blazer off.This day has been mentally exhausting for him. He rarely leaves the office early, but I'm glad he did today. I'm glad, because at least we have the whole day ahead of us. It's going to be just the two of us. Theo rarely comes here, she prefers to stay in the city. It's closer to everything else. I love it here, because it feels like we're all alone in the world. I stare out the window and all I see is the vast sky, green hills, nature. I don't even see the guards surrounding the house. They're invisible to me.It's peaceful here, and breathtakingly beautiful. It's home. I understand why Damien is so attached to this place. It's not simply because he grew up here. I feel safe, here, untouchable. The first time I was here, I felt like an intruder. Our relationship was so different back then, I can't help but marvel at how everything is so different now. I never would have guessed that we'd end up here, closer than ever, madly in love. We've come a long wa
Today's an important day.I've been on edge all morning. Damien has called for a Keller family meeting. We're all going to be there, including Ethan and Penelope.He announced that there'd be a meeting only last night during dinner, and he asked Theo to give Ethan a call. I was startled by the news and so was she. He didn't tell me what he'll say to Ethan, but we can guess what it is. He wants closure. Ethan owns a third of everything, and that matter needs to be resolved. I doubt that Damien will allow him to return to the company. I just don't see it happening. Ethan himself never mentioned it to Theo, not that he'd dare to.Theo told me that he's out of the hospital. She said he hasn't left the country yet because he wants to see Damien first. Damien, however, wanted nothing to do with him until yesterday. He's asked after him, but he didn't want to see him. He's still hurt by what Ethan did to us, his betrayal is a wound that will never quite heal for him. And if it ever does, it'
I'm afraid of opening the door.I've been standing here for a full minute with my heart in my throat. My hand is on the knob, ready. I can't bring myself to turn it, though, simply because I know that Damien's on the other side. There's a lot we need to talk about, so much in fact that I wouldn't know where to start.I hold my breath and close my eyes. I've been standing out here for too long. I remind myself that he's my husband, he's the man I love, and we'll get through this. We'd get through anything together. I've been in a far worse position before. This time, I was actually focusing on the well-being of our family.I open the door slowly.Only the bedside lamp is on. I see him right away; he's seated on the couch across his bed. He's staring out the window with a distant look in his eyes. I take a few steps towards him, my eyes on his handsome face. My heart's thumping against my chest. I'm overcome with emotion, but I put a hamper on them for now. He's a little pale, I notice
Amelia's going to hate him for this, but that's okay, because he doesn't plan on ever seeing her again.He means it this time. He's done with this shit. He had his chance, he fucked it up a hundred years ago. It's time to get over it. If there was ever a part of him that thought he'd get a chance with her, that part of him died a while back. She loves Damien Keller. He lost her a long time ago. That doesn't necessarily mean that he's content with the outcome, but he'll admit defeat. Staying here is slowly killing him.She's going to be alright. Leaving her back there was a dick move, sure, but he stands by what he said to her; when everyone finds out that she did it, there will be no revenge. He helped her along the way, but no one needs to know that. The Huntingtons won't dream of touching her, especially when the truth about Damien comes out. It would be an entirely different story with him.He glances at his watch. Five more minutes in there and he'd miss his flight. He can't miss
I've never been so glad to see him in all my life."Devon," I say, the word a gasp. "How did you—"He doesn't let me finish. "Did he hurt you? Are you hurt?"I shake my head. "No, but how did you—""I'll explain later," he assures me. "Right now, we've got to get this asshole tied to that chair. Quickly, before he wakes up. Bring that chair over there. I have rope under the bed."I grab it and Devon grabs a duffel bag from under the bed. He opens it and fishes out rope and a couple of knives. He's been lying under the bed the entire time. It's clear that he planned this thoroughly.He didn't abandon me. He said he'd help me kill Ash and here he is. I tell him, "I thought you weren't going to show up. I thought you tricked me.""I don't blame you for assuming the worst," he says, looking up at me. His eyes are glinting with mischief and something else, something I won't dare name. He points at my gun. "You know how to use that thing?"I stare at it. "Yes."He's watching me intently. "A
It's quarter to midnight.The clock is ticking and my heart is racing. I'm ready, my small gun is hidden in my underwear. I've made sure to wear an extra tight pair just for the occasion. The dress is scarlet and flowy, perfect for tonight.I'm waiting for him in the lobby. This time, I'm early. It makes me feel more in control of the situation even though that's far from the truth. I take a small sip of champagne and look back at the entrance. My heart's in my throat, making it hard for me to breathe. I have to remain cool, though. There's a lot at stake.Everything depends on this."Anything else?" the bartender asks me while pouring someone else a drink. I shake my head, I can't even speak at a time like this.I'm taking another sip of champagne when I finally spot him. There are two men walking behind him. He's saying something to them as he looks around. For me, no doubt. I fix my gaze on him and hold my breath as I wait for him to see me. He doesn't, which is fairly disappointin
"Leave," Damien says to the nurse. She scurries out of the room as soon as he mutters the word.He's in a terrible mood and he doesn't want anyone around him. He has finally moved from that awful, desolate place and he's home. He made sure that they didn't change any decorations. They lost a lot of antiques and furniture that was in their family for decades, but he's made sure that everything else remained the same. He's sure that he'll recover in no time here, he already feels better. He's not in bed, he's sitting on the sofa beside his bed. He's supposed to be resting, but he's done enough of that.He can't sleep when he's worried sick about Amelia.The fact that no one gives him any news is a bad sign as it is. They're hiding something from him, he can feel it. The last time he spoke to her, she told him that she wasn't going to turn back, that she'd go ahead with the plan. He has no idea of what her plan might be, but he knows it won't be anything he'll agree with. He wonders if p
I can't stop chewing my thumbnail.I force myself to put my hand down. I'm in agony; I don't know what to do and I'm running out of time. I'm supposed to be meeting Ash tonight. This was supposed to end it all, according to Devon, but he let Ethan go so what happens now? The only reason why I'm agreeing to everything is because of him. It isn't, but that's what Ash thinks. Am I still expected to show up? Why would he do this?I can't figure it out.I wish I had a way of contacting Devon to let him know that everything went to shit, but I don't have his number. I don't know where he's currently residing. I don't think I'll be seeing him anytime soon; tonight, maybe but not earlier. In the meantime, what do I do? I can't ask anyone's advice. My family is against me entirely. Theo probably thinks that our negotiations with Ash have come to an abrupt end, but she doesn't know half of it. I'm planning on killing him once and for all, I made a promise to myself that I would.For Damien.I h