Chapter 79 A Formal Damien is equal to a frustrated Aura.
79\. A Formal Damien is equal to a frustrated Aura.
Everyone rushed out of the room and I was left alone. I stood near the bed holding my breaths as I heard his footsteps. Some of the servants greeted him outside the room and he replied in an emotionless tone, causing me to close my eyes and prepare a FaceTime with him.
"H-hi," No sooner did he push the door ajar and stepped a foot inside he froze.
His expressions were hard to comprehend but his widening cinder eyes confirmed his perplexity. "W-what is… oh my?" He was speechless.
Damien looked about the room and stopped to stare at the bed. It was littered with rose petals and a greeting card I made for him, that said,
'Welcome home, Papa.'
His dumbstruck gaze didn't leave the sight of my creation. He slowly walked inside, his body totally stiff.
"You did this?" I confirmed with a vigorous head nod as I picked up a bouquet of flowers I collected from the garden.
"This is…" He was out of words but the glowing shine in his eyes warmed my heart. "I have no words." Unshed tears twinkled, his lips arched from ear to ear.
Inhaling the flowers and taking a look at the wall adorned with a satisfying qoute, he chuckled cutely.
"You like it?"
Damien raised his eyebrows. He hugged the flowers to his chest and drew himself near me.
"I am speechless, Aura. Isn't that enough to highlight my pleasure?" It was not.
I wanted to tell him he was not being as expressive as I know him from before but I bit it down under my teeth.
"This is… oh, I can't put it in words." He breathed, busying himself again as he stared around at each new decor installed.
He was happy. He was little bit alive though he was still distant from me. I was expecting kisses and hugs. Damien merely cast a glance towards me. It hurt. I can't express my dejection. I had no other choice to hide it behind a big smile.
Madam Martha was right. I have only returned. I cannot expect things to be like before instantly. We need time to recollect all the pieces of our lives and build it again from the start.
"Why don't you go and freshen up, Damien? I will go and arrange your dinner." He simply nodded.
Then with a small thank you, set the flowers in one of the expensive vases amplifying the royal beauty of his bedroom and padded inside the bathroom with night clothes.
"Okay," I sucked the deepest breath of the day and began my stride to the kitchen.
He didn't notice the dress I was wearing nor the nude make up I had put on. Forget about the 'I love you, mommy' clip in my hair or my long legs he loved to gawk. Putting everything aside I flashed victorious smiles to the staff working in the kitchen as I handled the trolley of food they have prepared.
"Looking at the way you are smiling, I can confirm it is successful!" One of them exclaimed.
I didn't pop their bubble of excitement. At least someone was getting happy about my endeavours. Hope Damien will notice it too, and really soon.
"Here?" He was wiping his hair with a towel when I returned.
"Er, yeah. Just you and me, and our baby." He softly smiled, no replies delivered.
I set the food on the expensive table in one of the corners of his huge bedroom and lit the candles I have already arranged.
"Come," Softly I called him.
"Thank you for everything, Aura." He settled down and pulled a napkin in his lap.
The dinner was silent. As much satisfied as I was the other night, I was equally marred today. I could hardly chew my food. Gulping it down my throat was the hardest. He didn't look up even for once. Didn't comment the dishes I prepared for him. They were his favorite. He didn't even show any delight while eating them.
"Uhm, you look tired." I said to brush off the escalating silence to some extent. Note that this was the first statement ever uttered since the beginning of our dinner.
His eyes met mine. He put the knife and fork in the plate and sighed.
"Been a fucking busy day! I will get to bed soon after the dinner. Can't even focus on the food as I am so worn out. My eyes burn." Then he picked up his cutlery to finish his food.
Watching him act so formally ignorant killed my appetite. I played with my fork. Hardly a small bite of roasted chicken was all I could manage to chew as my entire being was affected. He wouldn't notice me. Oh, he refuses to notice anything about me. And the thought alone irritated every fragment of my body.
I wanted him near me. His hands on me. His mouth on my skin. His breaths on my neck as he pulled me to his chest. But observing how reluctantly formal he is, I can imagine myself going to my own bed. Alone.
And that's what happened when he finished his food in the next fifteen minutes. Unlike me Damien fisted on every ounce of food served on his plate. He swallowed the last few sips of champagne and offered to walk me to my room.
"It's okay, go to bed. I'll help myself." I showed him a palm after the trolley and other things were taken away by a new servant.
"Ermm," He hesitantly bit his mouth. I hoped he would walk closer and try to deal with my visible frustration. He didn't.
Rather, "Okay then, good night." He opened the door for me before I got it myself.
I literally stormed out of his room and entered mine. I slapped the door close and kicked it aggressively for him to hear. I tried. Honestly I tried but the tears won't stop. Then I threw myself in bed and wept my heart out.
I wanted to feel him feel me and the baby. But the devil of that Alpha… I will not spare him.
I was exposed to the view of Madam Martha the following morning. She was massaging my feet.
"Morning, honey." She flashed a bright grin as she worked her magical fingers on my feet that killed me the other day.
I overworked just for nothing. Only for so-called appreciation that can't be counted for the efforts I put in.
"I came here to wake you when I recalled you wincing in pain yesterday. It was hard to hold back my concern so here I am tending my sweet daughter's delicate feet with special oil my maternal grandmother taught me." She said, "It's made out of combining several oils and extracts of medicinal herbs. When you deliver my grandchild, I am going to use this oil to massage it and make its bones strong and healthy."
She knows how to elevate my drowning mood. Her smiles made me forget what happened the previous day and remember her words. Persistence. That's what I need to hold if I want to make things better again between me and that stupid alpha lover of mine.
I watched her give light strokes. The soft rays of the sun warmed my face as I caressed my belly. Ma noticed it. She stopped, looked up, and after taking in my glowing face she said, "Damien was here in your room the whole night. He just left after my arrival, otherwise he was laying beside you, caressing your belly, and kissing your forehead from time to time."
Stunned, my back erected. I forgot how to breathe. I stared at her in disbelief and shook my head in refusal.
"That's not true. He won't even look at me during the dinner. There's no way he came to my room." I horrifyingly whispered, unable to trust my ears.
"Well," Ma resumed working the magic of her fingers on my feet. "He did darling when you were fast asleep."
That caused me to rub my free hand on the mattress as I attempted to feel him. No doubts why the air carried his scent. Because he was here. But why after I was asleep? Huffing in confusion, I looked up.
"Did he leave here already?" Ma responded with the shake of her head.
"He is in his study. Probably working from home." My heart fluttered at the sound of it.
I recollect going to his study with coffee and snacks for him whenever he used to work from home in the past. Sometimes I purposely entered his personal space for I couldn't wait to see him. He spent whole days in that awfully professionally maintained room, making every minute restless for me. But he loved it too.
His smiles are unforgettable. Those eyes shining in amusement at my appearance are still staring at me in the back of my head. He had always been head over heels with me. Even when I mistook his efforts for mere acts of kindness as an alpha.
The thoughts of study led me to another world as a good idea struck me, "Well then Ma, excuse me, I need to make sure my workaholic boyfriend doesn't starve himself." And got out of the bed.
There's just one thing he'll study today in his study— my body.
Tbc…