Chapter 57 58

Chapter 57 58
Chapter Fifty Eight.

Damien._

I tried calling Tess again as I rushed down the stairs and out into the parking lot, but there was still no answer. 

The world around me seemed to blur as I focused solely on getting to her, on finding out what was wrong.As I drove toward her apartment, the city around me felt like a strange, distorted version of itself. 

The familiar streets were hazy, like I was moving through a dream where nothing made sense. 

My mind was spinning with memories of Tess….her laugh, the way she looked at me with those bright, trusting eyes, the way she whispered my name in the dark.

The thought of losing her, of losing our child, was unbearable.When I finally reached her building, I jumped out of the car, barely remembering to lock it. I rushed to her door and knocked loudly, my heart racing. 

There was no response. I knocked again, harder this time, panic clawing at me."Tess!" I called out, my voice cracking with desperation.Still nothing.I tried the doorknob, but it was locked. 

Frustration and fear coiled tightly within me. I was just about to turn and head to the building manager when the door to the next apartment opened, and an elderly woman peeked out.

"Looking for Tess, dear?" she asked, her voice frail and quivering.

"Yes," I replied, my voice thick with worry. "Have you seen her?"The old woman shook her head slowly. 

"She left early this morning. Had a suitcase with her and her friends. Didn’t say where she was going."

A suitcase. That single word echoed in my mind like a death knell, Tess was gone. 

She hadn’t just taken a leave from work; she had left. ‘’Where would she go? And why?"Did she say anything at all?" I pressed, trying to keep the desperation from making me sound frantic.

"No," the woman replied, her brow furrowed in thought. "But she looked… troubled. Like something was weighing heavily on her but her friends tried to make her smile before they went off."

My heart sank further. Tess had always been strong, but the news about the baby had shaken her. I should have been there for her more, should have done more to reassure her, to protect her.

But instead, I had let the situation with Helen’s father consume me.

I thanked the old woman and turned back to my car, my mind a swirl of confusion and despair. I couldn’t let Tess slip through my fingers like this. 

I had to find her, I had to make things right.I drove aimlessly for a while, trying to think of where Tess might have gone. Her mom lived out of state, but she hadn’t mentioned any plans to visit her since Jane was staying with her. 

There was no other place I could think of where she would go to escape, no friends she was close enough with to seek refuge aside Ana and practically they're roommates.

Finally, feeling utterly defeated, I headed back home. I parked the car in the driveway and sat there for a long time, staring blankly at the steering wheel. 

The house, once a place of solace, now felt like a prison. The silence within its walls would be unbearable without Tess’s presence.

When I finally forced myself inside, the emptiness hit me like a tidal wave. I sank into the couch, my thoughts spiraling into a dark abyss. The room seemed to close in around me as I stared at the empty space where Tess and I had our first sex and our first real kiss. My heart aches so much and I wish it could stop hurting.

I tried calling her one more time, but it went straight to voicemail. “You've reached a voicemail, please leave a message.” The automated female voice said.

Her absence was like a physical pain, a gnawing ache that wouldn’t let up. 

I felt utterly helpless, trapped in a nightmare with no way out.In a daze, I grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the bar  and poured myself another drink. And then another. 

I drank to forget, to drown out the guilt and the fear, but it only made everything worse. 

The alcohol burned as it went down, but it couldn’t burn away the pain in my chest.I stumbled back to the couch, the world tilting around me as I collapsed onto it. 

The whiskey worked quickly, pulling me down into a hazy stupor where the edges of reality blurred, but even in that state, Tess’s face haunted me. Her voice echoed in my mind, the fear and sadness in her eyes a constant reminder of my failure to help her out of her sadness.

Eventually, I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. The darkness and sleep claimed me, dragging me down into an uneasy sleep filled with fragmented dreams and a relentless sense of loss.

__________________

The Next Morning.

When I woke up the next morning  it felt like someone was drilling a hole into my skull. 

The headache was brutal, a throbbing reminder of last night’s decision. I groaned and sat up, wincing as the room spun around me. 

My mouth was dry, my throat burning with the aftertaste of whiskey, but none of that mattered. 

The first coherent thought that broke through the haze of pain was of Tess. I grabbed my phone from the side table and checked for any missed calls or messages, my heart pounding in my chest, but there was nothing.

I dragged myself to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face in an attempt to clear my head. I needed to pull myself together. 

There was still work to do, and I couldn’t let anyone see the mess I was. The situation with Helen’s father still loomed over me like a dark cloud, but right now, all I could think about was Tess and the baby.

After forcing down some painkillers and a few sips of water, I dressed quickly and headed to the office. The drive there was a blur, my thoughts still consumed by the events of the past twenty-four hours. 

The world outside seemed to move in slow motion, the colors muted, the sounds distant.

When I arrived at work, I went straight to my office, trying to avoid any unnecessary interactions. I needed to be alone, to think, to figure out what to do next. 

But the moment I sat down at my desk, the phone rang. It wasn’t Tess. 

It was Lucy, my secretary, her voice hesitant."Sir," she said, "I just wanted to remind you about the meeting with the directors.” The words that came out of her mouth echoed in silence as I looked lost, thinking about Tess and how she was doing.

“Sir? Did you hear me?” Lucy asked and that brought my consciousness back.

“Huh…yeah, yeah… set the meeting for 9AM.” I said.

“All right sir.” Lucy responded.

“Thank you.” I responded, thanked her and hung up, my hands shaking as I tried to process what this meant.

My mind raced, searching for answers that didn’t exist as I thought about Tess.

Mr Harvey was threatening everything I held dear. And here I was, unable to do anything about any of it.

As the realization settled over me, a deep, suffocating sadness and eeriness took hold. 

I had no idea where Tess was, or if she was okay. I had no idea how to save my father’s company without sacrificing my own happiness. 

Everything was moving out of control, and I was powerless to stop it.I leaned back in my chair, staring blankly at the ceiling. 

For the first time in a long time, I felt utterly lost. And the worst part was, I had no idea how to find my way back.

My phone rang. It was George.

“Hey bro.” I said as soon as I picked up the phone.

“Meet at club 07 in the next five minutes.” He said, sounding urgent.

“Wait, why–” I didn't finish my words when the line got disconnected. “What… the hell.” I said as I looked at the phone before dropping it on the table and let out a sigh.

The drive to the house was long and quiet.

I parked my car in front of the house and got out of it, headed straight and pushed the doorbell. One of Dad's oldest workers answered the door.

“Young master.” He called out.

“Mr George.” I replied as we hugged ourselves. “It's so good to see you.” I said then after a minute we pulled away.

“So good to see you too, how're you?” He asked.

“I am good, I am fine.” I replied and we exchanged a few questions. “Has any of my brothers arrived?” I asked.

He was about to take a few steps away from me when he turned to me briefly. “Not yet sir but young master George is on his way already.” He said.

“Okay, thank you.” I said to him and turned to leave, I went to the study and dragged a seat to sit. After a few minutes, my brothers arrived, we all exchanged a few pleasantries before sinking into the chairs.

The study was filled with an uncomfortable silence as the three of us sat there, the weight of the situation pressing down like a physical force. 

Xavier leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling, while George paced back and forth, his brow furrowed in deep thought.

Finally, Xavier broke the silence. "Damien, I get why you’re freaking out, but we need to look at this from every angle. You marrying Helen…it’s insane. But if we can’t find a way around it, what’s the plan?"

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose as I tried to organize my thoughts. "There isn’t a plan yet. I’ve been going over it in my head since last night, and I still can’t see a way out of this. If I marry Helen, I’m dooming myself—and Tess."

"Forget about Helen for a second," George said, stopping in his tracks to face me. "Let’s think about the company. If we let Helen’s father pull out, we’re facing bankruptcy, and fast. The shareholders will panic, and we’ll be swallowed whole before we even have a chance to respond."

"And if I go through with the marriage?" I asked, my voice tight. "What then? Sure, we save the company, but at what cost? My happiness? Tess’s future? Our child’s future?"

Xavier scoffed, shaking his head. "It’s not worth it. I know Dad would want the company to survive, but not like this. Not if it means you are sacrificing everything you care about. Hell, he always said the company was a means to an end, not the end itself."

"But if we lose the company, we lose everything he built," George countered, his expression hard. "This isn’t just about us, Damien. It’s about Dad’s legacy, about the people who work for us, their families. It’s not just a company….it’s a lifeline for hundreds of people."

"Are you suggesting I go through with it, then?" I asked, anger creeping into my voice. "Are you saying I should just walk away from Tess and our child?"

George shook his head, his face softening. "Of course not. I’m saying we need to weigh our options carefully. We can’t let emotions cloud our judgment."

Xavier sat up, a thoughtful look on his face. "You know, maybe there’s a way to turn this around on him."

George and I looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?" I asked.

Xavier leaned forward, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Helen’s father is banking on us thinking we have no options, that we’re backed into a corner. But what if we make him think we’re willing to go down with the ship? Call his bluff."

"And how do we do that?" George asked skeptically.

"We tell him we’re considering other investors," Xavier suggested. "Make it clear that if he pulls out, he loses too. He has a stake in the company, and it’s in his best interest that it thrives. We put the pressure back on him. He wants you to marry Helen? Fine. But not under these terms. We negotiate."

I frowned, trying to see the angle. "And if he calls our bluff? What then?"

"Then we’ll have to have a backup plan," Xavier admitted. "But it’s better than just giving in to his demands outright. We need to show him we’re not just going to roll over. We’re not desperate—at least, we don’t let him see that we are."

George nodded slowly. "It’s risky, but it could work. If we can make him see that pulling out will hurt him as much as it will hurt us, he might reconsider."

"And what about Tess?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. "How do I protect her in all this?"

Xavier looked at me, his expression serious. "You fight for her, Damien. You fight for her like you’re fighting for your own life. Because you are. You don’t let this man dictate your future. We find a way to secure the company, and you make sure Tess knows she’s your priority. You don’t lose her because of this."

George put a hand on my shoulder, his gaze steady. "We’ll handle the business side of things. You focus on Tess. We’ll figure this out together, but whatever happens, you can’t lose sight of what really matters."

I nodded, the resolve in my brothers’ eyes giving me a renewed sense of determination. 

They were right. We had to fight, not just for the company, but for everything we believed in. 

I couldn’t let Helen’s father bully me into a marriage that would destroy me and Tess…just to save the company. There had to be another way, and we would find it.

"We’ll call a meeting with him," I said finally. "Lay it all out. Make him see that pulling out isn’t an option….for any of us."

Xavier grinned, the familiar spark of confidence returning to his eyes. "That’s the Damien I know. Let’s make this bastard sweat."

George nodded in agreement, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. "We’ll make it work. Somehow, we’ll find a way."

As we sat there, discussing our next moves, I felt a glimmer of hope for the first time since Helen’s father had delivered his ultimatum. 

And I wouldn’t let anyone take away the life I was trying to build with Tess. No matter what, I would protect her, our child's life depends on the decision I make now.