Chapter 68: Missing him

ANNABEL

I had woken up the next morning, looking happy, excited for my exams. I was ready to smash this paper and everything. But when I opened my eyes, there was no one in the room. The bed seemed so cold, like he didn't sleep in the bed at all, like he had woken up hours ago.

I looked at the time – it was just past six in the morning, and he shouldn't have woken up so early. Or maybe he never did sleep here at all.

My face contorted into a frown. I grabbed my phone, and there was a message from him, telling me he had some emergency business and he might be late.

I sighed, cutting off the thoughts I had with Christiana over Damon being into something darker. Maybe I was just overthinking everything.

I quickly cleaned up and prepared for my exams, trying to push away the uneasy feeling in my chest.

As I stepped down from the car, I noticed that Damon's men had doubled. Two cars had escorted me to school, and it felt odd, like I was some important person, a celebrity. And I didn't like the feeling at all.

I turned to look at one of the men, the one I noticed was always with Damon. He had a mask tattoo on his arms, and I noticed Damon had that too. Something about matching tattoos that made my stomach twist.

He looked scary, but fuck, I didn't really care how he looked. Damon's number had been unreachable, and he hadn't even called me. Not once.

"Where is Mr. Damon? I haven't been able to get in touch with him. I know you know where he is, Sir Andro."

I said, and he slowly looked at me, then looked off, His eyes twitched for a moment before he looked back at me cold,

"He's on a business trip. He hasn't been able to reach out because where he is, he can't reach out to anyone."

He said straightforward, like he didn't want me to ask him any further questions. My heart skipped at his words. I didn't like the way his words sounded – something was definitely off, and they were hiding it from me.

"You are not..."

"Miss Annabel, you have an exam to write. Mr. Damon said you should smash those papers."

He said, each word sounding as if he were forcing it out, and it made me angrier. I huffed, stomping out from the park.

I fucking wanted Damon to tell me how he wants me to smash those papers, not some grumpy asshole who barely looked at me.

I bit my lips, stopping the words from coming out. After these papers, I would figure all this shit out.

I thought, running into Christiana, who looked half as excited as me.

It's been a week now. No response, no calls, no messages, no Damon.

It was like he disappeared into thin air and never wanted to be found. His men kept telling me the same bullshit story, and I was getting tired of it.

These exams were going to be one of the best exams ever, with just a single paper left to write. But I couldn't focus properly. My mind kept drifting to him, wondering where the hell he was.

I stared at my phone in my hands – no calls, no texts, nothing from him. The silence was killing me slowly.

Every single day I kept pestering Andro, kept asking him how long the trip was, and he said much longer. But I knew he was lying. He was keeping something from me, and it made me more scared to my bones.

That was when a car drove in, and someone came out. He had some resemblance to Damon – sometimes I'd wonder if they were family, but Damon never mentioned anything like that.

But I knew one thing for sure: if no one could give me answers, maybe he could.

I ran down from the mansion, not interested in using the elevator. I ran down through the staircase with so much agility I never knew I had, my heart pounding with desperation.

I was quick enough to catch up with him. He was heading towards Damon's home office, walking like he owned the place.

His eyes bored into mine as he stared at me for seconds, giving me just enough time to catch my breath. I looked up at him, my eyes tightened with seriousness I never knew I had. If he thinks I'd let him play games just like Andro had been playing me, he was going to be done for.

"Where is..."

"He's in a hospital, in a coma precisely. And the face tightening doesn't suit you."

He said, one side of his lips twitching up in a short smile before he went back to that neutral, bulletproof face.

My heart froze at his words. My face went into complete shock, and I felt like the ground was shifting under my feet.

"Oooh…What?"

I asked, my voice barely a whisper, and he nodded like it was no big deal.

"You want to see him?"

He asked, as if it was a question. Of course I wanted to see him. I knew something was off – Damon wouldn't just disappear and never speak to me. My heart clenched at those thoughts, fear creeping through every part of me.

"Great. Wait for me in the car. I would be back soon."

He said and walked out without waiting for my response, leaving me standing there trying to process everything.

Up close, I could see the uncanny resemblance between him and Damon, just that he was a lot younger, maybe twenty-eight or thirty. But he had that same commanding presence.

The drive to the hospital was quiet, and I really wanted to see him. I couldn't wait to lay my eyes on him, to make sure he was okay. I had missed him so fucking much that it hurt, and the fact that he had been in the hospital these few days without me even broke me more.

"He really does love you."

He said, breaking the silence. His words made me uncomfortable for a moment. I didn't know how he figured it out, but if he was going to chide me for dating his boss, then he ought to think about it twice.

"I've never seen him in love before. We grew up together. He was always happy, free spirit, until he lost his mother..."

He whispered, his eyes focused on the road, same cold face, but here he was telling me about Damon's childhood like it was nothing.

"Why are you telling me this?"

I murmured, gazing at the window and wishing to be at the hospital so badly. I needed to see him, needed to know he was alive.

"Because Damon's life is dangerous, and you need to not put yourself in trouble."

He said, and his words – I wouldn't say they shocked me, but coming from him, they did shock me.

"And what makes his life dangerous? That he's a Mafia?"

I asked. Fuck, Annabel, you don't blurt out shit like that. But I was tired of pretending I didn't know.

His cold stare turned to look at me, but they didn't give me the same effect Damon's gave me. Instead, this made me want to look away.

"And what made you think so?"

"Nothing. I just think a lot, and he acts like one. His commands and the way he walks and acts – he just gives off Mafia vibes."

I said, and he nodded, like he was impressed or something.

"I see why he likes you."

He said, and I didn't ask what that meant, but I didn't ask any further questions either.

We arrived at the hospital – a high-class private hospital that screamed money and secrets.

I saw a nurse approach him and whisper something into his ear, and it made me more apprehensive. My heart was beating so fast I thought it might explode.

Then he turned to look at me, and I could see something different in his expression.

"He's awake. Woken up from his coma."

My heart nearly stopped at those words, relief flooding through me like a dam had burst.

"I will go check up on him, and you can come in after ten minutes."

But I didn't want to wait for another ten minutes. I had already waited a whole fucking week.