Chapter Three

Two Years Later "It was a pleasure to meet you, Skylar. I look forward to seeing the finished product in a few weeks," the middle-aged man said, shaking my hand roughly.

I gave him a smile. "Pleasure is mine, sir. Any changes, please contact me whatever the time." He looked surprised for a minute.

That was my last business meeting before my long break. I would be working from home still helping my boss out. But I'm actually allowed to have 3 weeks off for myself. I actually was planning on having myself a vacation.

I booked myself a really nice hotel in Thailand and was looking forward to enjoying the beautiful beaches. But turns out my family decided to book me in for three weeks of bonding time. When I tried to object my mum gave me one stern look that nearly scared me to death.

So now as I drive back to my small house, I have to think about what to pack for three weeks. Apparently, we're all going to a house in France. I guess that's one perk of Christian being a successful man.

Five hours later I'm sitting in the car anxiously waiting to get to the house. The area we were in was utterly beautiful.

The guy driving me claimed he was a taxi driver, but I can see through his façade. He doesn't even have an ID and he didn't ask who I was.

"Here we are miss," he says bringing the car to a hard stop. I legit hit my head against the front seat. That's going to bruise up.

“Fucking hell woman. Calm down," the guy shouts, rubbing his now sore head. I shoved his head into the steering wheel when the dickhead tried to get money from me.

“That wouldn't have happened if you had just told me you were driving me instead of lying to me.” I grab my bag roughly and get out of the car.

The warm sun hit my face immediately.

The guy gets out of the car and stands in front of me. "Sorry. Just following instructions, but I kind of got carried away.” I just stare at him.

He left me soon after and I walked towards the house that I could only describe as beautiful. The dark exterior mixed with the white stone driveway and garage had me in awe.

My little moment of staring was short lived as I heard the sound of a motorbike pulling up. I removed my sunglasses, squinting to see who it was.

As the person removed their helmet, I was saw a blonde, buff guy. He angled his head slightly, looking like he was cracking his neck or something. Once he finished, his eyes met mine.

I quickly looked away. “Hey, don't move," he called after me when I was about to walk into the house. I spun around. His chest rising and falling.

Where are all these hot guys coming from? Does Christian have younger brothers or something? "Uh, why can't I move?" He sends me a brief smile before wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

“Can’t let a beautiful woman walk in alone, can I?" Oh god, he called me beautiful. How can I say no to that? I try to hide my smile, but I think he knows…what a charmer.

Walking into this house, I take a moment to scan it. I was amazed at how open and spacious it was. The walls were a mixture of neutral colors and were decorated with big canvases.

I need to take a lesson out of Christian’s book.

After walking around the house for several minutes, the rest of my family started to turn up. My mum was the first to come running towards me. She placed her bags randomly on a table. She wrapped her arms around me.

“My baby. Oh god, I've missed you sweet girl,” she cried into my shoulder, and her tears tickled my neck.

I have to admit I haven't seen Mum in about three months. That was the last time she came out to see me. That was an experience.

"I've missed you too, Mum.” I was content being in my mother’s arms. No matter how much I loved being independent, I do miss her extremely.

My little sister wasn't too far behind. She looked strange with a different hair color, but I recognized Lily immediately.

She jumped on me, wrapping her legs around me like a monkey. I laughed as she squeezed me tight. I haven't seen this one in a while either.

She's a growing designer now. She travels all over the country, and I'm honestly am so proud of her. Not only that, but she gets me really nice clothes.

“You changed your hair,” I say, touching one of her curls.

“Do you like it?" she asks me. I could tell she was nervous for my response. I grin at her.

"I love it…really suits you, sis." She was instantly relieved.

Her light hair is now a deep brown, and she looks so much more mature.

“C’mon let's go inside. I saw that you met Adrian outside." She links her arm with mine. Oh, the hunk from outside? That must be his name.

It does suit him.

"Yeah, I did, who is he?" She giggles.

“He's a—"

Before she can finish, she’s interrupted. Adrian walks up and kisses Lily on the cheek, and then me.

"Let me have my moment to introduce myself, flower,” Lily nods her head before walking away, leaving me with Adrian.

I raise my eyebrow at him.

“Adrian Maguey. It's a pleasure to meet you." He holds his hand out, waiting for a handshake. I don't dare refuse.

"Skylar. Always nice having new faces around, but I'm kind of confused about who you are." I tried to make that sound the as polite as possible.

His grin widens. "A close friend of the Knights. Let's leave it at that, shall we?” I'm confused for a few seconds, but he just wraps his hand around my shoulder and pulls me into the dining area.

Walking in, I wasn't prepared to see the massive canvas on the wall overlooking the whole room.

I stopped walking completely to take in every inch of it.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?” Christian comes walking over with a bowl of rice in his hands.

I can only nod. The photo on the wall was of my whole family, plus Damon's. It was a picture we took on the night that I last saw Damon, at the restaurant before he told us his news. 

I looked happy standing in front of Damon, but completely oblivious to what was about to happen.

My mum and Damon stood tall. Both happy with our families as one. We all looked so different. It made me wonder what Damon looked like now.

"I can't believe he put it in here though," Adam says. He looks at the picture weirdly. "I'm practically being watched over as I eat. It's creepy as fuck." Adam’s statement was funny, but oddly true.

Wait. Didn't Christian put this here?

"What do you mean he?" I turned to Adam to carefully watching his reaction.

"I'm home." Natalie's high voice turns all our heads. I noticed Adam visibly relax before going to the other room. Something was off about this house. I could feel it.

As per usual, we all sit down to have a nice dinner. Everyone seems to be getting on well—no fights, no arguments.

Life is good.

Finishing off this delicious meal, we all moved out to the back. There was a large pool that looked like it was inviting me in.

I'm going to have to try that tonight, with or without their permission.

“Do you remember when Damon taught her how to swim? I still remember it like yesterday, Nat,” I hear my mother say as we look into the pool.

FLASHBACK

"Damon we can't be here; it's going to close and we're going to get locked in.” I stand at the door of the aquatic center with my arms wrapped around me.

Damon ignores me, and instead his head faces the wall. He takes goggles from his pocket and walks over to me.

I try not to stare at his chest too much, but it was very hard.

“They're giving me half an hour. We're not leaving here until you get in," he said. He oozes control.

I have never been a confident swimmer. People at school joked about the fact that I wasn't a good swimmer.

After we finished laughing, we realized that Damon wasn't joining us. He was staring at me intently.

“Fine,” I whisper, finally taking off my t-shirt and shorts. Damon did as well, and he instantly dived in. I watched his body sink into the water before he swam to the top.

My eyes lingered on his athletic body underneath the water.

He swam over to the side and moved in between my legs as I sat on the side. My legs in the pool.

“Come here, baby girl," he whispers as he pushes my back, so I move closer to him. My legs were on both sides of his waist now.

I didn't even realize that I wasn't sitting on the side anymore. Damon had started to move back, and I was clinging onto him.

We spend 30 minutes in the pool. He guides me around the pool and shows me what to do.

Soon enough, I was swimming on my own and confidently. Damon grabbed my hips. He lifted me above the water before bringing me back down.

"Now nobody will laugh at you, baby girl," he said as we swam to the side.

That was the night that I became obsessed with swimming and also obsessed with him. I try and go every morning, especially on weekends.

END OF FLASHBACK

"I remember that,” I say to my mum, blinking away the tears of the fond memory.

I leave them to walk around the house. Christian said I could walk around a little bit to explore. I walk upstairs and find a hallway. There were about three rooms up here.

I walked into one of the rooms and stood in awe. It was a large grey-toned room with a dark black desk. It looked like an office but also had a relaxing feel to it.

I traced my fingers along the desk. As I rounded the table, I narrowed my eyes at the photos on the computer screen.

What?

There were pictures of guys in army uniforms and of the family. The picture changed to a guy wearing a uniform. I glanced at the guy’s face and instantly stopped.

I could never forget those gorgeous eyes.

"Damon,” I whispered. At the same time I heard a loud bang from downstairs followed by a scream.

"Natalie.” I quickly ran out of the room and raced down the stairs. I was scared.

As I slammed the door open to the lounge area, I never expected to see the sight before me. James was being held down by someone, but I couldn't see their face.

"Dude, it was just a joke. There's no feelings there,” James said while the stranger’s hand closed around his throat. He tried to get the guy off him, but he couldn't. Strength was something James didn't have much of.

"She was depressed I only pitied her." Every word coming out his mouth was making me feel uneasy.

Is James talking about me? Not like I really cared. We ended it the other month. It still hurt though.

"She's not a joke. I could kill you right now, James," the guy said into his ear. It was clear though. His voice had that rough tone to it.

Wait…No. I know that voice.

"Damon," my voice said quietly. His name slipped off my tongue like silk. I know he heard me. I saw his back tense up and James was instantly allowed to breathe again.

Everyone looked anxious for what was about to happen. Christian took this as the perfect time to get everyone out of the room. Natalie was just wiping away tears. Once I heard the door shut, I dared to glance up at him. He had his back to me still. His hands pressed against the wall.

“Am I not worth looking at?” I said, keeping my voice strong. “This is just brilliant. Five years and you’re still the arrogant guy that left us all.” I laughed.

I clicked my tongue and turned around to walk out. I barely moved two feet when I felt him grab my arm, pulling me roughly against his chest.

“Baby girl.” I felt his lips against my head. The nickname triggered memories.

“Don't do that,” he said. His hand moved to wrap around me.

“Do what?” I asked.

He paused for a minute. "Walk away," he simply said.

At his words, I roughly pushed him off me and walked towards the door again.

"If you can do it so easily, so can I,” I said before slamming the door behind me. I left him alone, just like he left me.