CHAPTER SEVEN

Five minutes to go. Damien was furious but he didn’t let his anger consume him. he waited as they inspected his jet before deeming it safe for flying. He was going to his summer house in Hawaii, where he could unwind before thinking of the next thing to do.

He checked his watch; he was already late. He wondered if Lauren was waiting for him or if she had already figured out that he’d left. His best guess was that she would be happy with her now perfect little family, he was no longer there to pose a threat to them. He bet Nathan would even throw a party that he removed him from the picture for good.

“We’re all set,” One of the attendants told him. Damien brushed off his suit before walking towards the jet, knowing that he would never set foot here again. This was perhaps the last time he would see his parents unless they finally decided to leave their home and travel elsewhere. He didn’t know why they were so adamant about traveling and leaving their home. Well, if he was married to the love of his life just like his parents, he wouldn’t see the need to be elsewhere.

His eyes swept over the people boarding the airplane as he entered the separate passageway that led to his own jet missing a frantic-looking Lauren searching everywhere for him.

Lauren had never run this much in her life. She felt her heart beat so loud that she thought it was going to leave her chest. Sweat running down her temple she kept pushing through the crowd heading to the boarding terminal.

Paula did not know where Damien was headed so it was hard for them to locate which terminal he was at. More shoving from the crowd and there was still no Damien. She just wanted to say goodbye to Harry in case she couldn’t get Damien to change his mind.

Five minutes later, with a broken heart and a teary face she turned to leave, she had come here for nothing. She didn’t even know why she had bothered coming here.

She was heading to the restroom to fix herself up when she saw him, just standing there in front of a jet. How silly of her to think he would have boarded an airplane with others, of course, he had his own jet! She wanted to cuss at herself and jump with joy at the same time.

He was just standing there, looking around like he was committing his environment to memory. She looked around him but there was no sign of Harry. Did he already board?

With careful steps, she started making her way towards him, and as he moved to board, she knew she didn’t have any more time and ran like her life depended on it. It actually did.

She had been so concentrated on him that she didn’t notice the security that was blocking her path and yelling. All she wanted was to reach Damien, and as they held her back, she screamed his name with all the energy she could muster.

She saw him turn, their eyes meeting as she saw him blink in confusion. She struggled to move toward him, but as she took a step, she felt all the energy in her drain. Everywhere was blurry for a second before she welcomed the darkness that clouded her vision but not before calling Damien for the last time.

Damien stood there watching as she fell to the floor, was his mind playing tricks on him? he blinked again just to make sure she was actually there and that he wasn’t making anything up.

“Lauren…” he whispered, afraid that if he said her name too loud, she would disappear. He walked slowly to where she lay as the security guards held her.

“No!” he yelled “Don’t touch her.” He squats beside her, checking for any injuries that she might have sustained when she fell, there were just a few bruises on her cheek. He carried her into the jet as he was already set to leave.

The jet roared to life as it ascended into the air, defying gravity. He still held onto her, stroking her cheek. His mind made up a thousand scenarios as to why she was here calling out to him.

He wanted to believe that she was there to stop him because she realized just how much she loved and needed him. he drew her closer to him, careful not to hurt her any further. In a few minutes they landed, he carried Lauren to the car and watched all the way to his summer house.

This was one of his private homes. Nobody but his most trusted man [name] knew it existed. So it was okay to say that they were both safe here.

He laid her down in the guestroom that was opposite his and went to the bathroom to get the first aid box. Carefully, he cleaned her wound and dressed it. He proceeded to clean her face, arms, and legs before finally feeding her water with a spoon.

When he was sure she was comfortable he went to his room to freshen up. He hoped she would wake up soon and let him know what she had been doing at the airport looking for him.

The smell of Macaroni hit Lauren the moment she became conscious. She slowly opened her eyes, grateful that the windows had been closed shut as her eyes were sensitive.

She didn’t recognize her surrounding, as everywhere was painted white, even the furniture was a neutral color. With light steps, she padded across the room and into a hallway. She carefully roamed the house, following the scent of the food before she located the kitchen.

Damien’s back was to her when she walked in. it was just like a dream, one that had had one too many times. She wasn’t sure where she was but she hoped this was a dream that she wouldn’t have to wake up soon from.

“you’re awake,” he said, startling her.

Lauren smiled, even in her dream his voice was still deep as she remembered it, she smiled.

“And what are you doing?” She asked sweetly, she might as well enjoy this before she would have to wake up.

“Making dinner, I hope you’re hungry.” He turned slightly to look at her before putting his attention back on the food he was cooking.

Lauren smiled, she wished she would wake up to this sight every day. She took her time appreciating the way his muscles moved as he stirred the pot. She walked to him, making sure to put a sway to her hips.

She stopped when she was standing directly behind him and pressed her front to his strong back, sighing when her soft feminine body made contact with his very masculine one.

“You’re sexy, you know that?” she whispered in his sear. He turned to look at her for a moment like she had lost her mind but she wasn’t going to let him ruin this moment for her.

She ran her fingers along the plane of her shoulders, then kneading his tight muscles. Her lips replaced her fingers as she placed soft kisses along his shoulder before kissing the side of his mouth.

Damien pried her fingers off him and turned “Did you hit your head that bad?” he asked, Lauren, noticing a tint of annoyance in his tone.

“My head feels just fine “she answered, confused at his question.

He sighed “Go sit at the table, we’ll talk after you’re done having dinner,” he said.

Lauren frowned but didn’t say anything. She wasn’t the type to eat in her dream but if that was what Damien wanted then that was exactly what she was going to do.

Damien watched her take a seat from the corner of his eyes. Her sudden change in demeanor bothering him above every other thing. He had so many questions that he wanted to ask. He wanted to know where Harry was and why she had come after him but as he said, all the questions would be answered after dinner.

He served them Macaroni and cheese, the only thing he could cook up at the moment, he wasn’t much of a cook but that would have to do.

They ate in silence, Lauren looking up occasionally at Damien but she said nothing. Damien cleared the plates when they were done and did the dishes, using the time to clear his already fogged mind.

When he was done, he led Lauren out to the patio and poured them both a glass of wine to lighten the mood.

“Why did you come after me?” he asked, not wanting to waste any more time.

“I love you?”

Damien noticed how she answered it like it was also a question. “Why come after me now? You said you wanted a nice happy family with Nathan, so why exactly are you here?”

Lauren blinked a couple times, even more, confused now “I didn’t mean it?”

She answered again, making Damien’s blood boil. She wasn’t giving him direct answers and it was making him angry.

“Where is Harry?” he asked.

Lauren was about to answer when she paused. Now that he had mentioned it, Harry wasn’t there—he was always present in all her dreams. “Can we just skip this and go to the fun part?” she asked with a flirty smile.

Damien hit the table making her jump from her seat. “The paternity test, asking me to stay away from my son then coming to me at the airport just when I decided to leave everything behind.”

Lauren whispered to herself as he kept yelling, “It’s just a dream…it’s just a dream.”

“This is no dream, Lauren,” Damien said with a stern look.

Lauren blinked severally and pinched herself and it hurt. He was right, this was not a dream.

“What did he do to you?” he asked #

“Who?”

“Nathan, what did he do to you?” he asked again.

Lauren felt disoriented, her head began to ache as she tried to remember everything that led her here. If she wasn’t in a dream then how did she end up with Damien.

“Did he take Harry away?” Damien asked, his heart suddenly beating at the possibility that Nathan took his son away when he realized that Damien was once again going to keep coming between them.

Damien’s question set off alarm bells in Lauren’s head. It was then she remembered how she had driven to Damien’s house in a frenzy and chasing him all the way to the airport because…

“You took my son,” she finally said, remembering their encounter earlier that day. The smile she had been previously wearing left her face.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Lauren glared at him, all the rosy feelings she felt upon waking up from sleep disappearing into the thin air.

“You came over to the house this morning and took him,” she said, her growing anger making her head hurt as she rubbed her temple. “That was why I went to your family’s house, but your mother said you were out at the moment. I had to get to you quickly before you took Harry away forever.”

“What the hell are you talk about?” Damien asked, putting emphasis on each word as what she just said kept confusing him. “You told me to leave and that was exactly what I was doing until you showed up,” he said.

“What do you mean living?” Lauren yelled, standing up with so much force that her seat fell back “You gave you your word that you wouldn’t take him away and I believed you,” she said, advancing towards him.

Damien stood up, trying to get a grasp of the entire situation “Listen, I didn’t come to your house, I already knew what the test result would be and decided to just go away for good, so where is all this accusation coming from?”

Lauren began to beat his chest repeatedly. “Don’t stand there and lie to me Damien, it was you!” she was crying now.

Damien let her unleash her anger on him and took it without a single word.

“Nathan was right, you know. You never keep to a single word you say.”

“Nathan…” Damien said, trailing off when he realized what had happened “It wasn’t me Lauren, I didn’t take Harry,” he said, his expression turning into a painful one as he realized what that meant.

“It was Nathan. He took Harry.”

“What?” Lauren asked, even more confused.

“Nathan used my clone to take Harry from you.”