Chapter 99
DAMIAN’S POV
Five days of pure hell.
Five days since my entire world detonated and left me crawling through the wreckage.
I had returned to my suite at Skyview Hotel since the incident happened. I couldn’t stay in that house another second.
Everything reminded me of her.
The sheets still smelled like her perfume. And don’t even get me started on Elis, Eve and Felix.
I would’ve burned the whole place down if I had a match.
My blurry vision swam as I glared at the wall opposite me.
The suite looked like a crime scene.
Empty bottles of alcohol everywhere: Grey Goose, Clase Azul, whatever the minibar had.
Room-service trays stacked in the corner with untouched food, and the curtains were drawn so tight not even a crack of sunlight got in.
I hadn’t showered or eaten in five days. I reeked of alcohol and despair.
My greasy hair clung to my face, beard coming in patchy because my hands were shaking too much to shave.
My eyes were bloodshot and hollow.
My life, everything, was collapsing, and I couldn’t stop it.
I settled on the floor again, my aching back resting against the foot of the bed, knees drawn up as I rolled the phone in my hands like it was a grenade.
It was somehow still clinging to 1 percent, with its screen now cracked from when I threw it at the wall two nights ago.
I had called Cindy countless times, and every single call went straight to voicemail.
Alaric blocked me already, and the one person ( Vicky) who finally answered my call sounded like she wanted to reach through the phone and strangle me.
I stared at the cracked screen for a long second, then hit dial again, desperate just to hear Cindy’s voice on the greeting.
“Hey, it’s Cin. Kindly leave a message…”
“Cin… baby…” My voice was shredded, thick with rum and crying.
“I can’t lose you, you hear me? I’m already losin’ my brother, losin’ my mind… please don’t make me lose you too. I know I’m stupid. I know I’m the biggest jackass to ever walk this earth for not knowing it wasn’t you in that bed. I was so drunk I couldn’t see straight, couldn’t think… but that’s no excuse, I know. I just… I need you to know I love you. Only you. Always only you.”
I broke off into a sob that turned into a cough. The phone slipped from my shaking fingers and clattered on the tiles.
I curled up on the cold floor, forehead pressed to the tiles, arms wrapped around my head like I could hold my brain together if I squeezed hard enough.
I was shaking. I hadn’t stopped shaking since that night.
Sometimes I laughed for no reason. Sometimes I screamed until my throat hurt and I started coughing.
I was scaring myself now.
A buzz cut through the chaos in my head.
Martin’s name lit up the screen.
I answered with a croak. “Yeah?”
He went dead quiet for a second, then said, “Did you… did you sleep at all?”
“Sleep?”
I laughed, and it sounded unhinged even to me.
“How am I gon’ sleep when my woman is not here, Martin? How am I gon’ close my eyes when every time I do I see her broken face?”
“Damian… I know you care about Cindy, but what’s in front of you right now is bigger than personal drama.”
I sat up so fast my head spun. “Bigger than… what you talkin’ about?”
“I’m saying the US board just summoned you. Emergency session. I collected the letter for you yesterday because you were… unavailable. They want you in the building in two hours.”
My stomach dropped. “Emergency for what? Next scheduled board isn’t till Q2.”
“I don’t know the agenda. They kept it locked. But when the entire board calls an emergency session on a Friday morning, it’s never good news. You have to be there.”
I dragged a trembling hand down my face.
“Fine. Maybe work will keep me from putting a bullet in my head today.”
“Jesus, Damian…”
“I’m joking. I mean I need to do something to forget about Cindy… for the meantime.” I added quickly.
“I will never forget my woman, though. Never.”
Martin chuckled, but it was sad. “Never knew you were this big a loverboy, boss.”
“Always was,” I muttered. “Just for her.”
Martin sighed.
“I’ll be at the hotel in thirty with a suit, the barber and the strongest coffee known to man. Please… shower. You smell like a corpse from last year.”
He hung up.
I stayed on the floor a little longer, staring at the ceiling.
What meeting was that? There shouldn’t be a board meeting for another three months.
Or could it be because of the matter with Elis and Evelyn?
Of course not, that was family. It couldn’t be because of that.
Probably because of the investment rolling in right now. D.T Future Living had just launched, and investors were pouring in.
That had to be the reason.
I gripped the bedpost as I dragged myself up, my legs trembling and numb as I made my way to the bathroom.
Time to put on the mask again.