Chapter Sixty Five
Damien munched on his toast and scrambled eggs in satisfaction.
His morning had begun on a very good note. With the cool air and the amazing view of the sunrise right outside his window, he couldn’t possibly wake up in a bad mood.
The first thing he had done was to head to the gym, and after an hour of rigorous exercise he had come back to his room, drenched in sweat but invigorated as well.
After that he had taken a long cool shower, and since he had already requested for room service before going to the gym, the knock that sounded on his door by 9AM did not surprise him.
They had brought in the requested breakfast meal, and right now he was almost done with it. A fresh glass of juice sat on the edge of the tray and as soon as he was done with the eggs and toast, he gulped the fresh squeezed fruit juice down.
Thirty minutes later, Damien sat in the balcony of his suite. He had finished his morning routine, checked in with the company, with his mother, and with the hotel as well.
He decided to take a tour round the city, wanting to see what must have changed during the years. He didn’t know how long it would be before he actually got another vacation such as this, or even come back to this damned city so he wanted to make the most of his time here.
Without giving himself the chance to think it through, before changing his mind, he quickly wore some more comfortable clothes and picking up his car keys, he proceeded to exit his luxurious suite.
Prior to his leave, he had already looked up all the tourist centers in the city online and selecting the best ones and the ones which seemed the most interesting, Damien copied them all into his phone in form of a list so he wouldn’t forget. That done, he headed downstairs.
It was beautiful and sunny outside, but not too hot.
This was the exact kind of weather Damien enjoyed. He had always enjoyed it right from when he was small, and now he could note that nothing had changed.
The view of the hotel’s exterior was magnificent that for a few seconds after he got outside, he stood staring at it marveling at the nice structure, and falling in love with his building before finally getting into the car.
Damien was more than proud of himself, and inhaling some fresh air in satisfaction, he turned on the ignition of the vehicle, and then he drove off. He didn’t speed as he usually would because his goal today was to enjoy the view, and not have anything worry him at all.
Something at the back of his mind made him feel like he should be working instead of touring, but he quickly shook those thoughts away.
He rarely ever had time for himself, and he would certainly dedicate today to that cause. Besides, as soon as he started the investigations on the Connors- his main reason for being in London -he would be so focused on it that taking time off for himself would not even occur to him, so he would make use of this opportunity that presented itself.
This was a rare opportunity for him to relax, away from work, even if it was just for a few days, and he planned to enjoy it to the fullest.
For hours Damien drove from one tourist center to the next and with each, he was always so transfixed by the sight that leaving seemed so hard.
He had never seen such beautiful places, not even in New York, and a sense of nostalgia was already beginning to envelope him as he stared longingly out in the view.
While he had lived in this city some years back, he didn’t have the time, and money to visit this part of town and now it felt so new and strange to him. His heart ached.
However he didn’t dwell on his past thoughts for long, instead focusing on his tour, and through this mini stroll that was when he discovered that his hotel was number one on the list of the best hotels in London.
Damien was more than beaming with pride, when he got the responses from tourists and locals alike touring just like him and he kept all their suggestions at the back of his mind.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.
If he hadn’t been sure about rewarding the hotel staffs before, all he was seeing and hearing now completely sealed that deal and for the umpteenth time since he arrived here, Damien was thoroughly impressed by their hard work and efficiency.
He didn’t even need to oversee anything. Making up his mind, he knew that he had to give every one of the employees at the hotel a huge raise.
He had been keeping of this announcement for long, but now he couldn’t wait to relay this good news to them and so he would announce it when he got back. Smiling, he continued his tour.
After hours of driving around the city and stopping at a few clubs and restaurants just for the view, Damien was ready to go back.
Every location on his list had been ticked, and despite the fact that he wanted to rest, he was also hungry because he hadn’t had anything to eat for lunch.
He didn’t have anything at the restaurant he went to because he had somewhere else in mind. Last on his list was a joint which sold the best street snacks in the streets of London, and he would surely have a bite there.
He wasn’t too far from there, as the place was actually a fifteen minute drive from the hotel and so passing his building, he drove on.
As soon as he parked the car on one side of the street, different scents attacked his nose.
Damien could not remember the last time he’d had some street food or snacks. It had been a long, long time ago and eagerly, he climbed out of his car, the scent of dough and frying fat wafting in the air. It was almost enough to make him go crazy.
There were so many to choose from where he went, and after a while of selecting what he wanted, he finally picked a handful of spicy fish stuffed rolls and some Indian snacks.
Damien had never tasted anything better, and he gave the vendor such a big tip that the old man had stared at him in shock.
Almost immediately, the vendor stood from his chair and began to bend down in front of Damien, “T-thank you so much, sir. Thank you…” He sputtered, bowing down and Damien smiling helping him up replied, “It’s alright, no need for that. Besides these are more than amazing and delicious.” He finished genuinely, gesturing at the snacks in his hand, and the vendor beamed with pride.
Signaling to Damien to wait for a while, he quickly began to pack a different kind of snack and barbecue on a stick, which he offered to Damien thanking him for his generosity.
Damien did accept the extra snacks, and laughing he bade the old man goodbye as he headed back to his car.
Today had gone much better than he expected, and it made him remember some of the happy times he’d enjoyed back in the past.
He was having a very good feeling, his heart at ease and even though it was evening already, Damien had no urge to go back to the hotel.
Well, there was no where he could go to, he recalled solemnly so he had no other choice but to return to his suite.
Just before he got to his car though, as his mind spun an idea instantly struck in his head, and it made him pause in his tracks.
It was impulsive, and seemed like something that just couldn’t go well, but after a while of thinking he decided to give it a try.
Getting into his car, he scrolled through his phone for his private investigator’s number and when he found it he quickly dialed.
He wanted to get Madison’s house address.
Not for any particular reason, like he wanted talking to her… He was just… curious.
His priority was with the Connors first, that was sure and Madison wasn’t even in the picture for now. Seeing her was an afterthought, and that was when he was done with her family, but still he had this unending curiosity springing up in him.
After the second ring, he realized that Mr Rudiger’s line was not reachable, and cursing under his breath, he tried once again, hoping for a change but it still wasn’t reachable.
Sighing, he put his phone down and began to think. Maybe this was a sign that him going to Madison’s place was a bad idea. Maybe he should just drive back to the hotel instead of thinking of all this nonsense, but his hands wouldn’t cooperate.
His hands itched to drive to that place. He wanted to have a glimpse. Maybe just see where she was living, and that was that.
Fuck! He needed that address.
Suddenly he remembered that Alvarez could know where she stayed, and without wasting any time, he dialed Alvarez who picked up on the first ring.
“Damien?” He heard his friend’s voice from the other end, “How are you doing? How is London?”
“I’m okay.” Damien said, a smile creeping up on his face. He didn’t even realize he much he had missed his best friend until now, and his chest tightened.
After they exchanged pleasantries, Damien went straight to the point, asking him for Madison’s house address here in London.
At first Alvarez seemed very surprised, and he wondered aloud if Damien had finally taken his advice to talk to Madison as well but just as he said that, Damien instinctively stiffened.
He didn’t want Alvarez thinking he actually wanted to see Madison, and so he said a lie and a truth, “I just want to see where she stays.” He began then finishing with the lie, “I have no business with her you know. I might talk to her, I might not, but rest assured that I don’t want to talk to her now.”
Alvarez was silent for a while, “Okay buddy, but I really do think you should at least try. Aren’t you even a little curious to know how and why everything went the way it had? Don’t you want to know more about what happened to Madison and the…?”
Damien had already tuned out Alvarez’s voice, as he came to the realization that he was damn curious! He did want to know, and he had plans pertaining that but then it would be a topic for another day.
“Just give me the address, please
Alvarez. If you have it, just send it to me. I would have asked my private investigator for it, but his line isn’t reachable and you are my only last bet.”
“Fine then.” Alvarez said, I’ll send it to you but promise you’ll think about what I said.”
“I’ll think about it. I promise you.” Damien grudgingly agreed, and after Alvarez promised to send the address by text, they said their goodbyes and hung up.
A few seconds later, Damien started the ignition, ready to drive off, just at the same time, a notification pinged his phone and he opened up the message to see that it was a house address from Alvarez.
He immediately inputted the address into his car GPS navigation system, and following the directions, he immediately drove off.
…….
KATHERINE
Katherine felt darkness thick and heavy as a strange kind of pain flowed down her body.
It was that kind of pain one was likely to feel, when he or she had just gotten hit by a car, and it freaking hurt as hell.
Her legs and body hurt so much that they began to feel numb, and she couldn’t even place exactly where the pain was coming from, but it did not feel familiar in any way.
The only thing she could recall was that she had been unconscious for a while, but she wasn’t sure how long it had been. Slowly, her eyelids began to flutter, but no matter how had she tried it seemed they would never open fully.
After a while of struggling, she finally got them open, and just as it did she regretted the outcome with just about the same intensity.
Katherine was immediately blinded by the white light that seemed to flash from every corner of the room, and wincing a little turning her face to the sides she noted that the walls and ceilings of the room she was in were painted white as well.
Katherine frowned, wondering how on earth she had gotten here, and where this place was too.
Her body ached as she tossed around the bed, craning her neck to see if there was anything else she could see and recognize but just as she did a pain shot down her arm when she pulled too far from the bed, and it prompted her to look down.
That was when she saw the cannula inserted in her hand, and confused all the while she looked up and then she saw someone standing close to her, clad in blue scrubs.
Whoever this person was, seemed to be intently fixing a tube into the cannula and Katherine realized in shock that she was at the hospital and this person was a nurse.
The lady lifted up and seeing that Katherine was awake, her face widened into a smile.
Her lips moved and she seemed to be asking Katherine some questions, but she was not listening at all. Her mind was wandering elsewhere, as she tried to remember why and how she had landed in a hospital, because she sure as hell didn’t check here on her own.
What the hell had happened? She pondered, trying so hard to remember, and with some little bit of force and squeezing her eyelids painfully she began to have brief flashes.
She remembered being on the phone with Damien some other day, then screaming at him, and then the bombshell he’d dropped, asking them to take a break from their relationship.
She remembered switching off her phone and getting drunk the next day, and from then onwards the memories came quite slowly.
Yes! She couldn’t actually remember everything that had happened that morning in detail, but she saw herself destroying things in her hotel suite, and blood dripping to the floor from her hands or legs, she didn’t even know.
The last thing she could remember was that some people had come knocking at her door, and she had fainted in someone’s arms.
Now that she thought of it, she could vaguely remember drifting in and out of consciousness as they put her into an ambulance, sirens blasting so loud that it had almost hurt her ears.
Now she was here. In a hospital… and that explained everything. Why, and how she was here? She asked herself again.
Her face contorted in rage as these memories continued to flood her, and worse of when she remembered that it was because of that bitch called Madison, she felt more fury.
She was here being pumped full of sedatives and whatever trash they were injecting her with, all because of that low-life! Because she had been venting her anger, and she had even injured herself.
What the fuck!
Groaning in anger, Katherine tore the cannula off her hand, not caring about the pain or the fact that her hand ached terrible. Shocked, the nurse pulled her back, as she began to say gently, “Ma’am, what are you doing? I am afraid you are not allowed to leave just yet and you have to-”
“Will you get the fuck off me!” Katherine screamed, kicking and flailing at her, but the nurse was not letting go.
She quickly grabbed two of Katherine’s arms, and started screaming, “I need assistance here! Patient is hysterical and frantic!”
A few seconds later, a doctor and two nurses rushed into the ward, and the nurses assisted their colleague as they held a still frenzied Katherine down.
As for the doctor, he quickly filled a liquid into his syringe and even though Katherine could see their lips moving as they spoke, she was too angry to listen.
“LET ME GO! LET ME GET OUT OF HERE! I HAVE SOME IMPORTANT THINGS TO TAKE CARE OF!” She yelled but all to no avail, struggling as she tried to fight off the nurses.
“Leave me be! I have to get to that bitch. I have to… I have to…”
Despite her struggles, they successfully restrained her, taping her mouth and before she could start again, the doctor had injected her with the syringe.
The last thing on Katherine’s mind was her plan to deal with Madison, and a picture of her drasted enemy flashed through her face before she once again felt herself slowly sink into the darkness.