Chapter 67: Chapter 67

Damien checked the address Alvarez had sent him for the fifth time, as he neared the neighborhood.

He glanced at it once more to make sure he was correct, and then looked up at the signboard at the beginning of the street, but it was the exact same thing.

He couldn't help but feel astonished.

He knew Madison wasn't living as comfortably as she used to, and that she was having a very hard time, but he never expected that it would be this bad.

The street narrowed as he progressed, and although it had not been raining much, the whole place was basically a swamp.

Every house Damien's eyes fell on was dilapidated and tiny, with barely any windows and weak strips of wood that were supposed to serve as the door.

For a moment, he began to wonder how she was surviving in this place. It was so terrible.

She was really having it bad, and he also realized that this was where she must have been living even before she came to New York, as his private investigator had also made it known to him that she had only come to New York for the waitress job.

It was not like she was living in The States, that Mr Rudiger had dutifully told him.

Suddenly, he felt a heavy pang of guilt as his chest tightened at the same time. He had given her such a hard time, when she had been there to work and earn a living. She lived in a slum for crying out loud.

Damien raked his fingers through his hair, swearing under his breath.

Either way, more so than her current condition, he wanted to know how she had gotten here. How had she gone from having everything she could ever want or need and even more to… this?

This only gave him more incentive to find out the full story, and to say he was curious was an understatement.

He was hungry for the details, and he could literally feed of it. Right now he only felt a combination of shock, regret, and a heavy bit of sadness.

Finally, he got to the particular neighborhood Madison lived in. It was exactly like the other ones he had passed, and the area wasn't busy at all. In fact it looked like no one was around.

Looking for a good spot, he parked a few feet away from the house Alvarez had described as Madison's, hoping that his guess was correct.

All the houses on that row looked alike; one-bedroom flats with black doors, but then Alvarez had explained that Madison's was the only one who had a small garden outside her hands which she tended to. How Alvarez had known about this, well she must have told him during one of their numerous calls.

Thankful for that piece of information, well the house was obvious from the fresh flowers there, and it was not hard to find at all.

It stood in the middle, the flowers sprouting beautifully in front of the tiny garden and a small smile began to form on Damien's lips as he remembered just how much Madison loved flowers.

She had always loved them, and he chuckled as the past memory of Madison ranting on and on about flowers came to his mind. She used to say that the only thing more precious than a flower, was a child.

He remembered that he would always bring her a different flower each time they met, and she would act like he had given her the best gift in the world.

His heart clenched painfully.

That was the one thing about Madison… the thing about her that made him fall deeper in love with her was how much she loved the little things, and how grateful she was. The little things mattered to her, always, and she never craved extravagant gifts.

She never thought about his poor background, or the fact that he was some lowly mechanic. She never cared that her father didn’t like him at all, and the fact that he wasn’t even up to her social class didn’t bother her at all. All she had ever wanted was his presence, his love and the affection he showed to her every single time.

This was just the most beautiful thing about her, and he remembered how her golden brown eyes sparkled each time he did something that made her happy.

Oh, how easy it was to make her happy. How easy it was to make her smile, and this had been his goal each day. Putting a hearty smile on that beautiful face of hers.

A bitter feeling of nostalgia and agony filled up his chest, and as he raised his palm to his forehead, something caught his eyes.

From the corner of his eyes he saw a woman emerge from the other side of the compound, and his heart jumped suddenly.

The first thing he did was check if his car was well hidden between the trees. He had parked a few feet away so he hoped it was enough cover, and when he was satisfied that he wouldn’t be noticed, his gaze went back to the woman.

On closer examination, he realized it was Madison, just like he’d thought and his breath caught in his throat, with his hands tightening on the steering wheel.

Suddenly he leaned forward, staring intently at her and that’s when he noticed that she was carrying a child in her arms.

Damien's jaw fell open in surprise. Who was this child? He wondered.

Suddenly he felt chills run down his spine at the possibility that it could be hers, and it was enough to send his mind reeling.

What if it was hers? Would it mean that the rumors were true? He felt his stomach fall as he continued to think of other possible reasons.

On closer examination he saw the child was a bit small, and surely calculating the years since she’d been pregnant then their child… No her child, would be… He was so lost in his thoughts that he did not see the pregnant woman walking beside her, and when he finally did, he didn’t know why he felt relief course through him as he shut his eyes tightly.

The heavily pregnant woman was smiling widely, one hand on the child's arm as she conversed with Madison and that’s when he realized that the child was hers and not Madison's.

As he saw the wide grin that continued to stay on Madison’s face as she cuddled the baby fondly, Damien felt something in his chest squeeze.

He remembered the results from the investigations, and the added fact that she might have been pregnant once. Also as he watched her play with the child laughing happily, the only thought that stayed in his head was how good of a mother she would have been.

She was so good with the child, and not just him noticing it now but even back then she had always loved children.

That was another thing that Damien would never forget about her. He smiled as he remembered the discussions they'd had about having kids, and always she had been so eager and interested in that topic.

He couldn't help but wonder how their lives would have been, if that dream had come true. If all their dreams together had come true actually. In his mind's eye he could see them both happy and eager to be parents. He could imagine her pregnant with his child, his arms wrapped around her swollen belly, while she was safe and cocooned in his arms.

Tears pricked the back of Damien's eyes at the image. It was simply… beautiful. So gorgeous! It should have been a dream come true, but that's what it would always be - a dream! One that never came true. It wasn't real, and it never would be.

Trying to regain a hold on himself, he shook his head, trying to get rid of the thoughts, as it was useless having them now.

He was in the present, the past was gone and so should those memories too.

"Fuck..." Damien swore under his breath, his hand coming up to rake his hair, as he blinked back the tears burning at the back of his eyes.

All these images were doing right now was to hurt him, and he of all people knew that there was no point brooding on things that were impossible.

He and Madison were over, and it had been that way for a very long time. Her betrayal was something he didn't understand, nor could he just forgive her like that. He needed to stop all this daydreaming.

"Stay focused, Damien. Just stay focused!” He chided himself, shaking his head once more, and taking deep breaths to calm himself, he bent his head over the wheel.

When he felt like he was better, he looked back up and just at the same time, he saw Madison hand the baby back to its mother. She still had that wide happy smile on her face, and with a kiss to the baby's cheek, she bade the mother goodbye and turned to her own apartment.

Damien watched her from afar, pain shooting through his body.

He watched her strawberry blonde hair billow in her cool evening breeze. She still had that small willowy gait from back then, her curves still intact, her legs beautifully shaped and even though she looked a bit slim, nothing about her seemed to have changed at all. As she walked into her house, Damien saw her fondle with the keys, and then she opened the dark rickety wooden door, before getting in and shutting it behind her.

He fell back into his car seat, his heart heavy as another wave of nostalgia enveloped him.

Those fucking strawberry blonde curls, and that smile… it was enough to take him back to the past.

To the times when things had been perfect, and this time as the memories flooded him, he didn't even try to stop it. He didn't try to shake the feelings away and force himself to think of something else.

This time, Damien allowed them to fill his mind, and take him back to that good time…

***

Flashback, Some years earlier.

"Guess who?" Damien said in a serious voice, trying his hardest not to laugh as he placed both palms over his girlfriend's eyes.

She obviously knew it was him, but they both liked to play this game and she always played along every single time.

"Hmm…." He heard her say, pretending to guess and after a while, she clicked her tongue and replied, "Alvarez?"

Damien nearly burst out laughing but he held himself back, "Nope."

"Ahh, really?" She said in a fake tone, “Okay then… let me try again. Dad?"

Damien nearly jumped from his skin, his hands falling from her eyes, as he heard that word and Madison burst into a round of laughter as she turned to face him, "Gotcha, didn't I?"

"Not funny," Damien smirked his eyes darkening, “Anyways, I let you win this time so don't get ahead of yourself."

"Yeah… right."

As she continued to laugh, Damien pulled her closer to him, placing a finger under her chin as he whispered slowly, "I can make you pay for that, you know?"

Madison looked up innocently at him, “You don't say."

Damien couldn't help but smile. She knew exactly what he meant, but before she could say any more he had pulled her to him, slipping his fingers into her curls and crushing his lips on hers in a soft kiss which she eagerly returned.

He finally broke the kiss, pecking her forehead lightly as he snaked his arms around her waist and placed his head in the crook of her neck. They both stood watching the waves crash on the beach.

This beach was their spot, and their favorite place to be away from all the things that bothered them back in their small neighborhood. It was where they'd had their first kiss, their first dance, and it had sort of become their safe space.

They would always come here every weekend, when Madison could slip out of her house without getting noticed or scolded and since this was one of such weekend, they wanted to maximize it to the fullest. It was bliss.

"I never want this to end.” Madison suddenly whispered, tightening her hold on Damien's hand, and just like always when Madison said things like this, his stomach did backflips as he replied, a bit solemn, “Me neither, Maddie. I feel like the best version of myself whenever I'm with you. I don't know how to explain it, but… there's just something. I feel at ease, and it's because of you. This is perfect, Madison… it's amazing."

She turned to face him, tears filling up her eyes as she smiled at him, "My brothers and my Dad says I don't understand love because I'm still too young, and I'm only confused, but they are all wrong about that. Not just them, but everyone in this fucking town that I somehow hate so much!” She finished with a hiss.

Damien chuckled, pulling her even closer, “Maddie...” He began but couldn’t finish as she cut in.

"I know what love is, I'm sure of this. Love is the way I feel when I'm with you. The fact that I don't just care about anything else but you, is just so blissful and still strange too. I care so much about you Damien, that whenever I’m not with you, I feel so incomplete. What is this then, Damien? What is it, if it isn’t love?”

"I love you, Madison. No matter what they say, or what anyone thinks. I’ll always love you, I want you to know that."

“I will always love you to Damien.” Madison said all to eagerly, leaning up and placing a kiss on his mouth gently.

They both stared up at each other, and in that moment Damien vowed that nothing would ever separate them. He felt complete with her, the same way she did with him and he never wanted that to go away.

If she did, he would be forever shattered. He felt loved each time he was around her, and that was something he would cherish for the rest of his life.

He leaned in for another kiss, their fingers intertwined as their lips merged to become one. The wind lifted her curls, and Damien pressed his nose to her hair, at the same time.

"Damn you smell good. So good, like my Maddie. My woman… Mine.”

Madison suddenly burst out laughing, splaying her hands around his chest, “You're honestly such a goof. Am I not your Maddie?”

“Yes, yes you are mine.”

Laughing, they both walked closer to the shore and kicking off their shoes to dip their legs into the water, Damien stole a glance at the most beautiful girl by his side, a wide smile on her face as she watched the beautiful scenery.

When she saw he was staring, a blush crept up her cheeks, “If you keep staring at me like that I'm going to melt into this water."

Damien chuckled but said nothing, instead as a response, he scooted closer to her and rubbed his thumb over her hand.

"I love you, always.” He whispered, burying his face in her hair and smiling and hugging him tightly she replied, “Always and forever.”

Flashback Ends

***

Damien felt a lump form in his throat at the memory, and the back of his teary eyes burned as he rubbed them. Shaking his head and reminding himself of where he was, he looked down at the steering wheel.

With a start he looked back up.

Night had really fallen completely, and groping the dark for his phone so he could check the time, Damien saw that he had been sitting in the same spot for nearly an hour.

Sighing heavily, he immediately started the ignition of his car, and without thinking twice he drove off into the night.