Chapter 74: Chapter 74

Damien's mind was miles away as he drove through the streets of London.

His fingers gripped the steering wheel as he drove, his meeting with Mason still fresh in his mind. He couldn't explain how he was feeling at the moment.

He wanted his investigator to do further investigation, he needed to know if the child was really his but Damien realized there was no way to know that.

Besides he'd heard it directly from her brother. Why would Mason lie? After all these years, what would he stand to gain? Absolutely nothing obviously.

However Damien had no answer to that question, and he had began to feel tortured the moment Mason had mentioned Madison's pregnancy.

His chest had never felt so heavy like it did today, and it had broken him down so much that he no longer had the energy to talk to Madison's parents.

Shakily, he had made his way back to the car, and since he needed to be alone at that point, he had ordered his security guards, driver, and the investigator to stay back at the hotel in Kettlesworth while he went on a car ride.

They obeyed without question, getting out of the car for Damien to get in.

Damien's initial plan was to drive round the town and clear his head, but then he received a call from his secretary.

One of his business associates coincidentally arrived in London today, and when he found out that Damien was in London as well, he suggested that they hold a meeting. So his secretary had called to inform him, and he almost immediately began to turn it down as he wasn't in the mood for business but on a second thought, he agreed.

Distracting himself would help a lot right now, and it had done that dutifully.

After they had scheduled the meeting, Damien drove out of Birmingham and headed to London. The long drive would also help him clear his head. So he drove, while increasing his speed limits, and trying to control the raging voices in his head.

His thoughts were flying about, and to crown it all he felt helpless, guilty, and angry. Damn it!

He was just disoriented in general, and he wasn't sure how to deal with it now. A feeling of bitterness enveloped him thoroughly, and at intervals he would swear loudly.

Trying to keep his head straight, he kept on driving and by the time he arrived in London, it was evening already.

He made his way to the hotel where his associate was staying in, and he tried to shake off the feeling of helplessness and anger before he stepped in.

When he felt ready enough, he walked in instantly spotting the man he was dealing with, and after they both exchanged pleasantries, they soon got down to business.

The meeting didn't last for too long seeing as they were both on the same page, and after scheduling for their second meeting a month later in New York, Damien departed.

As he walked back to his car, his initial disposition returned, and the weight from before which he had been carrying returned back on his shoulders.

Getting into his car, he began to drive, not exactly sure where he was going too but he preferred to be anywhere but at his hotel at the moment. His head felt heavy as he continued to think about the events of today, and no matter how much he tried, he just couldn't seem to fix the pieces of the puzzle and to say he was more than confused was putting it lightly.

Could it really be that Madison had lied about everything just to save him? But save him from what? Her parents? Now this was just another of the so many unanswered questions he still hadn’t asked, and as he thought about everything his head spinned rapidly.

He suddenly remembered something and dipping his hand into his jacket, he extracted the piece of paper Mason had tossed at him.

He considered his options.

The thought of calling or meeting Mason did not appeal to him at all.

Instead of relief that he might be getting some answers soon, the thought of sitting face to face with that devil’s incarnate sent a wave of disgust through Damien, and he knew that this was exactly what Mason wanted.

Also it was evident that the motherfucker would give him half of the information then, make him work for the rest so he could treat it like a game and bait Damien with it.

Groaning angrily, Damien squeezed the paper in his hand and tossed it to the other side of the car.

“Fuck!" He yelled, slapping his hand against the steering wheel.

Memories of his breakup with Madison spilled through his mind, up until the point where he could no longer bear it and pressing harder on the accelerator, making the car speed faster, he felt tears sting the back of his eyes.

The memories of that night that Madison had broken off their relationship all of a sudden assaulted his senses, and he also recalled how weeks after that unfortunate incident had happened, the cheating scandal began to circulate round town.

At first he had not believed it, and even though he was till grieving he had tried to make excuses for her but he was so torn and bitter about the breakup, that the cheating story became quite a valid reason for it.

They had been happy, Damien thought about them over and over again, and now as his grip tightened he tried to recall if he had done or said anything bad or hurtful to Madison, but nothing came up in his head.

So with the cheating story, it was enough validation and reason as to why she had left him. Yes! Because she had someone else… another lover, another man better than him.

He had been filled with so much bitterness that he confronted her.

He had come at her with anger, demanding to know if she was really seeing someone else all these while, and when she said nothing at first, he concluded that her silence was a sign of guilt.

He remembered yelling at her and saying some very hurtful things. He had called her a liar and a cheat, accused her of whoring around and playing with his feelings for fun. He vowed never to forgive her for what she did to him and while he spoke, what had she done? She had done and said absolutely nothing.

She had just stood there, her head bowed as tears streamed down her face non-stop, not denying or admitting it at all.

Guilt pricked him once more. She had said absolutely nothing.

She didn't even try to deny it or make excuses for herself, and Damien had taken it as a sign of guilt then, but with what he had just learned, he wondered if she had been quiet because she was trying to protect him. Maybe she had been threatened by her family, maybe she had been powerless over the whole situation, and saying nothing could help him.

The image of Madison sobbing helplessly as he screamed at her flashed through his mind, and overwhelmed with so much hurt and anger, Damien punched against the steering wheel, making the car horn honk loudly.

The sound was so loud and unexpected that people in the street began to yell and curse at him, but he just didn’t care. He was raving mad! He would run mad soon.

Taking a few moments to regain his composure, and trying to think of some sort of distraction to take his mind off the endless thinking, he instantly remembered that one of his clubs in London was close by.

If he could go there he'd be able to have a few drinks and hopefully clear his head.

Taking a deep breath, without even thinking against it, he started the ignition and made a turn in the road.

As usual he ignored the curses from other drivers and passersby, and drove away speedily.

…….

Madison had spent the entire drive from her house to the club wondering if she had done too much with the hair, makeup and club dress she was wearing.

Even with Gina steadily reassuring her more than once that she looked ravishing, Madison still couldn't help but wonder if her look was over the top.

As the taxi finally dropped them off at the club, she felt her heart begin to beat loudly in her chest.

She couldn't remember the last time she had gone out to a party or a club, or anywhere that wasn't either her workplace or her home, and as if she had some kind of PTSD, she began to feel quite uncomfortable and exposed.

"This is gonna be amazing!" Gina squealed, leaning in to hug her and leading the way into the club.

Madison took a few breaths trying all her best to calm herself down but nothing seemed to be working at all, and she was beginning to get fed up with herself.

Angry now, she paused in her steps.

She hated the fact that the one night she really got to go out and have fun with her friend was weird for her, and she couldn't understand why. This was what she had been eager for, what she had been waiting for, what she needed – at least she got time for herself, and she could use this opportunity to mingle with people and forget everything else that had happened these past few days.

As she stood unmoving, she started to let all the memories flood her – From everything that had happened to her since New York, to the chilling stalkers amongst other things she started to realize that everything felt so unfair and bitter to her.

She deserved to be carefree for once and have fun, but here she was stuck in the hell hole she called her mind.

Thinking about it for a while, she decided that she did deserve to make this outing worth it, and feeling a burst of energy within her, a smile creeped up Madison’s face and she suddenly began to feel lighter.

She held her head high and with one deep breath, she walked into the club, smoothing out the dress she was wearing. It was a short, figure-hugging black dress she had gotten when she went shopping with Gina.

She had picked it because of the design, as the dress was sleeveless on one side and she loved that style so much.The other side of the gown, was a shiny, sequined sleeve that ran down her arm and stopped just below her wrist.

Her favorite thing about the dress was that it seemed to catch the light, making it look like it was glittering, and it added some kind of sparkle and shine to her whole being. Overall, she loved it and it made her feel confident and sexy.

Intertwining her arm in Gina’s, they both walked in going straight to the bar counter and first ordering a round of shots, gulping it down immediately.

Fully pumped now, they headed to the dance floor. And Madison let herself go completely.

She decided that nothing would ruin tonight for her and squealing happily and gulping down more shots, Madison continued to dance and before long, she was lost in the music.

She was too busy to notice that the eyes of most of the men in the club were on her, watching as she raked her fingers through her hair, letting it fly free, and swaying her hips sensually to the music.

At intervals, she would walk back to the bar for another drink and just like that, Madison continued to go on and on, taking drinks every second and feeling like her younger self again.

She didn’t care what anyone thought. She would enjoy tonight to the fullest and without an ounce of regret, and to crown it all everything would be okay.