Chapter 78: Chapter 78

Madison's eyes slowly fluttered open when she felt someone touch her arm.

The car she was in had stopped in front of a large building which she could deduce was an hotel, and whoever it was that had driven her, had alighted from the car, and was now walking toward the passenger side, probably to bring her out.

She was still quite dizzy from all the drinks she'd had and her stomach continued to churn, but as she tried to regain her composure, she felt the car door swing open and a pair of arms gently came to rest below her neck and her legs.

Her eyes still drooping, it took her some time to realize that she was being carried out of the car she was in, and too weak to struggle, she let whoever it was pull her out gently.

The sudden motion must have set off her nausea because she immediately lurched forward, bile riling up in her throat and she began to retch.

Quickly, she was pulled down, and as quick as lightning, a hand flung the pigeon hole open to take out a paper bag, which was quickly handed to a still hazy Madison who gratefully accepted.

Tasting bile on her tongue once more, she began to retch again, the contents of her stomach filling up the paper bag in no time, and by the time she was done, she felt a little bit better and less nauseous.

The bag was gently ripped from her hand and a bottle of water was handed to her.

She wanted to look up and mutter some words of thanks to whoever was helping her, but she felt so weak, and instead she used the last energy she had in her to pop off the cover of the bottle open, raising it to her lips and gargling in the water for a few seconds.

She spat it out after a while and used the remaining to wash her face. When she was satisfied, she took a few sips of the water and handed it back to the person helping her, who was standing by the car door watching her.

A man per say, and he stretched his burly arm out for her and she quickly took it. She staggered a little, holding onto his arm for support, but he quickly steadied her.

She wanted to say a few words of thanks to him, and also apologize for being so clumsy but she was still in the process of regaining her composure so she kept shut for now.

Her eyes felt heavy and her legs were still so shaky that she could barely stand, but every now and then a pair of strong arms would move to her, placing both hands on her waist in a bid to always steady her. In less than a few seconds he had carried her up in his arms, placing a hand to support her head and another below her thighs, as he began to walk inside the hotel.

Madison's eyes fluttered open and she turned to her helper to catch a glimpse of his face, because thankfully there were light every where and she would be able to see something.

She never expected to catch sight of the face she least expected though, and as soon as her gaze fell on Damien, she sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes widening in shock.

What the hell was he doing here? Was she hallucinating or what not? She wondered, still trying to make sense of the whole thing.

As he stared down at her, the memories of the entire night came rushing to her, and the incident at the club too. Everything was still a little blurry, but Madison could remember going to the bar with her friend. She also remembered getting harassed by some men and then the scene Damien had caused in the name of saving her, after he had began to fight.

Her cheeks heated in anger she suddenly glared at him, trying to force herself out of his hold.

“Why are you carrying me about? Is this a joke or sum’n? Let go of me!" She yelled abrasively as he continued again her chest heaving, “What the hell do you think you're doing? Will you just let go of me this instant?” She queried yet again.

She couldn't believe he had the guts to take her out and carry her without her permission, and worse still they were in a hotel.

How had she even gotten in his car in the first place, as it was now evident that he had driven her to this place?

"I said let me go!" She repeated, struggling and pounding her fist against his chest, trying to shake him but he seemed unfazed.

“Put me down this instant, I mean it."

But she might as well have been talking to a ghost because Damien paid no heed to her

and seeing that they were in the hotel lobby already he just kept on walking, not even pausing to listen to what she had to say.

This reaction of his only angered Madison further, and yelling in frustration, she began kicking her legs in the air trying to push him away, but he was rock solid, his grip on her body tightening.

People in the lobby were beginning to stare at them obviously, because she could hear the hushed whispers and murmurs but still Damien would not stop.

"I never asked for your help, did I? Where are you taking me too? Put me down!" She continued to protest as he walked up the stairs to his suite probably, and her head spinning for ideas and ways to catch other people's attention who might be of help she let out a loud scream, tapping hard against Damien's chest, "Stop, stop, stop!”

As she continued to scream, Damien finally faced her, grabbing her arm gently, and placing it on her stomach, "Calm down, Madison. I'm not going to harm you, I promise. I'm only trying to help."

His words fell on deaf ears as she continued to yell, and when he finally got to his suite, he unlocked the door sharply, and gently dumped her on the bed.

As soon as she landed, Madison quietened down, her hurried breathing relaxing as she let out gasp after gasp.

For a few seconds she was distracted by how big and luxurious the suite was, and her eyes began to wonder still. She had gotten so used to being in motels that she forgot how nice hotels were, especially five-star hotels, but then as her attention slowly drifted she somehow realized just how comfortable this bed made her feel, and just how tired she was.

She was more than tired, in fact. To put it plainly she was exhausted.

As the weight of tonight and everything that had been bothering her rested on her shoulders, Madison sucked in a deep breath, a fat tear rolling down her cheeks.

Her gaze flew to Damien, who stood hovering above her.

Being here with him was a strange feeling, and she felt so many emotions all at once, not knowing what to do with any of them.

As she continued to stare at him, her vision blurred as more tears continued to cloud her eye.

He was no longer standing above her again, instead he quickly took some steps forward, and plopped his ass on the mattress, moving to sit next to her on the bed.

His fingers came up to move strands of her strawberry blonde curls away from her face, and Madison couldn't tell what he was thinking from his expression as she laid stiff, but she didn't try to stop him either.

When he had pulled all the hair out of her face, he let his hand rest on hers for a few moments and at that moment, a feeling Madison could not explain enveloped her as they stared at each other.

No talking, no noise, just the labored sound of their rhythmic breathing, and Madison could only wish that time would freeze in this moment.

Well, the moment was soon broken as Damien who had been watching her carefully for a few seconds, placed an arm behind her neck, caressing softly as he said assuringly, "Relax and breathe. Everything will be fine, okay?"

For some reason his words struck a nerve within Madison.

Flinging his arm away from her, she slowly stood up from the bed, getting up to her feet despite being weak and feeling wobbly. Anger was already creeping into her demeanor, but she didn’t care.

“Everything will be fine huh?" She asked slowly, as if to ascertain if he had really said that, "Everything will be fucking fine?” Her voice was louder this time.

"How? Show me, how is everything fine? How could it be fine when you have ruined every possibility of that ever happening? You have single-handedly ruined my entire life, and you have the guts to stand there and tell me that everything will be fine?”

Damien stared at her in disbelief, stretching out an arm as if to calm her, "Madison, I think you need to rest for a while. I don't understand a thing you're saying. What are you talking about?" He frowned, already confused but she just scoffed, baring her teeth as she began to laugh bitterly.

Her legs wobbled again as she took a few steps closer to where he was still sitting on the bed, “You…you ruined my whole life when you left. Everything you heard… every single one of those stupid rumors about me, those accusations, you believed them all without a second thought. How could you? After everything we'd been through together it was so easy for you to believe all those things about me, and worst still you just left! You didn't even give me a chance to explain myself and…" She trailed off, her anger growing.

"And instead of waiting to listen to me what did you do huh?” She spat, "You left me when I needed you the most. You left me alone and pregnant, and I had absolutely no one. My family disowned me when they found out I was pregnant with your child and." The back of her eyes now burned with rage, but she was not in anyway done at all.

"Madison…" Damien muttered, moving closer to her, "I know about your pregnancy now, and honestly I can't even begin to tell you how shocked I was when I found out. I am so sorry about everything, but I don't think this is the best time to discuss that. You're still quite drunk and obviously disoriented. You need to rest first."

As he moved closer to her, he placed an arm on her shoulders gently, but Madison shook her head, shrugging his hand off.

“Do you get it? I mean you just don't get it! You never will, okay? What is there to discuss anymore? Nothing binds us anymore, and nothing is worth discussing. I’m sure you have no idea that I lost the baby!" She finally yelled, "I…I lost the child. Everything is ruined now, and… I-I can't even g-give…” She stumbled over her words and then all of a sudden she burst out laughing, her fingers digging into her hair.

Damien, still stunned by the news of their baby’s death stared at her, his mouth agape. Of all things, maybe he was now convinced that the baby was his, and Madison just couldn’t bring herself to tell him that in as much as she had lost the child, she couldn’t give birth to another anymore.

She was staring at him intently, but then looked away and as something began to dawn on her, she stopped laughing and instead began to sob bitterly, placing a hand on her chest.

"I can't even… I can't do anything right. Nothing ever goes right. I-I'm just so…so useless. I’m just so useless and worthless. Father used to say it, and maybe he’s right.” She whimpered, her hand still squeezing her chest tightly.

She felt Damien move closer to her, as he tried to take hold of her hand but she refused.

“Madison… I don't understand. What were you saying? You can't ever do what?" He prodded, concern spreading over his face at the state she was in, and the last part of what she had been trying to say, still confusing him of course but she wouldn’t complete that statement at all.

Now she had made him quite curious to hear the rest of it, but instead of saying a thing she kept mute and instead continued to sob, rocking back and forth and repeating over and over again that she was useless.

"I-I have nothing at this point. Nothing to offer whatsoever to anyone… not you, not even myself. What's the point of being here? What’s the point of even being alive?”

Now her sobbing had ceased. She tried to stand again to her feet slowly, still wobbling and that was when she realized that she felt even worse now and she just couldn’t get up.

Damien steadied her as best as he could, this time not giving her a chance to even push his hands away, "Can you hear me Maddie?" He muttered, gently shaking her as her eyes began to flutter.

He realized that the effect of the alcohol might be kicking back in, and he use the disoriented opportunity to ask again, “You were saying something. What happened?"

Madison frowned a little, looking up at him.

“Haven't you had enough? You have dished out everything possible, including humiliating me in public. You made it clear that you hate me and everything that has to do with me, so what is it? What more do you want from me?"

She shook her head, her eyes fluttering as he tried to soothe her and calm her down but she could already feel herself slipping.

Her eyes continued to flutter and she yawned lightly, realizing how tired she felt.

"Madison?" Damien called out. "You were saying something. About the baby and what happened afterwards. What is it?"

She let out a soft sigh, her eyes drooping, "The doctor…” She slurred, “The…doctor said that I can't…" She trailed off, her eyes fluttering shut as she stopped talking.

Damien tapped her gently, trying to get her to say something, but it was of no use.

She had already passed out in his arms.

…….

Damien sighed heavily when he had prodded for a few moments and there was no response from Madison.

He realized that she had fallen asleep, as her eyes were stiffly closed and the evened breathing she let out was a clear indication of that.

Sighing again, he gently carried her once more, moving to the bed and carefully putting her down just like the first time. He took a seat next to her on the bed and proceeded to gently take off her shoes.

As he did so, he couldn't help but think back to the events of tonight, and how everything was just jumbled.

The only thing he was satisfied with was the fact that he had finally gotten the chance to speak to her somehow, and he had gotten the answer to some of his burning questions out of her own accord actually.

Madison had actually been pregnant, and with his child as well.

He paused in the middle of taking off her second shoe, and raking a hand through his hair, he wasn't sure how to feel about that revelation.

No he knew what he felt, and at the moment it was heavy regret. The fact that she had lost the child made him want to tear his eyes out, and break down heavily… A lump formed in his throat, and shaking his head he began to unzip her dress, his eyes closed. His head continued to swim with thoughts of the past and her words continued to echo in his mind.

Finally succeeding in taking off her shoes and dress, he proceeded to place her in a more comfortable position.

As he did so, his eyes fell to her half naked stomach and in the dim lighting he saw a large mark below her abdomen.

Pain squeezing in his chest, he gently ran his fingertips over it, with tears pooling in his eyes, as his shoulders beginning to shake.

His child had been in there… and he would have been a father.

Unable to hold himself back, Damien began to sob quietly, tears spilling down his cheeks.

As he continued to rub the mark, he raised his head to gaze at Madison. She was sound asleep, her chest heaving lightly. The peaceful look on her face as she slept was the stark opposite of her facial expression when she had been yelling at him previously.

He let his hand rest on hers as he continued to gaze.

“What are you hiding from me, Madison?" He whispered, sadness filling him up.

He raised his hand to his eyes, wiping furiously as he tried to stop the tears but all to no avail.

Madison was right, he thought. He had left her when she needed him the most, and he imagined just how bad it had been for her. Getting disowned by her parents and then left to deal with the pregnancy on her own, and then loosing it after.

"Fuck! I-I'm so sorry, Maddie. I'm sorry I left…I shouldn't have. I should've been right there with you…” Damien's voice shook terribly, I'm so sorry…"

With trembling hands, as he continued to cry he brought the mattress duvet higher up her chest, tucking her in and making sure she was comfortable.

Afterwards, he stood up from the bedside, wobbling to the wine cabinet, and taking out a bottle of whiskey before moving to the balcony.

Once there, he tipped the bottle in his hands to his lips, taking a huge gulp as fresh new tears continued to stream down his face.