Chapter 5. Where Are You?

Gwen POV

Long after Damian left, I stood frozen in the garden.

I felt a twinge in my chest and pressed my palm to its center. Then, I took deep, calming breaths to regulate my breathing to reset my mood.

Damian’s words echoed in my head before piercing my heart like tiny needles.

I know that I had nothing to my name. No wealth, fame, or a good family name, but it does not mean that I was a bad person or that I don’t deserve Damon.

I love him to the point that I was willing to endure his mother’s revulsion of me, or what the people in their circle think of me.

Even when everyone around him was quick to judge that I was only after his money, I stood my ground because Damon and I understood each other. We belonged together.

An errant tear escaped its way out of the corner of my eyes, and I wiped it off quickly, afraid someone might see.

My phone rings. It was Lou.

“Damon is already here, but you’re missing. Come back quickly for the cake-cutting.” She instructed.

I wanted to blurt out that that man was a poser, but I don’t have the courage to do so. Would anyone believe me? Even their family could not tell the difference.

If they did, they would have created a furor by now, but there was nothing. Suffice it to say that the poser has very neatly taken over Damon’s life without raising suspicion.

With a heavy heart, I dragged my feet toward the reception’s hall and saw that everyone seemed to be enjoying the wine and the chitchat the party afforded them.

Hurriedly, I passed by the table reserved for the bridesmaids on my way to our table, and my eyes found the woman Damian was canoodling with in the dark. She saw me staring at her and was rewarded with a proud smirk.

Then, she leaned toward the other bridesmaid, and they began giggling.

My constricted. I knew that the joke was on me.

What’s new?

Damon’s friends never liked me. Now that they saw a slip in his character because of his brother’s errant behavior, they looked down on me.

I looked around me and felt Damon’s absence intensely. If he were here, I wouldn’t feel left out of my own wedding party.

I would be happy dancing the night away with him.

But I got stuck with the bad lemon, and the only choice I have is to suck it up.

I shook my head.

I could not do this.

I need a moment to compose myself.

So, without warning, I made an about-face.

I heard someone call out my name, but I ignored it and went out of the party hall as if the d*vil was after me.

My feet led me to the bathroom.

When the door closed on me, the constriction in my chest eased a little. The part of me that was disheartened by the sudden turn of events began to feel a small respite.

Remembering my phone, I dialed Damon’s number and waited for the call to get through.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

On the fourth ring, I was about to cut the call, but just as I was about to give up, the call was picked up, and my heart began to pound crazily in my chest.

I pressed the phone to my ear and hissed. “Where are you, Damon?”

I even covered my mouth with my other palm to mute the sounds I make, scared that someone might overhear.

Then, to my consternation, I heard a small laugh from behind. I spun around hurriedly and was astounded to see Damian with his ear pressed to what looked like Damon’s phone.

He looked evil while he watched for my reaction.

It was the last straw. The tight coil of my patience snapped, and anger came rushing forward.

“You b*stard! Why do you have Damon’s phone? What have you done to him?” I lashed out in a delayed reaction.

I was not content with spouting those harsh words. I needed to vent out physically, and so I did. The embarrassment he had made me endure all through the afternoon fueled my anger.

I barreled into his chest without a thought. All I knew was that I wanted to inflict the same pain I was feeling right then.

But Damon sidestepped my attack, and I almost lost my balance.

He laughed out loud while I steadied myself, gripping the edge of the counter for support.

“Easy, sweetheart.” He crooned, but the sarcasm was not lost on me.

His laughter ignited my fury, and without any thought about propriety, I took advantage of his amusement and attacked him once again. I clawed at his face, and this time, I was successful in my attempts at harming him.

I saw blood oozing from his cheek.

I wanted to dance at my small victory. By then, Damian’s expression hardened.  He wiped his cheek with his hand and saw the blood.

I shrank back in fear.

In panic, I darted toward the door to run past him, but Damian was faster.

He grabbed hold of my hair and gave out a yank!

“Ouch!”  I yelped.

Tears smarted my eyes at the sudden pain that shot through my scalp.

“Tit for tat, sweetheart. You hurt me. I hurt you.” He announced menacingly close to my ears.

“You are cruel.” I clapped back and saw his eyes turn cold in seething rage.

His eyes turned cold.

“I did not say that I was good. My brother and I were different that way.” He spats out.

And before I could make a comeback, Damian released his hold on my hair.

For the second time that day, he walked out on me.

When he left, that’s the time I felt that all energy had been drained from me. I slid into the wall until I slumped on the floor tiredly.

What have I gotten myself into?

This is clearly not what I had envisioned for myself.

I looked at the bathroom floor and asked the empty hall around me. “Where are you, Damon?”

“How do you know that he’s not watching us?”

I looked up from my slumping position and realized that Damian has not left after all. 

“What do you mean?” I asked in a curious tone. My brows furrow in confusion while I try to assimilate what he was implying. 

“Damon is a billionaire. He can have access to information that normal people do not have.”

That gave me a little spark of hope. I looked around us, hoping I could catch a hint - a camera stalled somewhere, but there was nothing ordinary in the garden except the bride and her poser of a groom in it. 

“Do you think he will relish the idea that his wife responded to his twin’s kisses in his absence?”