Céline was worried to the bones as she paced around the room that had somehow become her prison. What she had feared had finally happened.
She knew the moment Damien brought in Sarah that whatever plans he had would go down the drain. Someone had to notice Sarah’s movement in and out of the house and somebody eventually did! Lucas noticed.
He came into the house unannounced and he had met her at a very vulnerable position.
She had been thinking about her life and how she hadn’t been able to see her own husband in almost two weeks, that was when he walked in on her. The shock and fear of seeing him in the house when Damien had wanted to stay hidden from all of them made her unable to control her panic.
It got worse when he asked her if she was doing alright. She couldn’t keep the tears from falling. Much worse, she felt dizzy and nauseous. She had to run to the bathroom to relieve herself.
When she returned, Sarah informed her that even Brian was here. Since then she couldn’t stop herself from pacing. Damien would be extremely angry at her. Her chances of mending things with him were just getting slimmer and slimmer with each passing day.
A soft knock on the door made her jump out of her skin.
Was it Brian? Was it Lucas? What would she do? What would she tell them?
The knock resounded again.
Shoot!
“I’m coming!” She called running to the dressing table.
She stood in front of the mirror and her face looked unrecognizable.
“Oh! Céline what have you done to yourself?” She whispered to her reflection in the mirror.
She had dark circles under her eye and they looked swollen from all the crying she had being doing for the past week. Her once beautifully glowing skin looked like it had a fight with the beauty goddess, she was instead cursed with a pale skin. She looked sick.
She was sick. She was heart broken and she felt physically ill. She had been throwing up for two days now and her temperature seemed to be confused about where to stand. Sometimes it was high, sometimes it was low. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she knew she was sick from a broken heart, or maybe worst.
The knock came again and this time more urgent. Céline quickly dabbed a large amount of concealer over her face, trying to hide the paleness and the dark circles around her eyes. When she finished with that, she practiced a glued smile in front of the mirror and then when it stayed, she went back to the door.
Taking a deep breath, she opened it.
When her eyes met the person at the door, her fake smile fell off her face and she squeaked.
“Damien!”
He was standing right in front of her and it felt like a dream… Or was it a nightmare?
Céline couldn’t tell. He didn’t look any better from her, he also had bags under his eyes and his hair looked unkempt.
“Can we talk?”
His voice was strained with so much restrictions in his throat, Céline feared she wouldn’t like the conversation.
Was he here to accuse her of showing her pitiful self to Lucas?
Unable to respond, she bobbed her head up and down awkwardly; she then stepped aside to allow him into the room.
He walked to the chairs by the dressing table and sat on one, motioning for her to do the same. “Please sit.”
Her legs suddenly got too heavy and she had to struggle to make them carry her to the seat, just a few inches away from Damien. Despite the cold air around them since their marriage, Céline still craved for Damien. She wanted to be able to smile again. She wanted to be able to hold him without him looking at her with disgust. She wanted to hear him laugh again about something she did or tell her how cute she looked when she blushed. She wanted all of those but feared she was losing everything.
Could they reach that point in their relationship ever again? Or was this the end?
She sat down on the chair opposite him and held her breath waiting to hear the words that might kill her racing heart.
“Céline… I am sorry…” He started and Céline’s heart skipped a beat. When it resumed beating, it thumped so loud her ears were ringing.
“… On our wedding night… I thought you weren’t a virgin and that you only lied to me about it…” He trailed staring deep into her eyes.
“I am sorry, I hurt you like that…”
Céline suddenly developed a hiccup.
He thought she had lied about her virginity, is that why he was so rough with her?- she asked herself as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes.
“Are you okay?” Damien asked with concern as he rushed to her side.
She nodded her head as she tried to muffle another hiccup. He was being so gentle with her. Céline could not believe her own ears and eyes. He came to apologize to her!
Damien walked to the night stand where a jug of water was sitting and poured her a glass. He returned with it and gently placed it on her lips.
“I am really sorry for hurting you in that way, I felt so terrible afterwards. I shouldn’t have done it.”
He was knelt in front of her, holding the glass cup to her patched lips.
Céline took a large gulp and hoped it would wake her up from her dream. Damien was apologizing? This meant her problems were over She had finally reached the silver lining at the end of her tunnel of dilemmas!
Her heart melted at Damien’s words and it was like all her pains had flown away. She reached out her trembling hands to cup his face but he hitched back.
Pain flashed in Damien’s eyes but he stayed away from her reach.
Céline was confused. Her heart was confused. What was going on? Didn’t he just apologize?
Was he worried she wouldn’t forgive him for his actions? Was that why he didn’t want her to touch him?
“I was hurt that night but I didn’t hold a grudge against you…” She whispered, her brows meeting in confusion.
“To prove that I didn’t have anything against you, I even tried to make us breakfast the next morning but you- you refused it…”
“But baby, none of that matters. It doesn’t matter because I- I love you…”
“Baby what is it? What is going on with us? Why can’t we just be like we use to be? Why can’t you love me like before?” Céline’s voice cracked as a tear dropped from her eye. She could not understand what was going on anymore.
“Why do you keep changing your character towards me? Why does it feel like the mere sight of me disgust you? Why do I feel like you are trying to push me away? Why?” She cried the barrier holding back her tears opening to let out even more.
“One minute you are so nice and gentle and concerned with so much love in your eyes… But the next you act like I am some demon and you can’t stand me, why?”
“Why have you grown so distant? Why do you keep growing so distant?”
Before he proposed to her, he had grown distant and she thought it was because of her big mouth and nothing more. But what if there was an actual problem she wasn’t seeing? What if this was the actual Damien?
She had been killing herself all these while, thinking it was her fault and he knew about her stupid plans of seducing him for his money and that was why he was acting the way he was, but what if it was just him? What if this is him?
“Please, talk to me because this distance you keep creating between us, is killing me…”
Damien sat back on the floor, resting his arms on his knees. He heaved a sigh and turned to look at her.
“Who were you talking with the other day in the office?”
Céline heard thunderbolts clash above her head. Her tears stopped rolling and she wiped her nose with the back of her hand as she tried to think.
“Phone call?” She squeaked trying to remember the particular phone call Damien was talking about.
“That’s the problem I have with you Céline… You pretend too well and I am tired.” Damien slowly got up from his position on the floor.
“I am tired of going back and forth with you on this matter… I love you Céline, but what can I do, I need to protect myself too!” Damien said helplessly.
The words were like an opener that released the tears that had stopped in Céline’s eyes. She tried to talk but no words left her mouth.
“The honeymoon should be over by tomorrow. You can go see your aunt and do whatever you want. I am too tired…” He trailed walking out of the room.