Damian leads her to his private quarters. He put on the password, and Melody took a peek. She gasped and tapped his back.
“I saw it!! I saw the password,” she smirks.
He rolls his eyes, “Yeah right. As if you can memorize it very well.”
The door pushed open. They step in, and Melody can see the surroundings. There’s a big window in front of her, a long couch and a television with a coffee table in the middle. The chandelier hanging on the ceiling.
Everything here can be his permanent place.
“Why you didn’t just stay here instead of buying a mansion?” she asks.
“I need some privacy of course. Especially when you have an obnoxious wife,” Damian says bluntly.
He leads her to the bathroom.
“O-Obnoxious!? I’m not!” Melody smacks his arms.
“Yes, you are. Now, clean yourself,” he demands before leaving the bathroom and shut the door.
Melody rolls her eyes. She takes off her clothes and steps inside the shower place. She try to find the shower button but it looks complicated. She huffs, crossing her arms above her chest.
Who is the hell created this kind of complicated shower?
“Damian!!!”
Damian, who was making himself some drink, halted. He furrows his eyebrows, knowing his name is being called.
“You call me!?” he yells.
“I am, idiot!!”
He rolls his eyes, “What do you want!?”
“Where is the button!?” she tries to find the shower button.
“What button!?”
“Shower button! Everything is complicated here!! Why can’t you buy a normal shower!!” Melody complaining.
Damian sighs deeply. He pinches the bridge of the nose. He never felt this tired when handling someone. He puts down the glass and walks towards the bathroom. He is about to open it,
“Don’t you dare open the door!” Melody exclaims.
“How I’m supposed to help you if you didn’t let me in!?” he grumbles.
“I’m naked, doofus!”
When she says that, Damian puts his forehead on the door. “Mel, that shower glass is blurry. I can’t see your ugly naked form!”
“Ugly na-hey! I’m not ugly!” Melody felt offended. “I can show you my body is the most beautiful thing you ever saw!”
He smirks, “Oh yeah? So you don’t mind if I want to see? I need to judge it myself.”
Melody felt heat rise to her cheeks. She taps her face and hates the fact he throws the words back to her.
“Dam, I’m serious right now! Don’t be a pervert!”
“I’m not. You are the one who started it,” he grins.
“Whatever. Just-Just tell me which button it is!” she grunts, getting frustrated with this conversation.
“The top on the left,” he leans on the door.
Melody frowns, trying to find the button and follow his lead. “Hm… top… on the left…”
“If you didn’t find it, that means you are stupid,” he teased.
She sighs and shakes her head slightly. Then, she found it. Melody smiles and turns it on. Soon, the water hit her body, and she screamed. Damian bursts into laughter knowing he got her.
Melody jumps out of the shower try to get out of the cold water. She grunts, grabs the bathrobe and wears it, tying it tight.
The door slams open.
“Aw, someone is angry,” he smirks.
“You little piece of-COME HERE!!” she ran after him. “That’s freaking cold water!!”
Damian chuckles, standing behind the counter, “I thought you wanted cold water,”
“DAMIAN!!!!!”
____
He waited for Melody to get ready. Damian leans on the chair, his finger tapping on the steering. His mind couldn’t push away the thought of letting Melody go. Even though he finally has what he wants, he still can’t let her go.
Why?
That’s the answer he’s trying to find.
“Huh… I could just… tell her and divorce,” he mumbles.
The window is being knocked. He flinches and turns to the window. Melody standing there with a new dress. The off-shoulder dress reaches to her thighs.
He slides the window down, “What?”
“Unlock the door, old man,” she scowls.
Damian unlocks the door. Melody went to the other side and opened the door before getting inside.
“What took you so long? It’s not like we’re going to some expensive place,” he quipped as he started to drive.
“I know, geez. Can’t a woman have her own time to dress up?” Melody gives her one side eye before focusing outside.
“Whatever. Where is this… ice cream truck that you want anyway?” he questioned.
“Not far from here. Just drive; I will tell you when we arrive,” she grins.
Damian just replied with hummed. The journey was silent but not awkward. Melody hums to the music. She never felt this calm when with this old man. Usually, there will be tension in the air all the time.
Her gaze slowly fell on his hands, which were covered with white gloves this time. Melody suddenly remembers the scene where she saw Damian without a glove for the first time.
His hand was full of burnt marks and scars. As if… something happened. She knows it did not happen on purpose.
“Um… Damian?”
“If you want to go to another ice cream place, don’t even think about it. I don’t want to U-turn,” he quickly warns her.
“Not that. I just… have something to ask,” she fiddles with her fingers.
“Spill it,”
Melody takes a deep breath and lets it out. She knows it is not a good topic to talk about since Damian hates it. She remembered she did point out why he always used gloves.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, but I’m just curious…” she sighs deeply. “Did you wear gloves to hide all those burnt marks and scars?”
Her question makes Damian flinch. He forgot he had exposed his bare hands before this. But he didn’t expect her to remember it. Damian gripped the steering tightly. He wanted to snap at her but, for other reasons, he just… couldn’t.
“Why do you want to know?”
“Told you, I’m just curious,” she says softly.
He sighs, “It’s just… the accident from saving my twin,”
“Your… twin?”
“Yes. I have a twin,” he simply answers.
When she rewinds, the framed picture of him and the other boy. Their face was the same, and the difference was only their eye colour.
“What happened to your twin?” she looks at him.
Damian’s eyes darkened, “He died when we were 10 years old.”
Her eyes widen.
“I still remember, our house is on fire. Maybe some… careless thing we did that we weren’t aware of caused it to happen. ”
“I’m in the living room, watching some channel. Then, it just happened. Out of a sudden; something blew up. My ears ring, and my vision is blurry. My mother tried to pull me out.”
“Even though everything is too much, I still remember him, Damien, my twin. He’s in the bedroom. I saw him running downstairs. I yell for him and try to save him. I did… I try.”
His grip on the steering tightened. This is her first time to see Damian look so vulnerable and… weak. She could see guilt eating him up. Hunts him every day. Even it is not fully his fault.
“Before I did, a huge brick fell on his legs. He reached out to me, crying for help. I pushed my mother away and ran toward him. I try everything. I don’t even care how hurt my hands are that time, trying to lift the brick.”
“Then, my parents pull me and leave Damien because it is too dangerous. And all of us knows he can’t be saved,”
Melody hesitated to speak, “Do you hate… your parent for doing that?”
He pauses for a moment before answering.
“I am. I shut everyone out. I blame everyone in my life, including myself. But, when I grew up, I started to realise. I start to accept it. Still, I keep the wall high up,”
“Is Damien… died?” she questioned.
He sighs, “Yeah, we found his dead body. It’s hard to accept but that’s the reality of life.”
Melody stopped questioning. No wonder why he always wears gloves to hide the burnt marks and scars. That sight reminds him of Damien, his twin. His beloved twin. How sad…
They probably thought they could grow old together and have a fun time. Yet… fate took everything from them.
“May I ask you something?” Damian speaks up.
“S-Sure,”
“Be honest to me…” he parks the car at the side of the road. Then, he takes off the gloves, “Is it ugly to you?”
Melody was taken aback by his question.
“You mean… your hand?” she tries to confirm the question.
“Yes. Is it ugly to you?” his cold eyes fixed on her.
She can see the pain in his eyes. He just needs someone to tell him it’s not his fault, and he tries his best to save his twin. He endures everything alone since he shut out everyone in his life.
His mistake…
He just misses Damien.
Melody smiles and holds his massive hands. She caressed it gently. Damian flinched a bit at the touch since it was his first time.
“What I see is… a hand that is trying to save… the person he loved so much until he risked his life for him,” she grins.
Damian’s eyes widen. The sincerity and innocence in her eyes show him that she is being honest right now.
“I am?”
“You are, Damian. I’m sure, your twin is proud to have someone like you to be his twin,” Melody giggles.
Her words affected him so much. Damian keeps convincing himself that he made his twin hate him. Somehow, Melody changed his thoughts. Without him realise, Damian’s eyes brimming with tears.
Melody gasped slightly. He’s crying. He’s crying in front of someone. Without saying other words, she hugs him and brings his head to her chest. That’s when he broke down. Melody caressed his hair.