Chapter Twenty-Seven – Opening up.
Arya had a brain freeze so she shook her head when the ice cream man tried to give her another when the one she had having remained little.
She glanced inside the mall where Damien was speaking with the sales assistant. She licked her ice cream, still feeling sulky that the thief was allowed to leave after she begged.
Damien may be too nice for his own good, that lady would never have felt guilty if she wasn’t caught.
“Are you worried about something, pretty lady?” it was the ice cream vendor. Arya looked up at home feeling shy. Did he call her pretty? Was she pretty?
“Um… no. I’m just waiting for him.” She pointed at Damien, with a small smile. “Thanks for calling me pretty.” she felt the need to say. That was a hard compliment to come by.
The ice cream vendor smiled back. “Aren’t you?” he walked back into his shop.
His last words made Arya’s smile widen, when Damien came out, she put them away so he wouldn’t ask why.
He walked to her with a receipt in hand, sparking her curiosity. “Why are you with a receipt?” she asked out loud.
“Oh, the mall gave me for the goods we bought. Are you better now?” Damien enquired.
Arya had a scowl on her face. Wasn’t the mall his? Why was he buying the goods? Was it because they were a lot?
“Why’s your face like that?” Damien nudged her.
She turned and realized that he was sitting besides her in the back seat, she shrugged. “You buy stuff from your own company. What kind of business strategy is that?”
Damien smirked. “The company belongs to Selena actually, but I could get away with the goods for free. However, I liked buying them for you.”
Arya’s cheeks reddened, she looked back at the mall. All these were Selena’s? No wonder she had a unique fashion sense. “I’m sorry about causing a commotion earlier.”
“That’s not a commotion, you called out a thief and I’m proud of you actually.” He rested his head at the headrest.
Arya snapped her head at him. “You are? Well, surely you weren’t proud of my mental breakdown after. I’m much more sorry about that. My dad makes me fear the slightest things…”
Damien lifted his head from the headrest, looking into Arya’s side eyes. “He was that hard on you, huh?” he saw the sadness and insecurity swimming in her eyes.
He wanted to protect her from everything, but he resisted the urge to hold her and rested on the bed rest again. He couldn’t help, if she didn’t want him to.
Arya nodded at his question. “Yeah, Anna didn’t tell you? Well, she acted like it didn’t get to her. It might not have though, my dad treated her with more respect.”
“Soon, he’d do the same to you when you make a name for yourself and your dad’s cruelty to you will be in the past.” Damien assured, shutting his eyes.
Arya chuckled. Everything wasn’t like in movies. She couldn’t make a name for herself just by marrying a rich man. Also, her father wasn’t the only factor that made her scared timely.
She tapped Damien, hoping to share a bit of herself since it seemed they’d be together for a while. He readily opened his eyes and sat up, wanting to hear her out.
“When I was younger, a scary incident happened to me. That’s actually the reason I get really cranky in situations like this. I had a stalker.” she started.
Damien glanced at her then looked away, that wasn’t the story he was expecting to hear. “You overcame the scary incident anyway.” He said.
Arya frowned. Wouldn’t he like to know what the incident was first? “Yeah, I did but it took a while. This guy was a senior in my school.”
“Oh.” Damien looked uninterested.
Arya picked on it. “Don’t you wanna know how it goes?”
He sighed, seeing how disappointed she sounded. “I do but how about we talk over a meal, I feel the ice cream would make you hungry, hmm?” he smiled.
Whenever he cared about her health or wellbeing and then threw his smile at her, Arya felt at peace and couldn’t help but smile back.
Was that a good sign? Was she falling for him? She didn’t like the peace she felt but she couldn’t blame herself. This was the first time she felt safe with anyone.
“Okay, sure. Let’s go, I’d tell you about it. I still feel my stalker would be watching me everywhere that’s why I get scared.” She laughed at herself.
Damien pursed his lips, getting up from the backseat and rushing into the front seat. He started his car. “If he was your senior at middle school, don’t you think he’d change by now?”
Arya shrugged. “He might but it still scares me.”
He began driving. “It shouldn’t, Arya, it shouldn’t.”
In her head, she tried to compile the full story to tell him but something he added kept bugging her.
She couldn’t remember saying the senior was from her middle school but he added that.
Had she said it? Or had Anna told him something similar?
Her phone began beeping, she hurriedly took it out hoping it was a reply text from Winx and it was. “Girl, you found the bitch? I was kinda hoping she stays missing, lol.”
Arya smiled at her phone, rapidly typing a reply.
From the side mirror, Damien watched her. At first he was happy she was happy but he wondered if it was the Seth guy again. “Where’d you want to go to?” he asked to distract her.
She looked up from her phone, then out the window. “Anywhere. Preferably, a small restaurant. You know paparazzi and stuff.” Her eyes went back to her phone.
Damien smirked on her concern for paparazzi. Those folks were anywhere, even in small restaurants.
Like the ones at the mall, who took vids and pictures. He had to pay them to delete it or else, his wife’s face will be all over the internet as a thief.
“Um… Damien?” Arya called him.
He nearly stopped the car to answer but kept driving, he grinned at his reaction before answering. “Yes, Arya?”
“Did you school at Bright Doves Academy? My friend Winx just said she saw it in your Wikipedia. I’m stunned that you’re in Wikipedia but that was my middle school.”
Damien immediately got hot, he took his window down, looking for the words to say. “I moved schools a lot and that’s middle school so maybe yes, I could have.”
Arya nodded understandably then typed a reply. “He said he might have. He moved a lot.”
Damien watched her expressions from the side mirror. So she had been speaking with her best friend again? Why was the girl searching about him? His pasts would soon be exposed.