Masked Feelings

by Lechna Baram

  “You imagined him?”

  “Yeah, I imagined her,” Damian said, emphasizing the 'her.' “She'll have your green eyes and my nose.” He continued, making me laugh.

  “Why your nose?” I asked, laughing.

  “Because my nose is perfect,” he said as if it was obvious while he turned to look at me. Then, when he realized I wasn't going to stop laughing, he turned to stare at the road again.

  “I would have never imagined myself having this conversation with you, the first time I saw you,” I told him, laughing. Again, he smiled.

  “I never thought I was going to fall in love with you,” Damian told me. “I never thought I was going to fall in love again.”

  “But here you are, with me and your baby, going on a date,” I told him and he nodded while smiling.

  Just then, he motioned for me to look front. We were in a fancy restaurant. When he was done parking the car, a man opened the door for me. I offered him a smile and got out.

  “Thank you,” I said as I joined Damian at the door. He took my hand in his and we walked to the receptionist.

  “Spears,” Damian simply said.

  The receptionist gave Damian a bright smile, completely ignoring me. I rolled my eyes but nevertheless, I felt proud that Damian was not even looking at her. Instead, he was looking at me.

  “Your outdoor table is ready,” the receptionist said.

  I frowned.

  Outdoor table.

  “Follow me,” she said and we did.

  I was curious. The restaurant was so beautiful but it seemed like our table was not inside. I turned to look at Damian in confusion. We were soon outside and we kept following the woman. I noticed that there was a lake. Then my mouth dropped open at the view on display. A table was set just next to the lake. I turned to look at Damian who was already assessing my reaction.

  Damn.

  “Oh my god,” I gasped in surprise.

  The receptionist walked away after leading us to our table. The numerous candles surrounding us, made all of it seem like a dream. My eyes widened as I watched the beautifully decorated table.

  “Do you like it?” Damian asked as he took my hand in his and we approached the table.

  He helped me to sit, then settled in his seat across me.

  “I love it.”

  His eyes sparkled as he stared at me.

  “This is so beautiful,” I told him, staring at the table.

  Rose petals were lying everywhere on the black napkin. A chuckle of excitement escaped my mouth as I stared at Damian. He was so handsome. I didn't realize how nervous I was feeling. The man sitting in front of me, still made me feel nervous. I bit my lips and stared at the water.

  “Thank you,” I told him.

  I took a deep breath as I stared at the lake. Trees surrounded the lake on the other side.

  “Anything for you,” Damian told me, making me turn to look at him. His gray eyes were twinkling as if there were some hidden excitement behind them.

  “What is it?” I asked quickly.

  He frowned but a smile was still plastered on his face.

  “What?” he asked, trying to act like he didn't know what I was talking about.

  “There's something else you're not telling me.”

  To my surprise, he nodded.

  “What is it?” I hated surprises because I never know what to expect.

  Just as Damian was about to talk, the waiter walked to us with some plates in his hands.

  “Food is here,” Damian told me.

  I unconsciously clapped my hands as I was so hungry. Damian chuckled at how eager I was.

  “I'm hungry,” I said out of the blue, trying to justify my childish behavior.

  Ah grilled chicken and vegetables.

  “Sometimes I feel like you love food more than me,” Damian said as he stared at me.

  I was cutting a piece of chicken and I nodded playfully.

  “Without food, I die,” I told him.

  He rolled his eyes then shook his head.

  “Without you, I die,” he told me and instantly I shook my head. That was romantic. Romantic but unlike Damian.

  “That's too cheesy for Damian Spears,” I said.

  He smirked then chewed his food.

  “What is not too cheesy for Damian Spears?” Damian asked after swallowing his food.

  “I love it that you blush when I'm inside of you or you'll have to know my name as you'll be screaming it when I will be buried in you,” I quoted what he said when we first met.

  Damian laughed, a full laugh while shaking his head. I was glad that I could make him laugh like that. I was happy that I was the one who made him happy. We continued eating our food, while talking about random stuffs. I felt so comfortable with him. I still had some food on my plate but I was done eating. I was not hungry anymore. Well, not hungry for food.

  “You're not going to eat that?” Damian asked.

  “No. I'm full,” I said as I put the fork and spoon in the plate.

  “You need to eat,” Damian said.

  “But I'm not hungry anymore. If I eat more, I'll throw up,” I told him.

  He rolled his eyes but didn't say anything more. I saw his eyes flicker from me to something behind me. I didn't take really mind it as he stared back at me.

  “Athena,” Damian started so seriously that it made me frown.

  “Yes?” I answered, more like asked. His tone was making me nervous. “What?” I urged when I realized that he was taking his time to actually tell me something.

  “Athena!”

  I frowned and turned to look behind me when I heard Thomas's voice. My little brother was standing a few meters from me with a bouquet of roses. I quickly turned to look at Damian who was smiling at me. I turned my head again to look at my little brother.

  Was he the surprise?

  I watched as Thomas started walking towards me with the roses in his hand. I chuckled because he looked so cute right now. I stood up and turned to face him so that my back was now facing Damian. I could hear Damian's chair moving too. I could see Celina, Jeff, Alena, and Dean standing a few meters away. I waved at them. A frown of confusion now on my face.

  What were they doing here?

  Was it going to be a family dinner?

  “Athena,” Thomas greeted with a serious tone, making me laugh. I could see how much he was trying to appear serious.

  “Thomas.” I mimicked him.

  He chuckled then gave me the flowers.

  “Thank you,” I said with a smile as I stared at them.

  They were beautiful. I could see a little red card in between the flowers. I took it in my hand and stared at it with a frown.

  “I didn't buy it for you. I was told to give it to you.”

  Before I could say something, he started to walk away. I frowned again and stared at my family who was standing away. Why weren't they coming over? I noticed Celina and Jeff holding hands while Alena was resting her head on Dean's shoulder. Thomas walked to Celina and Jeff and stood in front of them. Celina put her hand on his shoulder. A smile unconsciously crept on my face when again, I realized how lucky I was. My life couldn't be more perfect.

  “Open the freaking card!” Alena shouted from where she was standing.

  I stared at the card.

  Oh yeah, the card.

  Did they prepare something for me? What did they do?

  I slowly opened the card to see black paper with something written in white.

  Turn Around

  ~Your Love

  Chapter 73

  Proposal

  “Holy fucking shit!” The words left my mouth when I realized Damian Spears was on his knees with a black velvet box in his hands.

  “Language!” Thomas yelled from behind us.

  I was so shocked that I didn't even react to his words. What the actual hell was happening? Damian chuckled when he looked at my facial expression. My mouth was open as I looked at my sexy boyfriend.

  �
�Close your mouth,” Damian whispered.

  I blinked once, twice, and thrice before realizing what he said. I quickly closed my mouth as I stared at him

  “What are you doing?” I whisper yelled.

  “It's called a proposal,” Damian told me as if I was stupid. “So yeah, Athena Amington, you're the best thing that ever happened to me. I thought I wouldn't be able to love anyone again, but look at me now, I'm completely in love with you. I'm sure that I will never find someone like you in my entire life. You're my everything and our baby is everything I wish for. I want you to be Mrs. Athena Spears. There's no other woman for me, only you,” Damian said.

  I could feel my eyes turning blurry.

  Oh shit.

  Tears.

  “So Miss Athena Amington, will you do me the immense pleasure of being my wife? Will you marry me?” Damian finally asked, making me sob.

  I quickly wiped away the tear rolling down my cheek. I went down on my knees as well so that our faces were on the same level. He stared at me with wide eyes.

  Why was he supposed to be the only one on his knees?

  No sexual reference.

  “Yes. I want to marry you. Will you Damian Spears marry me?” I asked with a chuckle. “I don't have a ring though,” I quickly added, making me burst out laughing.

  He wrapped his arms around me and laughed. I could feel him kiss my head.

  “Of course. I want you as my wife,” Damian said as he pulled away.

  I could see tears in his eyes. But he was good at keeping them from falling while I on the other hand was in front of him with tears falling down my face. Damian opened the box showing a beautiful ring. He took my hand in his and slid down the ring on my finger.

  “I love you,” I told him as I rested my forehead against his.

  I could hear sobbing from behind me.

  Was that Dean sobbing?

  “I love you too,” Damian said before crashing his lips against mine.

  I wrapped my arms around his neck, savoring the moment. Damian was literally my everything. I was going to have his baby.

  Yes. My life couldn’t be more perfect.

  “This is so cute.” I heard my sister say from behind me.

  Damian and I stood up and turned to look at our family. Celina, Thomas, Jeff, Dean, and Alena walked to us smiling. I noticed that Celina’s and Alena's eyes were puffy. I turned my head slightly to look at Dean who had red eyes.

  “Dust got in my eyes,” Dean said as he rolled his eyes when he noticed that I was staring at him, chuckling.

  “Oh come on, sweetheart. We all know you're a softie.” Alena teased, then wrapped her arms around her husband. Dean didn't say anything but simply hugged my sister back.

  After half an hour, we all made our way to our cars. After the proposal, we had dessert with the family and right now, everyone was heading home. I sat in the car and watched Celina, Jeff, and Thomas driving away whereas Dean and Alena walked hand in hand towards the path to the lake. They were most probably going for a walk.

  “Damian,” I called out of the blue.

  “Yeah?” he said as he started the engine and started driving.

  “I love you,” I told him as I turned to look at him. He smiled at my words.

  “If you only knew the freaking happiness I feel whenever you tell me those three words.”

  I didn't say anything but simply laughed and shook my head.

  Soon, we reached home. Yes. My house. It was mine and Damian's. Damian walked to my side of the car and opened the door for me. Oh, my gentleman. I smiled and got out of the car. Damian and I walked to the porch. He opened the door and motioned for me not to move. I frowned but then a yelp escaped my mouth when he lifted me up.

  “Damian!” I gasped as he was carrying me in his arms.

  Bridal style.

  “Liam, close the door.” Damian ordered.

  I raised my head from Damian's chest to look at Liam who offered me a sheepish smile. He closed the door while Damian started walking up the stairs.

  “Damian Spears! What are you doing?” I demanded and squealed when I felt him pinch my ass.

  “I'm taking you to the room,” he told me calmly as we reached the room. I could hear the amusement in his voice.

  “I can actually walk,” I told him, staring at his beautiful face.

  “I'm actually trying to be romantic here, Miss Amington.” Damian scolded.

  I smiled as he reached the bed and slow put me down on the soft mattress.

  “Romantic?” I asked teasingly and watched as he nodded carefully and slowly leaned over me.

  “I'm ready to try everything for you,” he said slowly, his eyes full of sincerity.

  “What about you make love to me?” I asked him.

  I watched as his eyes gleamed with love and lust as he stared at me. He lost no time in crashing his lips against mine in a passionate kiss. I could feel him pouring his love to me.

  Oh. I love Damian Spears with all my heart.

  Epilogue

  It's been seven years since Damian and I got married.

  Seven years.

  I wandered along the corridor and stopped in front of a picture. I took a deep breath and smiled. Thomas. He would have been fourteen now. He passed away six months after my wedding. I touched the photo lightly and closed my eyes.

  How I wish he was here.

  “Mommy!”

  I felt someone tug on my dress. I looked down and saw my little boy.

  I named him Thomas.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked.

  “Thomas Embry Spears! Next time, you're not getting out of the car before I actually stop it.” Damian scolded.

  He looked so hot with his suit on. Thomas turned to look at his father.

  Wait. He did what?

  “You did what, Thomas?” I demanded, putting my hand on my hips to look more intimidating.

  “I'm sorry! I just wanted to see you,” my six-year-old son said, pouting.

  How can I scold him when he does that?

  “Next time, don't do that, honey. Look at Daddy, he looks like he's going to get a heart attack.”

  Thomas laughed while we both stared at Damian who was breathing heavily. Thomas got my green eyes and Damian’s black hair. He looks like a mini Damian.

  “I'm sorry, Daddy.” Thomas apologized at he walked up to his father.

  Damian sighed and bent. He took our son in his arms and pouted.

  “Don't do that again. If you hurt yourself, Mommy will hurt me,” Damian whispered to Thomas, making him laugh. We saw one of the maids walk up to us.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Spears, Mrs. Alena is here.”

  “We're coming,” I told her with a smile.

  “I'm going to take my toy to show to Amelia!” Thomas exclaimed when Damian put him on the floor.

  Knowing that we were going to scold him again, if he ran up the stairs, he turned to look at us and walked slowly up the stairs with a bright smile on his face.

  “I seriously thought my heart was going to stop,” Damian told me. I turned to look at him. A smirk plastered on his face while he slowly walked to me. “Do you know what can make my heart stop too?” he asked as he reached me. Damian slowly placed his hands on my waist, pulling me closer to him. My husband was still hot as hell.

  “Aging?” I asked teasingly.

  The other day, while he was sleeping with his head on my lap, I saw a white hair on his head and since then, I wouldn't stop bothering him about that. He huffed while rolling his eyes.

  “I'm trying to be romantic here, woman!” he exclaimed.

  “If I hear our son talk like that one day, I'm killing you,” I told him, drawing nearer to him.

  Our noses were nearly touching when we heard footsteps coming in our direction. We slowly pulled away and I chuckled when I saw Damian pouting.

  “I wanted my kiss,” he told me. I shrugged playfully.

  “I was tired of waiting in the living room and my daughter is hun
gry!” Alena exclaimed as she walked towards us with her two-year-old daughter in her arms.

  Yes. Alena has a baby.

  Amelia.

  “There's baby food in the kitchen,” I told her, rolling my eyes.

  Damian took my hand in his as we headed there. As Alena would come home often, I bought baby stuffs for Amelia so that my sister would find it easier to look after her baby.

  “Dean's still at work?” I asked.

  She nodded. I let go of Damian's hand to take Amelia from my sister so she could prepare her food.

  “I'm going into my office,” Damian told me. I nodded and went back to look at Amelia but my husband quickly pulled my face slightly and pecked my lips. “I needed my kiss,” he said, making me laugh.

  Oh, how I love this man.

  I stopped laughing, but still had a smile on my face as I looked at my niece. She got my sister's blonde hair and somehow got my green eyes which I obviously inherited from my father.

  Speaking about him, no, I haven't talked to my parents at all. I most probably never will. I took the food from Alena and started feeding Amelia while we talked about stuff. We mostly talked about Rose who was traveling all over the world with her boyfriend. Yes, she was dating the policeman who saved us from Jace. His name is Theo. He was a great guy. He absolutely loved Rose and he got along pretty well with us. Jace was still in jail, and I seriously don't want to know more about him

  After nearly an hour, Alena left with Amelia and she took Thomas with him. She was going to visit Celina and Jeff, so she decided that it was nice for Thomas to go with her. As I was alone and had nothing to do, I made my way to Damian's office. I was not working today. I had my own consultation office and today, I had no patient.

  “Damian?” I asked as I pushed open the door.

  I saw my husband sitting behind his desk, with his glasses over his face. Dude. He looked so freaking sexy. I bit my lips and walked to him. He smiled and pushed his chair away from the table and motioned for me to sit on his lap.

  “What are you doing?” he asked as he took one strand of my hair and started playing with it.

  “Nothing. Thomas is gone with Alena,” I told him and watched as he frowned.

  He was always protective of our little boy. I took his glasses off and leaned in to kiss him. I could sense him smile against my lips.