Yours, Forever

Chapter 117

"I'll leave you two lovebirds since I'm the only one here. Goodnight, Maddie, and thanks for Dinner."

Looking up at Alvarez with a broad smile, Madison replied, "Goodnight, Alvarez. Have a nice rest."

"Sure." He responded, and shaking hands with Damien too while she watched, he bade his goodbyes and then left the dining room.

Soon it was just her and Damien at the table, and drinking a huge gulp of wine, Madison turned to face him, a smile still plastered atop her lips.  She caught him staring at her as usual, his fork in his mouth, as he chewed the steak on his plate.

His eyes were filled with something warm, something that made her heart flutter inside her ribcage, and she blushed furiously at his blatant stare. He swallowed whatever food had remained on his plate before he leaned back in his chair, and sipping from his beer, he just dropped his cutlery and continued to stare at her.

Trying to diffuse the tension between them, she asked with a chuckle, "What's on your mind, Damien?"

At first, it looked like he wasn't going to say anything, but finally, he gave a soft chuckle, his gaze still fixated on her, before answering, "What do you mean?"

His words sounded slurred, and Madison knew that it was because of the beer he'd been drinking ever since.

A frown tugged onto Madison's lips, but not because of what he'd asked. She couldn't figure out why he would be so drunk or even request beer with his meal.

They'd had dinner with his family and Alvarez, for goodness sake, and even when he'd asked for the alcoholic drink, she'd tried to object to giving him his request, but he'd maintained his stance. She'd had no other option but to give him the beer bottle, and now she was sorely regretting that decision.

Coughing slightly and wiping her lips with the napkin, Madison took another small sip from her wine glass before setting it down and crossing her arms over the top of the table.

"Damien, I know there's an internal conflict in your mind. You know I can read you, right? And now, I know that something is bothering you. Is there something on your mind? Talk to me. I'll listen." She repeated herself, more gently this time, but her tone serious.

Her brown eyes studied his blue ones, watching how his tongue darted out to wet his lips every few seconds before returning to his plate again.

Madison knew what this could be, but she kept mute, wanting him to say something first.  Finally, he spoke, quiet and hoarse, "I've been thinking about the case with Katherine."

"And?" Madison asked sharply, her intuition correct, and she gritted her jaw at the same time.

Ever since Mr Paul and Mr Rudiger left the mansion today, she'd noticed a significant change in Damien.

Coupled with the fact that Katherine was still looking at a much lighter sentence due to her sickness, she knew that Damien wasn't happy about that, likewise herself.

But then... Katherine was sick. Brain Cancer and a tumor was eating her out.

Lord knows what the young lady was going through. Even though Madison harbored a deep hatred for her, there was still this nagging feeling that whatever Katherine was going through was karma and added payback for everything she'd done.

"I... I don't know, but I just can't let go with not pressing heavy charges. Mr Paul still tried to advice me into not pressing, do you know?"

"Huh? The conversation between you both, didn't it end when he left the mansion?"

"No! He called later on. He even said Mr Scott is offering money too. He doesn't want her not to serve her prison punishment. He just wants the sentence to be reduced. Talks about how he wants to spend some time with his daughter and..." Damien broke off, a hiss escaping his lips, and Madison just stretched her hand towards his squeezing gently.