"Or would you prefer to be my pet?" he asked, yanking the chain.
She gasped and placed her hands on his thighs to brace herself then nodded her head.
"Say it," he demanded.
She bit into her lower lip and moved her eyes over the bulge in his pants. W...
Amelia peered at Damien from over her bedsheets, and when she noticed the plate of food in his hands, she pulled the covers over her eyes, concealing herself. The aroma of garlic and herbs wafting through the air made her nauseous. Either that or her mother's rejection was responsible for the ache in the pit of her stomach.
"Go home," she meekly whispered. "I don't want you to see me like this."
"I'm not going anywhere," he told her. He entered the room and placed the plate on the nightstand. "You'll get rid of me when I'm convinced you're okay."
Amelia sighed and peeled the covers off her face. She felt the bed dip as Damien crawled in beside her and gazed up at him with glossy eyes and quivering lips.
"I'm not okay," she admitted.
He softly smiled and pushed her hair out of her face. "I know, love. That's why I'm still here. Do you want to talk about what happened?"
She was quiet for a moment as she contemplated the question. After a few seconds passed, she pulled herself up against the headboard and crossed her arms over her chest.
"I'm having a harder time with this move than I thought I would," she told Damien.
"With the move or your mom's decision to let you leave?"
She lifted her gaze to his and furrowed her brows. "The latter, I guess."
"Once again, she didn't choose you," he said. He took her hand inside his and squeezed it comfortingly. "You gave her a chance to do the right thing, and she didn't."
Amelia tried to blink away the tears in her eyes but they rolled down her cheeks instead. Embarrassed, she bowed her head in an attempt to hide her face, but Damien was quick to capture her chin, forcing her to look at him.
"It's okay," he assured her. "You're hurt, and you're entitled to your feelings."
Tears flooded her eyes. She could only see the blurry silhouette of Damien as she continued to cry. With a quiet sigh, he collected her in his arms and pressed his lips into her hair, kissing her.
"It might hurt for a while," he told her. He squeezed her frame when he felt her shaking. "But you don't need her, Amelia. You've made it this far without her."
"I never should have gone back to that house," she said, shaking her head in dismay. It was evident that she was disappointed with herself, and although Damien couldn't see the shame on her face, he could hear it in her voice.
As he released her from his hold, he offered her a soft smile, but she didn't return it. "At least now you won't have any regrets about not seeing your parents. You did the right thing, Amelia."
"It doesn't feel like it."
"It will," he assured her.
To his relief, she curled her lips into the faintest smile and dropped her head on his shoulder. "Thank you, Damien."
"For what?"
"Being a friend," she responded.
Damien frowned, but she couldn't see him.
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