Chapter 403: Uneasiness Masked in Coldness


    Katherine dejectedly followed the man who was acting cold towards her until they reached the kitchen. Damien started grabbing different stuff from the cupboards and fridge but she couldn''t care less as she unceremoniously sat on a stool by the breakfast nook and watched him, her head restingzily on her hand.


    He would nce at her every now and then but they would just stare at each other and then he''d continue cooking whatever it was that he was cooking. Her imagination made her see a huge question mark next to his head. She really was confused as to why he kept his distance. Did he not want her anymore? That couldn''t be possible. His body clearly reacted. So, why, Damien? Why? She sighed.


    Since he was ignoring her at the moment, she decided to make her eyes busy elsewhere. She turned her head from side to side, taking in what her eyes could reach and she was amazed at how huge the ce was. "You really live here?" When he didn''t answer right away, she fired all her questions, "Since when? Why didn''t you tell me? Did you know I was going to live here? Did you n this?"


    His hands that were busy working on a pot paused mid-air and he raised his head to look at her, his brow cocking at her wordsher usation. It pissed him off. He wasn''t angry earlier. He didn''t really know why he was acting that way but hearing her use him, he couldn''t help but feel off. His jaw ticked.


    Damien was already used to her push and pull game. Her ''not readiness''. Her unwillingness to give her all. And just out of nowhere, she just came barging in his ce and dered what she told him earlier. He didn''t know what happened to her during the day. But the sudden change threw him off bnce that he didn''t know what to do. So without realizing it, he settled for uneasiness. And his uneasiness was reflected in his coldness.


    "At first I thought something bad happened to you againwhat with you suddenly appearing in wet clothes and crying. Now I don''t know anymore. You keep on confusing me, Katherine. Did youe here just to use me?" he questioned.


    The change of tone in his voice rocked her heart and she straightened in her seat. What she said was wrong and she wished she could take that back. "It''s just a question."


    His intense gaze burned her skin and it made her ufortable. He lowered the heat of the burner and made his way around the counter to face her. "Yes, I live here. I have been living here since the day after you left. No, I didn''t know you were going to live here and no, I didn''t n this. Maybe you forgot, Katherine, but you left and I had no clue as to where you were or what happened to you. You left and just suddenly appeared again... I don''t like your usation."


    Katherine gulped, the urge to cry hurt her throat but she swallowed it and blinked fast. She deserved those words he said and she couldn''t me him, so all she could do was ept. "I was just asking"


    He could see that it was hurting her but for some reason, he couldn''t stop himself today. "Really? Then let me ask you too. Why are you here in the same building? Could it be that you moved here knowing that I am here?"


    "Hey!" She grimaced.


    "Doesn''t feel good huh?" He was being an ass at the moment and he knew he should tone it down, so he softened a bit. "You know me better than anyone, Katherine. Your usation was unnecessary."


    She bit her bottom lip and chewed on it before she could utter, "I''m sorry, Damien I shouldn''t have said that. It was stupid of me. I spoke without thinking."


    Damien let out a sigh and briefly looked down to reset his mood. And when he looked at her again, he nodded. Obviously, he couldn''t stay ''mad''. He took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Actually, you think too much."


    Katherine felt better when he brushed his lips on her skin. Carefully, she asked again, "You still didn''t answer my other question Why didn''t you tell me then?"


    Sauntering back to his cooking, he kept his voice gentle. "I like keeping you close. And I don''t want you running away. I thought that once you know I''m nearby, you might leave and disappear on me again."


    She didn''t have anything to say to that. Her track record wasn''t spotless and that made her feel bad. She was guilty. Unsure of how to answer him, she cleared her throat. "Did you ever even n on telling me? I mean this is good. Now that I know, At least I don''t have to wonder anymore. I actually started thinking that you have a telephone booth somewhere or something." She took a sip of the water that he gave her earlier.


    "A telephone booth?" he wondered.


    "Yeah You always disappear from my ce and thene back with different clothes on you in a short span of time. You changed into something rather quickly outside my penthouse. For a bit, I thought you were like superman changing in telephone booths."


    Damien threw his head back andughed. His worries disappeared for a minute and he found her thoughts amusing. He always knew that she was an overthinker but who would have thought that she had these crazy ideas in her head?


    Seeing hisugh made her smile, her cheeks blushing as she watched him look so carefree.


    "Does that entice you, Kitten? Is that your fantasy? Superman?" A sexy, teasing smirk danced on his lips and her stomach flipped.


    As if she wasn''t affected by that just now, she shrugged. But that didn''t stop her from talking in her mind, <em>''I don''t need fictional characters, Damien. You''re my fantasy.''</em>


    Damien was finishing up his dish. He made pasta that night. He didn''t make the pasta from scratch though like Katherine always liked. He used a store-bought dried pasta. She peered and saw what he was making and very faintly, the corners of her mouth curled down seeing that he was making a vegetable pasta dish. And by vegetableit was spinach. It still looked tasty and she was sure it was, but her tummy refused to ept that there was no meat in it. Not even a tiny one. She started to think that he was punishing her for something and she didn''t know why.


    He was ting the dish when he nced at her and caught her small grimace at the vegetable pasta. Sighing, he went to retrieve something from the fridge and then started grilling a few strips of bacon. He immediately saw the light in her eyes and he could only shake his head at her now smiling face.


    When the bacon was done, he crushed them on top of her pasta and grated fresh parmesan. They exchanged looks and wordlessly, he added extra parmesan on hers. He saw her widen her smile. This woman really... His te only had spinach pasta and parmesan while Katherine''s had bacon and lots of parmesan. When she was happy, he set the tes on the breakfast nook where they decided to eat.


    He sat next to her and gave her a fork. "Eat."


    She licked her lips at the sight of the dish but before she started eating, she turned to him and met his eyes. "Are you mad at me? You were acting a little differently. You''ll tell me if you are, right?"


    Damien softly shook his head. "I''m not mad I''m just trying to process this." He held her head and kissed her temple. "Let''s eat first. And then we''ll talk."