Madison licked the whipped cream off her fingers as she tossed the last piece of donut in her mouth.
She shut her eyes, nearly moaning at how good the snack tasted.
Working at a bakery had its perks after all, and as she licked her fingers once more, she walked into her kitchen, putting away the loaf of bread she had come back with safely in the only drawer in her kitchen.
She secretly prayed that the mice that usually roamed around the house wouldn't find it.
Walking back to her bed, she sighed, pulling off her shoes and tugging her clothes off. She had started work at the bakery officially a few days ago and so far it was going pretty great. The job was a little stressful as she had expected for such a nice pay, but well she wasn't complaining.
She had no choice, and moreover, she had also made a few friends these past few days, with Gina being there another huge bonus for her.
She was also delighted that she had someone to hang out with during lunch breaks, and also someone who walked with her back home. Everything was going fine, and Madison was slowly starting to believe that things were now going good for her.
However with all her experiences she knew not to get her hopes too high, because just as she was feeling positive, something could come tarnish this joy and she shuddered at the thought.
Tapping on her phone she saw that it was almost 8pm.
Time seemed to go by whenever she was was in her thoughts, and now she still needed to shower and get some rest which she absolutely needed.
As she wrapped her towel around herself and headed for the bathroom, her phone began to ring and whirling around to check who it was, she swallowed when she saw that it was Alvarez calling.
She just remembered that she had asked him to do something for her as regards the men stalking her, and now she didn't know why she was suddenly feeling worried that he might have bad news although she wasn't sure why.
"Hello, Alvarez." She greeted immediately she picked up, "What's up?"
"I'm okay. Is this a bad time to talk to you?"
Madison frowned, wondering if her voice had given her worries away, "No, no, of course not. I'm just a little tired, that's all."
"Oh okay." There was silence on the other end for a few seconds and then she heard Alvarez sigh, "I did as you asked. I spoke to Damien."
Madison's fingers clutched tightly at her towel, the second she heard the name she detested, and trying to steady her voice she asked, "And?"
"He knows nothing about the men stalking you. He didn't send any men to stalk you, and honestly he was telling the truth, I could tell that."
Her brows furrowed in surprise.
If it wasn't Damien then who was it? She shook her head, not quite understanding what was going on.
Damien was the only person interested in her and her family, since he still wanted his revenge. So if questions were being asked about her family around town and people were following her, then it had to be on Damien's orders, and now she was more than shocked by what Alvarez was saying.
Did this mean that there was someone else after her? She felt chills run down her body as she thought about it, her fists clenching tightly.
"If it's not Damien then... how come I was being followed? Who is following me, or am I just hallucinating and thinking things?" Madison asked, unable to keep the tremor out of her voice.
"Madison... I don't think you were being followed. Maybe it was just some sort of misunderstanding."
"No, No!" She cut in defiantly shaking her head sporadically as if to assure herself that she was not crazy, "I know what I saw. I was not hallucinating, yes I did see that man in the bushes, I'm sure of it."
She was sure, so very sure that she was being followed. Now, every time she left the house she always had this weird feeling as though she were being watched, and it made her so uncomfortable.
"Look Madison, I know I am not supposed to say much, or try to convince you but then Damien only has tabs on your family. I even got a chance to speak to his private investigator in his presence. They're asking about your family and getting information about your parents for reasons which you already know, but that's all. There's not much I can do about that also if not I would have told him to stop, I'm sorry, so sorry. But no, he didn't send anyone after you. You can relax, okay?"
Madison still wasn't satisfied.
She felt cool all over, already having a very bad feeling about all of this. "Are you sure?" She whimpered, her voice breaking as she continued, "I'm scared, Alvarez. I'm really scared. I keep looking over my shoulders every time I'm walking down the street, and now because of this I feel unsafe in my own neighborhood. That's not how I want to live my life and..."
"Relax, Maddie. Relax... Just calm down okay. It's okay. Damien didn't send anyone after you okay? Look, I know you've been under a lot of stress lately, and it's not your fault. I think that you might be having hallucinations of some sort due to this—"
"Hallucinations?" Madison almost yelled. "Alvarez, I know I said that earlier but please stop repeating it and making me look like a fool. I actually know what I saw and..."
"You're stressed out, Maddie. Can't you see that it's obvious? You being stressed also causes a lot of things, and you were away from London for a while. You probably just need a few weeks to adjust and get used to your environment again. Okay? No one is after you, stop worrying about that. Don't think too much, it's nothing."
Madison shut her eyes tightly, her mind going back to the day she had seen that strange man. Could she have been mistaken? What if Alvarez was right and she was just being paranoid?
"Madison, are you there?"
"Y-yes?" She blurted out quickly. She had forgotten she was still on the call, zoning out and letting her thoughts carrying her away, "I just... I... I still don't feel comfortable."
"Everything I told you, Madison, I'm sure of it. Okay since that day you said you were being followed have you seen anyone following you clearly? Or you just have hunches and feelings?"
Madison stared at the floor, realizations dawning on her that she hadn't. Since that day she hadn't seen the strange man again, or any other person but it still didn't mean she wasn't being followed.
But she didn't say this to Alvarez. Maybe he was right...
"Okay then. Since you're sure Damien didn't send his men, then I'm sure it's okay." She said, although her stomach still squeezed in fear.
As she rubbed her clammy hands on her towel, her mind began to wander.
From what Alvarez had said, Damien was still making investigations on her family, and she was still quite unsettled about that piece of information. She remembered Mason's visit the other day, and she couldn't even imagine what else would happen or the news he would bring if he paid her a second visit.
Despite all this though she knew there was not much Alvarez could do.
Damien would not listen to anyone, he was set on getting his revenge, and just like that all of a sudden an idea came to her mind.
What if... What if it could work.
"Alvarez..." She began trailing off. Alvarez might be able to help if she told him what she was thinking. But... there was still a high chance he would disagree.
"Yes Madison?"
Madison swallowed, and composing herself she bit the inside of her cheek changing her mind and said instead, "Um, I just wanted to ask how your wife was, and your little daughter Ivy?"
"Oh. Ivy is fine, and my wife is due very soon, by the way."
"Really?" Madison said, smiling wide and genuinely this time, "That's great. Good luck to the both of you, and I wish her safe delivery when the time comes. Also I want to be the first to hear the good news, alright?"
Alvarez chuckled for the first time since he called, "Of course. You don't need to remind me."
"Good, good."
"How are you, Madison?" Alvarez asked after a few seconds of silence, and she suddenly remembered that she hadn't told him about her new job.
Quickly she ran through all the details of how she had been faring all these while, how she managed to get a job at a huge bakery in town, about the good pay, and how well everything seemed to be going for her.
"Wow." Alvarez breathed when she finished, "That's amazing, Madison! You found a job pretty soon, Damn it, but I'm so proud of you."
Madison couldn't stop herself from smiling, "Thanks, thank you so much."
"Yeah, I wish you the best of luck too, Madison. You're doing great and I'm happy to hear that. I have to go now though, duty calls. Take care of yourself okay?"
"You too. Bye." Madison whispered just as the line went dead.
Sighing heavily, she tossed her phone on the nearby bed and walked into the bathroom, the idea she had thought about earlier whirling inside her head.
She still had not given up on it, even though she had chose not to tell Alvarez at least for now. It may not be the best thing to do, but as it stood now she had no other choice, and so she would do it.
She was thinking of writing a letter to Damien.
She was nervous, wondering how he would take it, or if he would even read it, but she had already decided that she needed to try, since she was doing it for the good of her family.
She wanted to beg him to stop the investigation.
They would not let her hear the last of it if anything happened to them, and her only hope now was to talk to Damien herself and hope he would agree.
But only time would tell. She still had to weigh her options and ponder heavily about it all.
.......
As soon as Damien gulped down the last few drops of coffee from his mug, he fell heavily on his bed, yawning and stretching himself out.
Today he decided to have some rest, and quickly rounding up all his work in two hours, he had came home early, showered and had the best lunch he had had in a long while.
Now he was relaxing after having coffee on a Tuesday evening, and he was suddenly feeling better than he had in the past few weeks.
His mind didn't race with thoughts and he wasn't worrying about anything else today. He felt good.
There was just one last thing left to crown it all up though, and that was a peaceful slumber. He stretched out further, burying his head in his pillow as he shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep.
Minutes later though, all to no avail nature's call had deserted him, and he had gone from lying on his chest, to his back.
Now he was seated upright, staring at his laptop and wondering what else to do. So much for getting rest today, Damien thought to himself, hissing.
When his phone began to ring, he immediately picked it up from his dresser, grateful for the distraction, and cocking an eyebrow in surprise as the caller ID flashed on his screen, he quickly swiped the answer button.
It had been a while since she called him, and wondering if everything was okay, he asked as soon as the line got through, "Mother? How are you doing?"
"Hello, honey. I'm okay, how are you? How is work?" His mother's cheery voice sounded from the other end, and Damien smiled to himself, already at ease from his earlier worries.
She sounded upbeat, and that was what he wanted.
"I'm doing okay, Mom. Work is the same."
"That's good."
"Yeah." Damien agreed, and after a little while he asked, "Is everything okay?"
"Well, I was wondering if you could...lend me some money? Before you say anything else, I assure you I'm not planning to spend recklessly. I saw this really nice kitchen equipment on sale today and.."
"Mother..." Damien cut her off, his voice low, "How many times have I asked you to stop calling to ask for money? You have a black express card, Mom. Which you're well aware that I add money to every month. Why do you keep forgetting? Get whatever you want. Whether it's reckless or necessary... that's what it's there for."
Damien clenched his fists as he spoke.
"I wasn't sure if..." His mother started to say but he stopped her.
"You don't need to think, mother. Okay? The card is yours, the money is yours, you can have anything you want. I worked my ass off to get us out of London for a reason, and now it has paid off. We were in need for so long..."
Damien trailed off as a lump formed in his throat. All the times when they barely had enough to eat, and how they would stay hungry for days on end resonated in his head. They hadn't been able to afford anything they wanted, as they all lived from hand to mouth ... all they had back then in London was each other, and that tiny rented house infested with rats and a leaky roof.
"We're done with that time, Mother. We're out of that phase of our lives and we're never going back. Ever. S-so... get what you want, do what pleases you okay? There's no limit at all."
He heard his mother sniff from the other end and he could tell that she was sobbing.
"Thank you so much son, thank you." She whispered.
He waved her words off muttering some incorrigible stuffs and she just laughed, resuming her enquiry about work and his health.
When he had answered all her questions, she laughed again seemingly satisfied.
"What do you think about coming over for dinner sometime next week?" She asked, "It'll be just you and us. It's been a while since we had something together as a family with no outside interruptions..."
By outside interruptions, Damien knew that his mother was talking about Katherine and a laugh threatened to burst out of his lips but he held himself back.
He began to consider her request, almost saying yes but at the last minute he changed his mind.
He had way too much to do. So many meetings and projects coming up, and he wouldn't be able to make it all.
"I'm afraid I can't, Mom. At least not next week. I'm really busy."
The sound of her huffing made him laugh, "It won't be long. Just an hour or two? It'll be nice to see you. Your sister misses you too, you know."
Damien smiled at the thought of Layla, his little sister. He missed her too, and he would definitely see her, but he just couldn't accept this invitation. Not right now.
"I can't, Mother. You know what, let's reschedule. Some other time. I'll let you know when I'm free. Is that alright?"
Chuckling when his mother reluctantly agreed, he listened to her begin to recommend a list of herbal teas she had recently discovered and how good they would be for him
.......
Thanks for reading. 💕