Chapter 5 Unspoken Guilt

SELINA

I sat huddled on the floor for hours waiting for Damon to come back and decide my fate. I didn't realize when I just fell asleep. I was awakened by the sound of feet scuffling by the door. I stood up quickly and opened it, only to see Damon fully drunk laying sprawled on the floor.

I moved gently to raise him up, and immediately I touched him and he pushed my hand away. "Don't fucking touch me" he mumbled.

"Please.. I just want to help you with it". I said gently.

"I don't need your fucking help" he muttered and tried to stand, but he fell on the floor like a bag of potatoes.

"Please..." I tried again. "Fine". He said, looking away from me. Reaching under his elbows, I pulled him into me, and let him lean his whole weight on me. He was heavily built, and before I reached the bedroom I was already sweating profusely. I lay him gently on the bed and pulled the cover over him. Next, I took off his shoes and socks. I went to the wardrobe and picked out an extra blanket, grabbing a pillow before going to the sitting room to lie on the couch.

THE NEXT DAY

The next morning, I woke up feeling like I hadn't slept in days. I sat up to clear my head. When Damon walked in, he had put on his pajamas, but his eyes were still bloodshot and his hair was a mess. He avoided me and went to the freezer. From the way he hung his head I could tell he had a hangover. He grabbed a bottle of water, then went back to the bedroom, slamming the door.

Feeling helpless, I went into the kitchen area and began mixing a hangover cure I used to drink back in college. It tasted like death, but in a matter of minutes I always felt better.

After I was done, I stood in front of the bedroom door with a glass of the concoction knocking. After the fifth knock, I knew he didn't plan on answering, so I pushed the door and entered.

The covers were drawn to shut the windows and the whole room smelled damp. He was lying on the bed and had a wet cloth on his head.

"Hey..." I said gently. He ignored me.

"Drink this, it will help with your head," I said, stretching my hand.

"I'm fine" he said weakly.

"No you're not, just put our issues aside for a while, at least till you're better. Drink it and I'll leave.

He stood up slowly from the bed and glared at me, stretching his hand.

I put the glass in it and he took a sip.

"Jesus!! "What the hell is this?" he asked, raising up the glass to get a better view.

I listed out the ingredients.

"Take it, I'm not drinking that, are you trying to poison me too?" he said, pushing the drink into my hands.

I refused to take it. "Drink it, except you want that headache to last the whole day."

He sighed and finally gave in, drinking half of the glass. He dropped the glass on the bedside table and turned his back on me without saying thank you. It's not like I expected it anyway. I didn't deserve anything from him but hate and resentment.

A few hours later he came out of the bedroom looking much better than before. His eyes had cleared and he had combed his hair.

I was thinking he was going to ignore me, but he walked right up to me. "We need to talk". He said. The moment I had been dreading was finally here.

"Okay" I said. "But first I need to apologize." It was never my intention to hurt you in any way. I was just doing what I thought was in the best interest of my family, and I realized that I was very wrong, and I'm sorry. I'll accept any punishment you give. I finished.

He looked at me and I saw a hint of understanding in his eyes. "I'm not going to punish you, Blaire. Sorry, what's your real name?"

Selina, I told him.

He nodded.

"I'm not going to punish you, Selina, what you did was very wrong, but you're not the real villain here. What I wanted to actually talk to you about was our marriage."

"Okay, I'm listening" I said in a small voice, relieved that he wasn't very angry at me.

"Okay, as you know, I'm always in the public eye, and I strongly believe that a divorce so soon after a wedding would not look good on my person, it would cause a lot of attention and people would go digging to find out why."

"What I want is for us to stay married, perhaps for a few months, then, after that, we could have a quiet divorce and go our separate ways. Does that sound alright with you? I shouldn't actually be asking, based on everything your family has done, but I'm giving you a choice."

"It sounds alright with me, Damon. "I will do my best to make things right with you," I said, my voice strong with conviction.

"Alright, it's settled then, since there's no need for this pretend honeymoon anymore.

We will fly back to the states first thing tomorrow morning. So we begin life as a married couple.

"Sounds like a plan". I said, nodding.

"Good". He smiled. "I think we had better get packing."

I arranged my stuff quickly and by sunset I was already done. Same as Damon.

That night we both slept separately, but the tension was considerably lower, and I was a bit relieved.

The next morning, I was woken by Damon, who instructed me to hurry as the jet would be there in an hour.

I hastened up and got ready as quickly as I could.

We were driven to the hanger where the jet sat ready and waiting.

"Welcome aboard Mr and Mrs Steele", the beautiful hostess greeted me with a smile.

I felt faint but I gave a small smile.

Although Damon sat in the seat opposite mine, he avoided making eye contact with me and I felt my guilt rising again.

Although we left the state on a marriage based on lies, I would do my best to make things right with Damon, at least during the time we had to share. That was my promise.