I order a refill of my coffee and keep my eyes on Damien. Rolling my shoulders, I sit up straight in my chair and take a deep breath. I’ve waited and waited for my lost husband to find himself back. I’m done waiting now. I am going to bring Damien back. I am going to make him remember us, Rian and me. I’ll do whatever it takes; I’ll brave any odds that are thrown my way. I will make him remember. My boy’s father is going to come back to us.

Damien

“THANK YOU FOR MEETING me, Damien,” Celia says.

I dip my head in acknowledgement and order tea for her while she chatters on about mundane things. Celia’s been hounding me for days now to take her out. After that fiasco in the hospital, she’s called and apologized numerous times and so, I finally gave in and agreed to meet up with her.

I sip my coffee as she drones on about our common acquaintances and what they’ve been up to in the last five years. I let her talk, leaning back in my chair. I bob my head here and there when needed and resist the urge to check emails on my phone. After a few minutes of listening to her talk about people I’m least interested in, I cut in with a pertinent question of my own.

“Why didn’t you and David get married? Weren’t you engaged for more than five years?”

A strange emotion crosses her face but it’s gone before I can blink.

“David wasn’t ready and I guess neither was I.” She fiddles with her cup before raising her eyes to meet mine.

“What does that even mean?” I ask because her answer makes zero sense to me.

She waves a hand out in dismissal. “Please Damien, I’d rather not talk about it. He was...difficult to be with. But he’s gone now and I have a whole future ahead of me to look forward to.”

Her acceptance of the situation is easy and she sounds like she’s relieved that he’s gone. Not that I blame her for her reaction because something twisted and irreparable was rooted deep inside my brother’s psyche and if my suspicions are correct then she’d have had a difficult time with him. I’m certain that David was probably too busy whoring around on the side to actually commit to her. The selfish, disgusting, bastard! I’m happy for her sake that she’s rid of him.