I look around the vast hall. My mother, as usual, has outdone herself. Everything looks beautiful and flawless. But that is to be expected. She has mastered the art of throwing the perfect gala and she has a lot of people to help her in organizing everything.

“It’s surreal to think that this house and everything else of the Duke of Kittridge belongs to me now,” I murmur. “God knows that I never expected to inherit all this. In fact, I worked hard for most of my life to stay away from it all.” A laugh escapes my mouth. “Do you know that my mother expects me to make this home my permanent residence now?”

“Society expects the same, Damien. This is all yours now.”

“Well, screw them all!” I scrunch my face. “I have a perfectly fine apartment that suits my needs and I’ll be damned if I have to give that up to stay with my mother. And Celia! She informed me earlier that she’ll be moving in here over the coming weekend.”

“Fucking hell! She doesn’t give up ever.” Gabe slices an angry hand through the air. “That woman is a bloody pain.”

Shaking his head, he asks, “Why are you allowing her to move here?”

“I don’t fucking care where she lives as long as she stays away from me.”

A curse escapes my lips. Someday, when I do marry, and I will have to as I’m now expected to marry and sire the next Duke and continue the family line, I may consider moving here. That too after I pack Celia off and move my mother to some other estate. I definitely can’t stomach the thought of living with either of the women ever.

My thoughts spin. Why am I contemplating marriage at this point? It’s way too soon. And what if there was a special woman in my life whom I’ve forgotten? But I cross that thought out because Gabe would never have kept that from me. The last five years of my life still draw a blank in my mind, but I trust Gabe.

He is the only constant I’ve had over the last five years, as I deliberately left everyone and everything I knew behind. I always assume that I must have dealt with something painful and horrific in the past five years, that’s why I have forgotten that period specifically and that’s why Gabriel doesn’t talk much about it.  After my unexpected seizure in the hospital, my doctor has warned Gabriel from presenting me with any pertinent facts about the last five years of my life. So, Gabriel, in his over cautious, over protective way, is easing me into that forgotten part of my existence.

My eyes land on Aaliya again and I see Jonathan lead her to the dance floor.

I face Gabriel. “So, Aaliya Singh? You two seem close.”