Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Chapter 179: An Immeasurable Delight for the Unborn Child

The air in the living room suddenly felt thick. Katherine gasped, her hand flew up to her mouth upon hearing Damien's words. She couldn't meet his eyes and she felt like all the air got sucked out of her lungs that it hurt to breathe. She opened and closed her mouth several times in an attempt to say something but no words came out.

"Katherine" Damien muttered, calling her attention.

Turning her head, she met his tensed expression as she stuttered, "Y-You had have a child..." Her voice was small and weak.

Instead of answering her directly, he closed his eyes briefly as he had to compose himself, and when he opened them again, they were fixed on the ultrasound photo in his phone. Damien found it quite hard to explain but he continued his tale.

"I was twenty-two years old then Can you imagine how scary it was for me to hear such news? I had no idea how to take care of kids. Heck my mother left and she wasn't a good role model while my father" He shook his head. "I had always been careful, so hearing that from her made me all confused. It took me a while to finally accept that I was going to be a father I thought it wasn't so bad."

Damien told Caleb and Jeffrey about it and after contemplating, he decided to man up and do what he thought was right. He told Margaret that he would take responsibility and thinking that he didn't want the child to grow up with just one parent, he planned to marry her. He wanted to do the right thing he persevered and did what he could to be a good man.

He genuinely liked Margaret she was smart and beautiful. He cared for her because she was there when he felt betrayed by his own cousin William and his ex-girlfriend Lexi. It meant a lot to him that he wasn't really alone when he chose to take a break from everyone after that. It was probably why he was able to see the good side of having a child at that time. Because although the pregnancy was unplanned, he liked Margaret.

Not before long, Damien started to love the unborn child. He got excited about its arrival and was overwhelmed by the idea of being a dad at the same time. The immeasurable delight that it brought him was something that he had never experienced before.

He didn't think that it was possible for him to be selfless when he came to imagine the future of his child. He was going to be a father for God's sake! It was an amazing yet scary feeling that he came to accept.

Katherine saw the moist that pooled in his eyes before a hand ran over his face in frustration. A tear escaped but he quickly wiped it off with the back of his hand.

Damien chuckled as though he found something amusing. "I learned to love someone who hasn't even been brought to this world yet. It's weird, right?" He had a bitter smile on his face as he looked at Katherine.

And despite having mixed feelings about what she was learning about him at that moment, her heart ached for him when she saw how emotional he got as he talked. Reaching her hand over his, she gave it a warm and comforting squeeze. "What happened then?"

He swallowed and stared at the floor as he continued, "One night, I decided to surprise her in her apartment after finishing a meeting with some investors. I remember not seeing her for a few days because I was so busy with the acquisition and renovation of the Bayside Resort."

"The first resort that you owned" Katherine said and saw him nod.

"Yeah" Damien's face fell. "I arrived at her place and found that her door was unlocked. There was a man inside and they were arguing. I couldn't hear everything that they talked about but I heard enough. I was just about to go inside and interrupt them when I heard the most ridiculous thing in my entire life."

"What was it?" Katherine's heart raced as she waited.

After a long sigh, Damien's expression darkened, "It turns out, I wasn't even the father of the child she was carrying"

"Oh my god Did she know?"

He nodded as he let out a mocking laugh. "She knew all along. She actually orchestrated the whole thing."

News about Lexi and Damien's breakup traveled so fast and when Margaret knew, she exhausted all her resources to locate where he was and followed him. He was about a thousand miles away from home and she made it seem like she was also there coincidentally. She got close to him, offering a shoulder to lean on while he was vulnerable after his cousin's betrayal.

Eventually, they got even closer until they started going out together. A perfect romantic plot only it was all planned and with the intent to take advantage of his identity. The Park Family's influence and reputation were high and respected in the country. Margaret's grandfather, Richard Hara, was the previous chairman of Hara Construction Company and the old man pressured her to use her connection with Damien to save their company.

Damien, who was still trying to stand on his own without his family business's influence to help him, was thankful for Margaret's help she was his partner. Caleb only became his business partner after the incident.

Her grandfather's scheme played like how it was planned. Except, Margaret got pregnant by her ex-boyfriend. She knew that it was not Damien's baby judging by the time it was conceived. However, she was already in a knee-deep mess that she just kept piling up all the lies, one on top of the other. Her grandfather was a cruel person who took advantage of Margaret's situation to keep Damien on a leash.

"That man in her apartment was that her ex?" Katherine asked. She was even more surprised to learn that it was one of the bidders for Crown Resort Group's current project.

"No it was her father, the current chairman of Hara Construction Company. Her father was a good man. He was against his father's plans so he was there to convince her to tell me the truth." Damien let out a deep sigh.

"Did you ever talk to her after that?"

"I refused to talk to her until a few days later when I visited her at the hospital. She lost the baby. Then she explained everything and asked for another chance" He shook his head, pissed at the memory that flashed in his mind. "After everything that she did, I couldn't find it in me to forgive her." Damien leaned on the backrest of the sofa. He felt slightly better after telling Katherine what happened.

He trusted Margaret only to be betrayed again. It was heartbreaking that he had learned to love the unborn child only to find out it was not his. He had actually cared for Margaret but she took advantage of him and made him a chess piece.

Damien felt Katherine's soft and warm hands over his. He turned and saw the sad look on her face she was teary-eyed and he felt a prick in his heart seeing her reaction. He didn't understand what she was thinking until she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing him tight as he heard her say, "I'm so sorry you had to go through that I wish you hadn't."

Katherine could now understand what drove Damien to become a ruthless businessman. He proved himself to everyone how capable he was time and again. She just felt bad that he had to experience a terrible situation like that.

He returned her hug and buried his head on her shoulder. "You're not mad?"

Katherine pulled away, her brows knitted as she gazed at his eyes. "Why would I be mad? Honey, you experienced something awful. I could not imagine how you must have felt."

"I kept it from you" His voice was low and weak.

"I'm just slightly disappointed that you didn't tell me about it earlier. But what happened was in the past, Damien. You accepted me despite not knowing my history So, how could I be mad at you?" She brushed his hair away from his face, wiping a drop of tear from the corner of his eye.

Damien's face brightened when he heard the words that he wanted and needed to hear from her. Pulling her to him, he kissed her temple as he whispered, "You're amazing I love you."