That night, Damian couldn't eat or sleep. Everywhere in his room reminded him of a moment with Janaya. The wardrobe with her stuff in it made it even worse.
Her bathrobe, her underwear… everything held memories.
Damian slowly picked up his phone and made a call.
"Hey Theresa."
"Hey Mr. Right-hand man." Dr. Theresa replied playfully
"Why are you calling so late? I'm on night shift today."
Damian didn't respond to the joke
"How is she? Janaya?" He asked quietly
"Emm… not good." Theresa replied
Damian's eyes widened.
"What's the problem?"
"She lost so much blood and the bleeding won't stop. She has just three days at most to live."
"Please tell me you are joking…" His voice dropped, tension creeping in.
"I wish I was, Damian." She replied
"I'm coming to the hospital now—"
"Wait wait Damian! I was joking!" Theresa burst into laughter.
"So you care about her so much and you did all that drama about ending the relationship? Damian!!!"
"I don't find this funny, young woman."
Theresa chuckled, then sighed
"You know… my husband once cheated on me with my best friend."
Damian frowned slightly.
"When I heard, I was angry—very angry. I wanted the whole relationship to end. That time I threw a drama just like yours, screaming that he was useless and I wanted the relationship to end… I didn't really mean it. I wanted him to run after me, to beg me, to promise he wouldn't do it again, to prove to me that I mattered. But guess what?"
"What?" Damian asked
Theresa exhaled,
"In the process of running after me, screaming 'Theresa please listen to me,' he fell and hit his head on the edge of the stairs. I only turned when I realized I wasn't hearing his voice anymore."
"Ouch… that's sad.what happened after?" Damian muttered, already sitting down.
Theresa suddenly laughed.
"We lived happily ever after."
"Be serious." Damian
"Okay okay! We rushed him to the clinic. I wasn't allowed to operate on him—medical ethics—but I kept praying to God that if he survived the fall, I would forget the fact that he cheated. And yes… he survived."
A pause.
"Days after, he explained to me that my best friend had threatened to leak a very deep secret from my past if she didn't have a night with him. He had no option but to do it to save me."
"Wow… that's huge, I doubt if I can do that." Damian laughed
"Well! He wasn't in power like you. He also didn't know my dad was power itself, so he took the bait."
She let out a soft breath.
"I hated myself for that—for lying to him. But I had to move past it, and now we are married with a cute baby girl."
"Does he know now that Uncle Joe is your father, you idiot?" Damian asked
"Of course. I couldn't hide it after that." She said letting out a smile
Damian smirked faintly
"You've grown so much, Damian. From that boy who used to wander around looking for food for his little brother… to the man who now commands power. I am so happy for you."
Her voice softened further.
"Back then, when my father brought you home, I was angry. I thought the love he had for me would now be diverted to you. But later I realized I was wrong. He brought me a younger brother to always look after instead of those dolls that couldn't talk. Time has passed…" Theresa sighed
"Sister…" Damian called softly
"Yes, my baby." She replied warmly
"Should I let it go just like you did?" His voice cracked slightly.
"Everyone's story doesn't have to end the same way. It doesn't have to follow the same pattern. But Dad taught us not to handle situations with our emotions." She said gently
A beat.
"And if you ask me, I'll tell you to hear her out. Not like you've never cheated, Damian."
She smirked
"No, I won't take that. I've never cheated."
Theresa laughed.
"Back in high school, you took in another girl and started calling her 'sister.' That counts as cheating too, just so you know."
"That was to sleep with her."
He let out a low laugh.
"Mr. Right-handman, I have an emergency now. You should go see Father… or should I say Uncle Joe?"
The line went dead.
"Hey Fred, call Nico. Let's go see Uncle Joe," Damian said over the phone.
"But sir, it's late. Do you think he—?"
"Uncle Joe sleeps during the day. Nights are when he feasts," Damian cut in as he headed straight to the car.
Fred and Nico joined him outside.
"Tonight, I'll drive," Damian said, heading for the driver's seat.
"Sir… is there a reason?" Nico asked.
"He drives to clear his head," Fred replied.
Damian smirked.
"You know me too well, Fred. Maybe I should sack you?"
"No sir—sorry sir," Fred said quickly.
They both got into the car.
The drive was calm.
Quiet.
No one spoke… until—
"Yeah Nico… about your new girl. How's it going?" Damian asked casually.
Nico lit up immediately.
"Oh sir! You remembered?"
"Of course."
"We had a night together yesterday," Nico said, smiling like a child.
Fred turned sharply.
"Nico?? In the middle of this chaos, you had a night with someone?"
"Nahhh, don't do that Fred," Damian cut in with a faint smile.
"My problem is my problem, not our problem. So why can't he have a night with someone?"
"No sir, it's still our problem… but I was just caught up," Nico said, scratching his head.
"That's fine, Nico. I'm not angry either way," Damian replied.
Then his eyes flicked to the mirror.
"Fred… you should take your love life seriously."
Fred sighed.
"Since I haven't found the one I want, I'll just stick with working for now."
"Tell us—what's your spec? I want to know," Damian said.
"I've been dying to know," Nico added immediately.
Fred hesitated, then spoke.
"A girl like my mom… traditional…"
Silence.
Damian and Nico exchanged a look through the mirror—
—and burst out laughing.
"Man… maybe in your next life," Nico said.
And just like that, they pulled up at Uncle Joe's house.