Until He Is Mine (Affaire de Coeur, #2)

Chapter 2: Convince Her

"Huh?"

"Yes, dear Margaret. We're going to a masquerade ball." Damian said it so simply that made Maggie almost want to accept his invitation.

"I don't think so." She shook her head.

"What's wrong?"

Maggie was not entirely sure if Damian was truly naive or he was just being dumb. Was not that a rhetorical question, she thought. To be seen in public with her was detrimental to his career, especially now that he was overflowing with offers and projects. It made her wonder how he could be so careless about what he had worked so hard for the past decade or so.

"Truly, Damian? Do you even hear yourself right now? Maggie pointed out.

Damian seemed to have considered what she said. But he maintained his silence and reached out for her hand. With her hand secured in his, he led her back to the lobby and they walked quietly towards the elevator.

Entering Damian's rooms, Maggie quickly made her way to the couch in his receiving area. Dropping her body on the settee, she watched him as he strode toward the same direction that she had taken. He gently settled himself next to her and sneaked an arm around her shoulders. Having him tug her form with a moderate force, she found herself pressed tightly against him with her head on his shoulder.

"Now, let's talk. What do you think about the ball?" He finally spoke.

"Like what I had said, I don't think it's proper to take me there." She responded with finality.

"And why is that?"

"Do you really need to ask a question with an obvious answer?"

Damian held her tighter against him, her head falling beneath his chin and her head pressed against his chest — quite an impressive chest, if she might add. He made a sound that was more like he was taking her question into consideration and she felt its pleasant vibration against his chest.

"I don't find any obvious answer to my question, Margaret. Tell me," Damian said.

"Damian, you know how careful we are when in public? We don't want others to know that we are...you know...tha—" Maggie was cut off midway when Damian butted in.

"We are what, Margaret?" He teased.

"That we are...we..." She could not find the courage to actually label their relationship.

They had been together for over a year now, but she always seemed to find some sort of discomfort in finding the perfect name for their relationship. She sometimes flattered herself, thinking that they were lovers. Well, they were in a relationship, but she would not go so far as calling the two of them 'lovers.' But they were definitely romantically involved and she was thoroughly in love with him, and she knew that he felt the same way about her, too. And out of nowhere did it cross her mind that they had never really said any 'I love you's to each other. 

"Let's not go off-topic, shall we?" Maggie uttered, suddenly feeling her cheeks heat up for the umpteenth time.

"You were saying?"

"It just won't do for me to come with you to the ball, Damian. For sure, there would be countless of people who move in the same world as yours in that event. Imagine the gossips that could ensue about us."

"You have a point there," he hesitantly acquiesced.

Somewhere in Maggie's heart, she felt a noticeable throbbing but she chose not to pay attention to it. She found herself unsettled by how he just agreed to what she had said. She was making a point and she wanted for him to see how much she was making sense. Then again, it must have been that a part of her wanted for him to not keep her hidden like an embarrassing secret.

"But it's a masquerade ball. Nobody would even know what you look like with half of your face hidden behind a domino mask."

"Alright, my face is concealed by a mask. But how would you introduce me had someone asked you about me?" She countered.

"We can deal with a fake name, love." Damian spoke quite decisively.

And there was another episode of throbbing in Maggie's chest that she tried to ignore. Was it not enough that he would not hold her hand in public? He would even resort to come up with fake names just for the sake of hiding her identity.

Maggie knew that it was all for Damian's continuous success. She knew for a fact that letting his fans know that he was dating someone other than those he was usually seen with could cause disturbance. In addition to that, the people around him would surely have something to say if they were to discover that he was going out with a commoner like her.

"No."

"No? Huh?"

"I won't go with you to the ball."

"You won't?"

"I won't and that's final."

She tried to push herself off Damian's chest but his hold on her had gotten firmer. With his other arm, he wrapped her in a tight embrace to which she could impossibly escape. It felt nice to be caged in his powerful arms but it was also disconcerting at the same time, considering their standing argument.

"Try seeing it from my perspective, Damian. Be reasonable." Maggie tried.

"I am being reasonable and I want you there with me. Is that too difficult for you to understand?" He sounded almost exasperated, but she sensed a tone of pleading in his manner of speaking as well.

"Why do you want me there?"

"Do I need to have any reason other than spending more time with you? 

Maggie was certain that he was just being his usual self, the one that was good with words. She was not complaining, not really. He did know how his words, especially the ones made her heart melt a thousand times over.

"You're just screwing with me." Maggie glanced up at him and she found that sudden the slow rise at the corner of his lips.

"Oh no," he snorted. "Love, you will know when exactly it is that I am screwing you."

"I'll pretend I did not hear that." She replied which earned her a bout of meaningful chuckling.

"I might have a shift on that day, you know."

"Can't you swap shifts or something with any of your co-workers?" Damian asked.

"Well...I don't know."

"Inform them as soon as you can."

Maggie tried another tactic just so she would have no need to attend the ball with him. Finally, she decided to make use of the most common  — and most annoying  —  excuse women use when concerning parties and such.

"I have nothing to wear." She tried.

"That's not a problem," Damian responded. "We have enough time to go shopping."

Maggie snarled at that and Damian countered it by saying in a falsetto voice, "Oh, I love shopping!"

It seemed that Maggie had no way out of this ball, after all. She was reluctant about attending the ball with him yet a part of her was also curious as to what it was like to be surrounded by famous celebrities and the like. Though she was not completely interested about being in the presence of such well-known people, she realized she was also a normal human being who was slightly eager to learn about a world she was not well-acquainted with.

In her head, she was wondering about what it would be like to partake in that kind of glamorous event. However, she had a frightening premonition that something terrible could happen if she were to truly go to the party with Damian.

~-~

Not much in this chapter. 

Thank you very much for reading this chapter, Dear Readers. I will try to write as fast as I can to bring you more updates.

Love,

The Bliss Forest