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

Chapter 8: Old Flame

Damian and Aimee moved in the same circles yet it had been years since they really met face to face. He thought it would still hurt to see her, but standing just a couple of feet away from her gave him not a single pang in his chest. On the contrary, he was quite pleased to see her again especially that she also seemed to be living an exceptionally happy life.

"Long time no see, Damian!" She greeted enthusiastically.

In the past, his eyes were always drawn towards her lips every time she uttered a word. And it came as a surprise to him that his eyes never wavered and that he could look straight into her bright green eyes.

"Yes, I believe it's been a while." Damian replied.

Terry dragged him out of bed early that morning for something that was not even part of his schedule. He still wondered why he gave her the pass to his pad and he was considering to finally change his code just so he could keep her out until he was up, which was certainly not at seven in the morning.

"Why are we here again?" He could not help but ask.

"Didn't Terry tell you? We are going to audition for a film today. But," she said before turning her head from side to side. 

She leaned closer and he detected the same perfume he had always known. "But I think this is just formality. Let's make a bet, we are already signed for this film."

"Film? What?" 

But before Damian could get the facts straight out of Aimee's mouth, he was already pulled aside by Terry. He thought that if he could not get the answers from Aimee then he must make it a mission to get it straight out of his manager's mouth. It seemed like Terry was taking her role as his manager to a whole new level, and it irked him that she would not tell him anything about things that concerned his life and career.

"What's this, Terry? I've never heard of this before." Damian started but was silenced by the look on his manager's face.

Without uttering a word, Terry could get him to shut up. For some reasons, he never had tried to actually disregard that look of dominance on her face. Thinking about it made him realize that he had always submitted to whatever it was that his manager demanded. She might have helped him reach his current standing but he damn well knew that he had equally worked hard for it. The things she had done for him were nothing compared to the ones he had to go through on his own.

"I found you a new project. How come you sound ungrateful?" 

"You know that I am always thankful for your hard-work, but at least let me know what you are getting me into. This is my life, Terry. Let me live it as I see fit." He could not help the sound of exasperation to lace each of the words he spoke.

 "Well, you have a funny way of showing your gratitude. Careful, Damian. Now be nice and do what you are supposed to do. But I doubt that you don't appreciate me bringing her here." She uttered in that tone of hers that held so much confidence.

Damian could not tell what game his manager was playing. But deliberately hinting on his past with Aimee was Terry's way of taking the game to a whole new level. And this game is the kind that he did not every wish to play.

"We have long been over, Terry. What's up with you?" He could not go about it in a roundabout manner. If he wanted to know what the woman was cooking then he had to go direct to the point.

"I don't know, Damian. Figure it out. Let's go."

Aimee had been right that everything was just formality and they were actually going to be signed for the movie. He knew that whatever it was that happened between Aimee and him in the past had never made it in talk shows or gossip shows. Even so, he believed that it was their history that had encouraged the producer and the director to actually bring them together for this movie. And knowing this somehow caused some sort of unreasonable fear in his heart.

The meeting had finally ended and Damian thought that he should at least give Maggie a ring. He would never admit it to anyone, but hearing her voice on the phone could brighten up his day. However, Aimee caught him just before he could tap the call button on his screen.

"How about we go out for a cup of coffee? You know, let's catch up. What do you say?" Aimee asked in that carefree tone that had never seemed  to change.

"Absolutely. Sure." 

Once again, it shocked Damian that he did not feel any spark while chatting over coffee with Aimee. At some point, he thought that he would still have some sort of hang-over wherein just having a glance of this gorgeous woman could cause his heart to ache. He was wrong. He did not have feelings anymore.

"Where did we go wrong, Dame?" She suddenly asked with a hint of sadness in her voice.

All the while, he was sure that there were no remnants of feelings for Aimee in his heart. Well, he was absolutely wrong because hearing her say that somehow felt like she had prodded a tiny injury in his heart that was on its way to complete recovery. He had been wounded many years before, but it seemed like time did not help him heal.

"Why are you asking me this?" Damian replied with uncertainty in his voice.

"I've always been wondering, Dame. For years..."

"Aren't you seven years too late to ask that?" He could not help but  sound spiteful when he said it.

"I know, Dame. I-I made a huge mistake leaving you like tha—"

Damian refused to hear anymore from her. He just wanted to leave the place, leave her just how she leaved him more than half a decade ago. But he was still in his right mind to not cause a scene, especially now that they were to star together in a movie.

"I think it's time that we part ways. I have other things to do today. Shall we?" He finally spoke, his tone casual and controlled.

They exited the coffee shop and immediately parted ways with each of them heading to their own car. Before opening the door, Damian glanced at Aimee's direction and was taken aback by the obvious sadness marking her beautiful face. 

He drove aimlessly around the town with his mind going back to his earlier conversation with Aimee. He could not take in the fact that it took this long for the woman to actually wonder about their past. She chose to marry months after she broke up with him, and now she was acting all regretful when he had already moved on.

Damian gripped tightly on his steering wheel, his knuckles turning white from inadequate blood circulation. He should not even be feeling this way. He had been with many women after her, though he had never been serious with any of them until Maggie.

Maggie.

Guiltily, he shoved the thoughts of Aimee at the back of his head. Finally having relaxed, he decided to drive to Maggie's apartment building and give her a surprise visit.

~-~

A short chapter for all of you, Dear Readers.

Love,

The Bliss Forest