Ghost City

25

Damien's POV
I entered the room we were staying at and placed the bags that I was carrying down. Yesterday, Sagacity, Aurora, and I had went on a little tour around Paris. We didn't get to go everywhere, of course, but we visited a few popular tourist destinations. While we were on the tour, we had passed by a jewelry store, and I had noticed that a few caught the eyes of both Aurora and Sagacity. I also saw a few items on our way back that I had wanted to get for them, so I went back to the sites today to pick them up. I peeked into the bedroom and saw no one there, so I assumed the two were chilling on the balcony, the next place I went after I hid the jewelries in the suit I planned to wear tonight.

"Daddy!" Aurora smiled while running to me, and I crouched on a knee and opened my arms. Once she hugged me, I lifted her and kissed her forehead while ruffling her hair, and she giggled in response.

I walked the two of us over to Sagacity and placed a kiss on her forehead as well. "Where were you?" She slightly frowned.

"I wanted to surprise the both of you with some things, but my phone died on the way. I didn't mean to worry you. I'm sorry," I apologized as I stroke her cheek, and she nodded. "Did you eat dinner as yet?"

I was hoping she'd say that they didn't because I had already booked a private night dinner cruise across the Seine River.

She shook her head, "We were waiting on you so that we'd eat together."

I smiled, "Good. I wanna take you and Aurora out tonight."

With a playful frown, Sagacity asked, "Is this part of the surprise?"

"You can say that," I answered, not wanting to give anything away.

She smiled, "Okay."

The three of us walked to the bedroom and got dressed, and once we were all ready, we motioned to leave. Sagacity and Aurora spotted the bags on the floor and both gave me suspicious looks. I chuckled, "Those are for when we come back."

Three hours later
I reached into my pocket and took out the first jewelry box, which held a necklace for Aurora. I opened it, and Aurora held her cheeks while gasping, which caused Sagacity and me to chuckle.

"I love it, daddy!" Aurora gushed as she reached for the pendant. She ran her thumb over the heart and the diamond in the center.

"Would you like to put it on now?" I asked, and she eagerly nodded, putting a smile on my face. I took the necklace out of the box and unhooked it.

I then connected around Aurora's neck, and she bounced eagerly while saying, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank youuu!"

"You're welcome, Princess," I smiled, and she went in to eating dessert while one hand continuously trailed the heart pendant.

I shifted my focus to Sagacity and smiled, "And for you..." her face lit up immediately as a smile came across her face. I reached into my pocket and took out the box, but it began to fall from my hand. I crouched on a knee to pick it up, and since I was already in front of her, I remained on my knee as I opened the box, revealing the earrings I had gotten for her. Her smile faded a bit, causing me to immediately frown. "You don't like them?"

"Oh! No, I do. They're stunning," she smiled, but it didn't look as wide as it was before I revealed the gift.

"Are you sure? I...saw you looking at them, or at least I thought it was this pair that you were looking at. Was it the other? I can go back tomorrow and-" I rambled until she cut me off.

She shook her head, "No, no need to. These are very beautiful." She smiled as she took the box from my hands, and I stood and brushed my knee off. "I have to use the bathroom real quick, but thank you, Damien. I love it."

She stood from the table and gave me a quick smile before speed walking to the bathroom, leaving me alone with a bunch of questions. Had I done something wrong?

Aurora looked over to me and slightly frowned, "I thought you were going to ask Mommy to marry you, Daddy, like in the princess movies."

Fuck, I thought to myself. Sagacity probably thought I was going to propose again. At least that would explain the reason behind what looked like forced smiles from her.

"Come, Rory," I said while taking her hand and walking off to the direction of the bathroom.

"Are we going to the bathroom?" Aurora questioned, and I nodded. "Good because I need to pee when Mommy comes out."

I cracked a little smile and lifted her into my left arm. Once we got to the bathroom, I knocked on the door. "One second!" she said quickly while turning on the faucet.

"I need to pee, Mommy," Aurora called out.

"Is Daddy with you?" Sagacity asked.

I called out, "No, he's still at the table. He just likes to send his daughter unattended to the bathroom." Sagacity opened the door and gave an unamused look before taking Aurora from my hands. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she nodded, but I could tell that she wasn't. She wouldn't even make eye contact with me.

"I love you," I said, hoping to cheer her up a bit, but she just nodded before closing the door to make Aurora use the bathroom.

Damn, I thought to myself. She didn't even bother to say it back.