Until I met you

"What is it, Damien Jaeger?" I asked after a forever silence. The tension that was building up inside of me could choke me. I really hoped his news wouldn't either.

"They are…" Damien Jaeger started, "Ella, Natalie and Stacy.."

"None of them are the mothers of my kids."

"What?!" I asked in disbelief, "H-how?"

Damien Jaeger sighed. It was obvious that he didn't fancy this discussion, "I've had a problem with women, Mélie."

"Until I met you." He added, looking at me with tender eyes. The tension in me instantly melted. He caressed my hands softly, "I grew up under the spotlight as the only son of a millionaire father."

"Being my father's son, I would attend every function with him while my mother was sick and dying. We weren't that close. My father and I wondered why he liked showing off the fake bond we shared to his millionaire associates."

He continued, "I started getting alot of attention shortly before I hit puberty. The older girls were already having their eyes on me...I couldn't resist them."

My hand stiffened as he uttered those last words. He didn't seem to notice as he continued, "Then something terrible happened."

"What happened, Damien Jaeger?" I asked after he went silent again. I could see the sadness in his eyes.

"I lost my mother." He said in a whisper as if he didn't want to hear what he was saying, "She died the day before I graduated highschool."

The atmosphere fell silent again. This time I didn't urge him to talk. When he found strength, he continued, "You would suspect what effect that would have on me, Mélie. I was very close to my mom even though she spent her last years battling with cancer."

"I started doing everything to distract myself from my agony. I rebelled against my father, I got drunk at parties, made unnecessary purchases, went to strip-clubs and my favourite part was distracting myself with women."

"My father was very disappointed in me. He threatened to deny me my inheritance and forced me to attend college. That's when I met Natalie…" His voice trailed off and I knew that this was just the beginning of his story.

"Natalie was a...nerd." He chuckled, "She wore these large glasses and these clothes that gave her a grandmother look." "I used to tease her a lot and she hated me for it."

"Other people teased her too." He continued, "I don't know why, but I didn't take that very likely!"

"You fell in love with her?" I had to ask. Damien Jaeger looked at me for some time as if critically studying my expression.

"I did."

"What happened next?"

"My bad habits ruined everything." He lowered his head to the floor, "I couldn't control my urges."

"You mean you…"

"Yes."

He puffed a heavy breath, "I met Stacy in a club in Vegas and we got caught up in a spur of the moment."

"I met Ella shortly after and the same thing happened."

My heart suddenly felt heavy as he spoke. There was nothing really special about that night that the two of us had shared. He had spent nights like that in the arms of other women. I suddenly lost interest in hearing the rest of the story but his voice told me that he wasn't finished,
"Stacy told me she was carrying my child shortly after."

"She wanted us to get married...but Ella wasn't far behind. So I carried out my investigation." He continued, "None of them were actually carrying my babies."

"They belonged to someone else,"He added. I could trace a hint of hurt in his voice, "I thought that maybe that was how the universe wanted to punish me by not giving me what my heart yearned for; A real family."

"Then I met you." He raised his eyes from the floor and dug into me, "You were different, Mélie. And I knew after that night that we shared, that it wasn't going to be the end."

"And so I made sure to keep an eye on you."

My eyes bulged open, "You mean you've been watching me after that night?"

"Everything you did, Mélie." Damien Jaeger replied, "When you went to work in that hotel, I made sure I was there."

"When you lost your job because you got pregnant and started sleeping on duty, I watched, Mélie. When you got offered a job at StancInk, I knew all about it."

He continued talking to my bewilderment, "When Darcy had to come into the world 3 months too soon and your friend became your crazy driver, I saw."

"Why didn't you do anything?" I asked, stupefied beyond imagination.

"I was scared, Mélie." Damien Jaeger confessed, "I didn't know how to do things the right way without messing it up."

"I didn't want to hurt you." He added and his melancholic dark brown eyes stared into my teary ones. A tear rolled down my cheeks and he brushed his thumb through my face to clean it.

"I'm sorry." I whispered silently and Damien Jaeger drew me in for a hug. His heart beating against my ear told me of a pained heart and I couldn't help but feel his pain.

"Damien?" I called after a while, still resting my head on the comfort of his chest.

"Yes?"

"What are they doing in your house?"

"They were part of my plan to get you."

"How?" I had to ask.

"I know it sounds dumb and all...but I needed someone that could see through my flaws and fight for me."

I laughed. I couldn't imagine fighting those crazy women in the mansion.

"They don't know yet that I know that the babies they claim to be mine aren't mine." Damien Jaeger said and I gasped as I thought of the drama that would soon unfold among them. This was crazy. Damien Jaeger knew he was raising kids that weren't his but still decided to act cool for 7 whole years!

"What about Natalie?" I had almost forgotten about her.

"Natalie's fiance died a year ago." He said and I felt sorry for her, "But she doesn't know anything. She was surprised when I asked her to make you think that she was the mother of my child but she didn't ask any questions."

"It's for the sake of the friendship that we shared." Damien Jaeger added with sentiment.

The room fell silent again.

"I love you, Damien Jaeger." I said, looking him dead in the eyes this time with a confidence that wasn't there before.

Damien Jaeger gave me the smile of an angel, "I love you, Mélie."

"I love you." He repeated those 3 words with sincerity and planted a kiss on my forehead.