Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress 211 Hope Died as Quickly as It Arrived

The Crown Club in the main Crown Hotel was pretty packed. An international DJ entertained the rowdy crowd with his upbeat and sensational music. He had large headphones on his head and his hands magically danced on his turntable and mixer that he strategically set up on his table. The people below the stage had their hands in the air, their bodies radically swaying and jumping through the beats.

The loud sound from the high definition speakers drowned the clattering of bottles and glasses from the people who were partying and trying to get wasted on a Saturday night. Neon lights of blue, red, green flashed and struck the dance floor, making the night club the best weekend excursion.

Apart from the constant elegant parties made up of charities and pretentious social gatherings, this was the kind of scene that Damien had been used to for many years — before this year. Being the man that he was, there was really nothing else that enticed him a lot.

Not until he met Katherine Miller. Ah, that's right. She's not a Miller. She's Katherine Young.

How the hell that happened was still beyond Damien. And the more he thought about it, the more his mind clouded.

It had been more than a week since the last time that he had seen her. On August 31st, they had one of the greatest mornings since they lived together. Everything was almost perfect that day. The flowers in the kitchen and in the garden seemed colorful. The air was lighter and her smile was brighter than the day before. How odd that he noticed those little things, not knowing it was the last day that he was able to appreciate them.

Ever since she turned her back, everything else around Damien became dry and bleak. He was vacantly staring straight ahead, but the colors in the club didn't even register in his eyes. The food he ate since were all tasteless — not that he was eating any. He couldn't even remember the last time he ate.

The music was all flat and the voices around him, he didn't really care. He couldn't—didn't want to hear anything. His senses basically refused to function.

Had he tried looking for her?

Of course, he had. He searched the entire city high and low for countless hours, not knowing where to actually look for her.

Damien lost track of time. It had been exactly eight days since but for him, it felt like it had been years.

His fingers wrapped around the glass of whiskey. He stared at the colored liquid — the colored liquid that had been his breakfast, lunch, and dinner — before drinking the last shot. The burning liquid traveled down his throat for the nth time.

Jeffrey entered the VIP section clad in a rolled-up long sleeve sweatshirt and dark pants. He glanced at Damien — who was unshaven, had disheveled hair and only wearing a plain t-shirt under his black trenchcoat — before taking the seat next to Caleb. 

His eyes darted to the man on the corner of the booth and his brows furrowed. "What is he doing here? Is he lost?" he asked, nodding his head to William who was minding his own business despite hearing Jeffrey's obvious curiosity towards his presence.

Caleb shrugged, glancing at William and then Damien. "I don't know. He was already here when I arrived."

William and Damien were less than two meters apart, not really talking but the usual tension between them was absent. It was quite strange but at the same time, it isn't.

Jeffrey decided to ignore William and leaned closer to Caleb. "How is he?"

Caleb shook his head, his gaze never leaving Damien as he answered, "He's… I don't know how to describe it. It's like he's not here."

"What about… Katherine?" Jeffrey lowered his voice as he said her name, afraid to catch Damien's attention. "Did you find her?"

"No. I tried…"

"Does that mean… the… summer party's a bust?"

Caleb snapped his head to the side, his big hand landing a heavy smack on the back of Jeffrey as he bit out, "Idiot."

"Aw!" Jeffrey arched forward, feeling Caleb's brutal slap through his spine. "I was just—" His voice trailed off when met Caleb's glare. "I'm not being a jerk—'kay maybe I am a little. I like Katherine, okay? But I'm also caught up with my prob—"

"Yeah yeah. Save it." Caleb shook his head. "That party's still going to happen. Markus informed me that Katherine managed to finalize the planning last Friday morning. So, he only has to execute according to plan."

Jeffrey silently fist pump in his head as he pursed his lips. At least that part was still happening. He ordered his own drink and turned to Caleb again. "I still don't get what exactly happened. I only know Katherine somehow regained her memories. But why did she leave?"

"Beats me. Damien wouldn't tell me." Caleb felt slightly hurt that his friend didn't tell him the whole thing but Damien had always been secretive since they were young when it came to Park Family or his own problems, so he didn't let it bother him that much. He just wished that he could do something to help.

Caleb, Jeffrey and William's attention snapped towards Damien getting up from the couch. They watched as he walked away without saying anything.

"He's not going to the little boy's room, is he?" Jeffrey wondered.

William got up, dropping a few bills near his glass before following Damien out of the club. The other two only noticed that Damien left a hundred dollar bill by his glass. "Come on, let's go." Caleb nudged Jeffrey off the couch.

…

Minutes later, the four of them were inside Damien's Range Rover Sport with Jeffrey behind the wheel. For the past few days, Damien had been aimlessly driving around the city at night, hoping he would find Katherine in a random street.

He had been thinking about what he would say once he finds her but what could he possibly say to her? It surely wouldn't be a happy reunion.

Damien's head rested against the front seat window, his eyes staring outside — mostly looking if he would luckily see anything that was remotely resembling "Katherine…" He straightened up.

"Stop the car," he said coldly.

Jeffrey furrowed his brows, they were in the middle of a crowded street. "What? But we're—"

"I said stop the car!" he yelled.

Jeffrey stepped on the brakes as he muttered, "It's your car. I won't be paying any fines."

The vehicle hadn't even been properly parked to the side when Damien had already pushed the door open and climbed out of it. The other three followed him as he raced through the sea of people in City Square.

Damien swore he saw Katherine among the crowd. She was wearing a black leather jacket and jeans — he knew her every angle.

"Bro, where are you going?" Caleb's loud voice sounded a few feet from Damien who was busy searching everywhere.

"Katherine. I saw Katherine," Damien responded.

The other three helped to look around but it was impossible to find her there. Minutes had passed but Damien never saw the familiar figure again. His heart was racing. For the first time in days, he had found hope but it died as quickly as it arrived when he came to realize – what if it was all in his head?

William's hand clamped on Damien's shoulder, "Let's go."

Damien's dark gaze met William's concerned stare. He ran a hand on his face and then his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"I'll send a few men here to search the area. Why don't we wait for news somewhere else?" William lightly dragged his stubborn cousin away from the crowd and back to the car.

All of them went back to Crown Hotel and stayed in a penthouse suite. The entire night was spent waiting for news from William's men who were currently searching the City Square.

Damien stood before the floor-to-ceiling window when he heard footsteps coming towards him.

"Here." William handed Damien a bottle of water as he sipped his own.

Mindlessly, Damien received it but only held it in his hand. "Why are you helping me?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you here on a Saturday evening, helping me instead of doing whatever it is you do. Aren't you supposed to… take what I have away from me?"

William snorted. "Yeah. But it's no fun when all your guards are down. It's boring."

Damien glanced at William's way and scoffed. The arrogant prick was trying to be nice and it wasn't so bad.

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Chapter end