Do You Still Love Me When We Meet Again? (Aubrey and Damon) novel Chapter 54

Chapter 54

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A trip to the grocery store was their furthest, longest excursion. The rest of the time, they practically wanted to be locked away at home, glued to each other, watching shows, eating, talking, indulging in lingering touches, kissing, and making love.

Not a single second of it felt wasted.

Five days wasn’t long, and it had vanished in the blink of an eye.

It was the day before Christmas’s Eve.

Aubrey smiled broadly as she walked Damon to his gate, waving him off calmly and urging him to board quickly.

The moment Damon was gone, she turned, tears welling in her eyes, a gaping hole opening in her chest.

Watching the plane trace a path across the sky, an uncontrollable longing, like a wild vine, began to sprout and tangle deep in her heart.

During the Christmas, the city felt different from the rural areas.

With most of the workers having left, the entire city was eerily quiet and desolate. Only the Christmas tree at shop entrances offered a hint of holiday

cheer.

Of course, there were still some lively districts.

Like strolling through flower markets, admiring lantern displays in parks, catching promotional shows at large malls, or gathering in squares for

countdowns.

But these places were packed with people.

With Damon gone, she had absolutely no interest in any of it.

Unlike previous years, this Christmas, she was going home for Christmas’s dinner.

Her mother, Layla, true to form, prepared a lavish spread for dinner.

In the past, whenever chicken was on the menu, if she didn’t grab one of the two drumsticks on the plate, Brendan would invariably devour one, then the other, habitually finishing both.

Her mother never said a word about it.

But this year was distinctly different.

Brendan had just reached for a drumstick when Layla’s fork slapped his hand. He flinched back immediately, a bewildered expression on his face.

“You need to lose weight. Why do you need a drumstick?” Layla snapped. She picked up one drumstick and placed it on pregnant Chloe’s plate, then put the other one on her plate.

Brendan stared, completely speechless.

Aubrey, too, felt a little overwhelmed, almost, flattered.

After the Christmas dinner and receiving a gift of from her mother, she left the house.

The biting wind cut through her as she walked along the hazy night streets. Her hands were shoved deep into her coat pockets, and she gazed up at the inky black sky. Damon, unbidden, crept into her thoughts again, slowly, irrevocably, consuming her every waking thought.

Because of dry weather, the city had banned firecrackers this year, and even fireworks were forbidden in residential areas. Many families had taken their children to the countryside to celebrate the Christmas or gone on trips, leaving the residential area as quiet as a ghost town.

The biting wind stung her face.

Once she entered the subway, the platform was nearly empty. Passengers sat quietly, heads bowed over their phones, their tired faces devoid of any holiday cheer.

Her pocket buzzed.

Aubrey pulled out her phone, and seeing Damon’s message on her Whatsapp, her lips–which had drooped all day–curved into an involuntary smile. She eagerly tapped it open.

“Bree, Merry Christmas.”

Seeing that message, Aubrey felt her vibrant heartbeat spring back to life. She immediately typed back, “Merry Christmas.”

Damon:“Send me some gift for the Christmas.”

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Chapter 54

Aubrey was surprised, freezing for a few seconds. “Me? Send you one?” she replied, uncertain.

Damon:“According to Crestview City’s customs, anyone unmarried can still receive a gift, can’t they?”

Aubrey gave a helpless smile, finding him acting more and more like a child.

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Without hesitation, she transferred him $999.00, attaching a note: Damon: Merry Christmas, health and happiness.

Damon accepted it instantly and sent back an animated sticker: one little character grabbing another and kissing them wildly. Above it, four small words floated: Love you, baby.

Aubrey smiled sweetly and replied, “Well, I’m not married either.”

Damon:“The gift I got for you is in the drawer of my bedside table, tucked inside a big red envelope.”

Filled with anticipation, Aubrey looked up at the display screen, counting how many stops until she was home.

The moment she stepped off the subway, she practically flew home.

She pushed open Damon’s bedroom door and, in the drawer of his nightstand, she found it: a large fabric red envelope, about the size of an A4 sheet of paper. Embroidered on it were four characters: ‘Peace and Joy.‘

For her?

Aubrey wondered why it was so substantial. She quickly set down her purse and phone, then picked up the surprisingly heavy fabric envelope. Sitting on his bed, she carefully, almost reverently, began to open it.

From inside, she pulled out a thick stack of documents.

There were property deeds, insurance policies, investment agreements, a bank card, and ten solid gold bars.

Tucked amongst them was a plain white sheet of paper, covered in Damon’s distinctive, flourishing script, penned in ink.

“Aubrey,” it read, “the house, the insurance policies, the investments, the ten gold bars, and the bank card–these are all my Christmas’s gifts to you. This is an unconditional offering, with no strings attached, and not contingent on marriage. Please sign the attached contracts. The bank card PIN is your birthday, and there’s one million dollars in the account.–Damon.”

As a lawyer, seeing “an unconditional gift, not contingent on marriage” on the white paper, along with Damon’s signature and thumbprint, moved her deeply, her eyes welling up with tears.

She could see the raw intensity, the fierce devotion, in Damon’s love for her.

A dull ache settled in her chest.

It was a bittersweet blend of emotion, both deeply touched and profoundly sad.

She was the one who had crafted the image of a woman obsessed with wealth, the ‘gold–digger‘ who’d broken up with him five years ago for money.

Even after she’d played the part so convincingly, Damon still loved her, even showering her with a profound sense of security.

Before they were even married, he was unconditionally giving her a car, a house, gold, investments, insurance, and cash–everything.

Tears welled, then spilled, landing on the fabric pouch and blooming into a small, dark, damp stain.

She didn’t sign a single document. Instead, she carefully placed everything back into the fabric pouch and returned it to the drawer.

She rolled onto the bed, pulling Damon’s pillow close, hugging it tightly to her chest. Burying her face in the soft fabric, she inhaled deeply, a faint, familiar scent of his hair still clinging to it.

It was a mercy that her longing was silent; otherwise, its roar would have been deafening.

Time dragged on, slow as a tortoise, each agonizing minute and second spent waiting, consumed by her longing.

She counted the days until Damon’s return to Crestview City.

She leaned on messages and video calls on her Whatsapp to temper her yearning for him.

It was the third day since Damon had left.

Deep in the night, Aubrey, a notoriously light sleeper, was jolted from her half–sleep by a noise coming from the living room.

She woke with a start, panic clawing at her as she sat bolt upright in bed, staring at the sliver of light beneath the door, listening intently.

There was a sound. Her heart hammered in her chest. She fumbled for her phone, quickly dialing Damon’s number. She had to confirm it wasn’t him

< Chapter 54

returning before she dared dial 911.

She was calling Damon.

But then, a phone started ringing, right outside her bedroom door.

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In that moment, Aubrey felt the entire world hum with the same electrifying joy that pulsed through her own heart.

She tossed her phone aside, scrambling from bed so fast she didn’t even register her bare feet hitting the icy floor as she raced out of the room.

The moment she swung the door open, the living room lights were blazing, and there he was: Damon, impossibly handsome in a long black trench coat, having just slipped into his house slippers, phone in one hand, suitcase in the other.

“Damon!” Aubrey’s voice, thick with emotion, came out as a choked sob.

Damon’s gaze shot up just as a slender, lithe figure launched herself at him.

Taken completely by surprise, he watched her slender form leap onto him. His large hand, still clutching his phone, swiftly hooked around her delicate waist, steadying her effortlessly.

Aubrey’s hands hooked around Damon’s neck, her legs wrapping around his powerful waist as she buried her face against his chest. The genuine warmth of his embrace, the familiar, clean scent of him–it was all real. Tears welled in her eyes, and her voice, thick with emotion, was a choked whisper. “You said you’d be gone for five days, didn’t you? Why are you back in three?”

Damon held her with one arm, his other hand still dragging his suitcase as he headed towards his room. His voice, still laced with the chill of his journey, feigned a playful annoyance.“I missed you so much, I came back early just to see you. And you, you ungrateful thing, you’re complaining I’m back too soon?”

“I wasn’t complaining,” Aubrey murmured, burrowing deeper into his neck, her lips brushing against his skin.“I missed you so, so much too.”

Damon nudged the bedroom door open and flicked on a soft, warm light. He dropped his suitcase in the corner, then kicked the door shut behind

them.

He wrapped his arms around Aubrey’s waist, pulling her so tight it felt like he was trying to fuse their bodies together. Burying his face in her shoulder, he inhaled deeply, his voice rough and low,“Sleep in my room tonight, okay?”

Aubrey knew exactly what he was asking. She nodded.

Damon sat on the bed, and Aubrey immediately straddled his lap, clinging to him, refusing to loosen her grip.

Damon gave her waist a gentle push, but Aubrey only clung tighter.

Damon chuckled indulgently.“Bree, let go.”

She mumbled, “I don’t want to.”

Damon let out a soft sigh, his smile like warm honey, his voice turning syrupy sweet.“How am I supposed to kiss you when you’re holding me so tight?”

Aubrey smiled softly, releasing her grip and pulling away from his shoulders.

Damon reached out and cupped her delicate, fair face. His gaze, burning with intensity, swept over her bright, lively eyes, her gracefully arched brows, her high–bridged nose, finally settling on her soft, pink lips.

Their hot breaths mingled.

Aubrey waited for his kiss, but he only stared deeply at her. She couldn’t wait any longer. She hooked her arms around his neck and kissed him first.

Damon’s hands went to her waist, deepening the kiss, and he pulled her down onto the large bed with him.

All their longing transformed into desire, a wild, passionate entanglement throughout the sleepless night.

The night was exquisitely enchanting.

Later.

Damon asked her, “Why didn’t you accept the money I sent you?”

She said, “You are coming back to be with me, that’s the most precious gift you could give me. I don’t need anything else.”

Damon frowned, displeasure coloring his tone.“That makes me feel like you’re not serious about us.”

She declared emphatically, “Don’t overthink it. I genuinely want to be with you.”

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It wasn’t until March, with Damon’s transfer back to New Haven City drawing nearer, that Aubrey, after relentlessly monitoring her father’s appeal and repeatedly calling the State Attorney General’s Office for updates, finally got the verdict.

It was a crushing blow

The appeal was rejected.

The news detonated in Aubrey’s chest like a massive nuclear bomb, shattering all her hopes into dust that scattered on the wind, leaving nothing

behind.

She couldn’t accept it. She refused to believe it was true.

How could the appeal be denied when the evidence was so undeniably clear?

The law was supposed to be just.

It had to be deliberate.

That same afternoon, Aubrey took a two–hour high–speed train to the State Attorney General’s Office, demanding to see the Attorney General.

A staff member stopped her. “The Attorney General is too busy to see you,” he said dismissively.“You’ll need to follow protocol and make an appointment.”

Follow protocol?

Her father’s case had been decided years ago; going through proper channels would take an eternity, with no guarantee she’d ever get to see the Attorney General.

“I demand to see the Attorney General… Is he corrupt? Is that why he’s too afraid to face me?”