Ran Away Pregnant Came Back Alpha Heiress (Amelia and Damien) novel Chapter 231

Chapter 231

Amelia’s POV

My heart was lodged in my throat as he walked away from me. I couldn’t explain my feelings, as I didn’t fully understand, but I knew, without question, that I did not want him to walk out of my life again without a way for me to get in contact with him.

To my surprise, my cry actually worked, and the man stopped. He remained a few feet away from me, but he half- turned toward me. He didn’t say anything, just glanced back at me expectantly, like he was waiting for me to say my piece now that I had his attention.

I needed to speak quickly. He was already half-turned from me, and I knew he wouldn’t fully come back. If I wanted to stay in touch with him, I needed a way to do so.

That meant I needed his name.

“Please,” I said. “Please, just tell me your name.”

He hesitated, his gaze dropping downward for a moment before looking back up at me. Then, just when I thought he would deny me, he surprised me for a second time.

“Damien.”

Hearing the name made my heart flutter. This was Alpha Damien? Everything about him had been blocked on the computer, even his picture. To see him now felt so surreal.

“Damien,” I replied, and found that I liked the way it felt on my tongue. I couldn’t resist saying it again.” Damien.”

“Please, don’t,” he said, and his voice cracked.

I blinked, startled by his sudden softness. Immediately, I wanted to give into his request, but I didn’t understand why he had made it. “What’s wrong with how I say it?”

“It’s not how you say it,” Damien said. “It’s not fault of yours, miss

“Annette,” I said.

He looked at me as he said, “Annette.” Then, as if shaking himself from a trance, he looked away. “You remind me of someone I used to know.” Softer, he said, “Someone I lost.”

At once, my heart broke for this man. His face didn’t change as he spoke, as if he was accustomed to hiding his emotions, but his shaking, low voice told me all I needed to know about the depths of his grief.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t mean to cause you pain.”

“Then don’t say my name,” Damien said. “And do your best to avoid me, when you can. For my sake if not for your own.”

“Why would I need to avoid you?”

He turned fully away from me now, showing me his back. “You’ll get hurt,” he said, then started walking.

I didn’t know how to counter that. My heart countered at once with, I don’t care, but I couldn’t make myself say that aloud. The truth was, I was scared of being hurt. As I couldn’t remember my previous experiences, I worried each hurt might feel brand new.

1/3

So I stood frozen as he walked away from me. He went to the stairs, then up toward the box seats without looking back. When he was gone from my sight, I first went to the bathroom so that I wouldn’t be a liar, and then returned to the main auditorium and my seat at Ian’s side.

Ian was enraptured with the show, but he glanced at me to smile for a moment before looking away again.

On the chair arm separating us, he turned his hand so that his palm was upright. It was a strange way to have it and couldn’t be comfortable. He couldn’t think I would hold his hand, could he? He didn’t know each other well enough for that, and my thoughts and my heart were still muddled with feelings for Damien.

Ignoring lan’s hand, I tried to focus on the show. It was entertaining, the actors were talented, and the songs catchy. Halfway through, the male and female lead sang a romantic song to one another.

While they looked into each other’s eyes, I glanced over and up to the box seat where I knew Damien was sitting.

He was there, returned to his daughters. All three of them were watching the show with rapt interest.

I kept looking for a while, silently willing Damien to look back at me.

My entire heart felt wrapped up in him and his loss. Whoever I reminded him of, that grief must have been overwhelming, to not even want me to call him by his name.

I stared at him, perhaps rudely, as I waited for him to look back. But he didn’t.

For the rest of the show, and even after, he didn’t.

It was almost as if he was avoiding me entirely.

Damien’s POV

That night, the girls were happy but exhausted and only needed to hear one story before they were fast asleep. I carefully tucked each of them in, pulling the blankets up to their chins while making certain their stuffed animals were in the right, protective places at their bedsides.

Then, with the girls safe and asleep, I headed downstairs and straight to my den where I had a dry bar.

Being a father now, I didn’t typically imbibe any alcohol anymore, especially the heavy stuff. But today, seeing that woman who looked so much like Amelia, talking to her, having heard her say my name… Gods, it was too much to bear.

If ever there was a time for a glass of alcohol, it was after experiencing that.

My grief was heavy, weighing me down in ways that I hadn’t felt in some time. Though I still mourned Amelia, I had been able to distract myself with caring for our daughters.

Seeing this woman – Annette – who looked so much like Amelia, had brought all of that pain I’d been avoiding crashing down onto me.

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