a waiter suddenly says, placing a slice of cheesecake in front of me as I looked back at him with a small smile.

"Thank you," I say, looking down at the cheesecake and taking another deep breath. After what happened, I haven't eaten cheesecakes because of how painful the memories were, but today was different. Today was 7 28. July 28. I visited my parents earlier like how I've always had in the past five years. I know I should be sad today, but I couldn't help but feel at ease. Of course, I still think about a lot of what-ifs, but right now, I'm contented. Maybe not happy, but contented.

I grab the fork and took a small piece. After taking a bite of it, I closed my eyes and savored the flavor. The familiar flavor made every fiber of my body shiver. The memories came crashing down on me like a landslide, and all I could do was let a tear fall.

I clenched my fork and took a deep breath, quickly opening my eyes so I could wipe my tears away. But as I opened them back, my body freezes when I saw something in front of me. It was a...

Band-Aid.

My heart was beating fast as my hands trembled, making me let go of the fork. I was afraid to look up, so scared to be disappointed like how I was every morning when I woke up in an empty bed. But as more tears streamed down my eyes, I mustered up the courage to finally look at the man standing in front of me.

Cold blue eyes that were surrounded with red because of too much crying stared down at my face. All I could do was cover my mouth in disbelief.

"Sorry I'm late...little pup," a familiar voice says, almost making my entire world stop.

"Damien..." I called out. I stared at him like he was a ghost. I kept on staring at him, expecting he'd vanish if I blink.

"Dane..." he calls back. His voice was so low and surreal that the hair on my skin quickly stood up. I missed the way my name would come out of his mouth. I thought I was dreaming. This day is too good to be true.

"May I sit down?" he suddenly asked. I gulped and quickly wiped my tears away with my bare hands. I then dared to look back at him and answered, "P-Please...sit down."

Damien puts the Band-Aid back inside his pocket and sat down in front of me. I stare into his eyes again, but it felt so unusual that I quickly had to look down at my hands that were resting on my lap. He doesn't say anything, so I don't say anything back. We sat there, silent for at least 3 more minutes before he could finally open his mouth.

"Well this is awkward," he says with a low chuckle.

I don't say anything or even look back at him.

"It has been like...4 years?" he continued.

"Five," I quickly corrected him.

Damien chuckles again and says, "Well who's counting, right?"

"I am," I whispered, but I knew Damien was able to hear it because he quickly became quiet again. Everyone inside the café was talking to each other, but somehow, the whole place felt quiet. It was like Damien and I was the only one inside.

"Look at me", he suddenly says.

I gripped the hem of my shirt as I watched my own tears fall on top of the plate.

"Dane look at me," he says again.

I couldn't move. I've waited for him for so many years and I half expected that he'll never come back. But now that he's here, I don't even know what to say.

"Please."

I took a deep breath and slowly lifted my head, only to see Damien crying like I was.

"I missed you so much Dane", he practically whispered.

"I...I thought I could do it. I thought I could live without you...but I was so wrong. I couldn't do it Dane. I couldn't continue on living with knowing the fact that I might come home and see you with someone else", Damien says as he slowly reaches out for my face, unsure if he was allowed to touch me like how he was able to touch me before.

When I knew that he was resisting, I quickly grabbed his hands and placed his palm on my cheeks. Damien wipes away the tears with his thumb.

"I waited for you for so long," I say.

Damien nods his head and replies, "I know. I'm sorry..."

"I thought I lost you. I thought I'd never see you again."

"You didn't lose me. Not again. Not anymore," Damien tells me.

I closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of his hand on my cheek. When I opened my eyes back, Damien says, "Dane...let's go home."

Chapters with [m] on the Chapter Title are chapters with intimate scenes. You might find it useful in the future *wink**wink* ;)

Chapters with are chapters that aren't entirely connected to the main storyline but they might answer some of your questions and might help you understand some things. These chapters usually

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