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"I love you", I heard someone whisper in my ear.

I quickly opened my eyes and realized that it was already morning.

I rubbed my eyes and looked at my side to see an empty spot.

"Damien?" I called out as I realized that no one was inside the room.

My heart started beating fast as I quickly stood up from my bed.

"D-Damien?! Damien?!" I shouted, the panic suddenly consuming me.

I immediately went out of the room; suddenly scared to realize that what happened yesterday was just a bittersweet dream.

But when I saw Damien sitting on the floor feeding Hunter, I thought I'd end up fainting from complete relief.

"Dane?" Damien asked as he turned around to look at me.

I stared at him. Thinking if I should pinch myself just to check if I was really awake or still dreaming.

"You're here", I simply say, then tears suddenly poured out of my eyes, quickly making Damien, and even Hunter, run towards me.

"Dane, what's wrong?" he asked me. Grabbing hold of my shoulder as a sign of concern.

Tears continued to pour out of my eyes as I said, "I thought you were gone. I thought I was just dreaming and you really didn't come back."

"Oh baby. I'm here, your daddy's here so you don't have to worry", Damien says as he wipes my tears away.

When Damien noticed that I still haven't calmed down, he suddenly leaned closer and whispered in my ear, "If it was all a dream then let's go back to sleep together."

"That doesn't even make any sense", I tell him, making Damien laugh.

"I just wanted you to stop crying", he says as he wipes my tears away again.

Hunter, who was just sitting on the side, walks towards me and licks my feet, finally making me smile.

I took a deep breath and looked back at Damien. I pouted and said, "Why weren't you beside me when I woke up?"

Damien stares at me, and then he suddenly grabbed my cheeks and gave me a quick kiss.

"Ah fuck. I can't believe I survived without you for five years", he tells me, still holding my cheeks.

I bit my lower lip and leaned my forehead on his, "I love you", I tell him out of the blue.

When I knew he was a little taken aback, I continued, "You whispered that to me when you woke up right?"

Damien doesn't answer, but he smiles and nods his head.

He lets go of me and brushes my hair back with his fingers.

"By the way, you were amazing last night little pup", he whispered against my ear, automatically making me blush.

"So were you daddy", I whispered back.

Damien smirks and suddenly slaps my ass. Then he winks and says, "Alright, come on", he says as he grabs my hand and pulls me towards the dining area.

"The reason why I wasn't beside you earlier was because I wanted to cook breakfast for you", Damien says.

I looked at the table and saw the food.

It was just food, but my heart fluttered just by knowing Damien prepared it for me.

I've been waking up for the past five years without anything on the table so I feel really happy by this little gesture.

"Thank you", I told him, making him smile again.

I was about to sit down, but Damien immediately pulled the chair for me.

"Well...thank you...again", I awkwardly tell him since I wasn't used to people being a gentleman towards me.

Damien then sits down on the chair opposite to mine. I thought we were finally going to eat but then he starts putting food on my own plate.

"Damien, I think that's over the top. I'm not a princess and you're not my servant, you don't have to-"

I quickly stopped midsentence when Damien suddenly grabs my hand and kisses it. He seriously looks at me and says, "I made you wait for five years. I have to make it up to you, even if I look like a servant. Ever since I've met you, I've already been enslaved by you, so let me serve you like how I've always been."

I sighed and held Damien's hand.

"I don't need a servant...I just need you. I just need my fiancé", I tell him, making Damien's eyes widen from shock.

"Fiancé", he says, like he was testing it with his own mouth.

"That's right", I tell him back, tears suddenly forming in my eyes again.

I once again remembered the motel. The time we escaped, and the time Damien made me wear a Band-Aid as a proposal.

"I'm the worst fiancé ever then", Damien suddenly says, immediately snapping me back to my senses.

I looked at him with my right eyebrow raised, "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" I asked. Then Hunter suddenly barks, like he actually commented about it too.

"See, even Hunter disagrees", I say, making Damien laugh.

"Anyways, let's forget about that for now. I wanted to tell you that Jonathan, Neil and Christine misses you. I talked to them a few days ago and they said they were proud of you for being strong", Damien says, making me remember those three very important people in my life.

, who has been there ever since I was a child.

, who gave me Hunter, and even treated me nicely especially when I was starting to unravel everything.

And ; the man who took care of me at the hospital whenever chairman Herbert was busy at the company.

"They've been like my family too. I'd like to see them soon", I say, but Damien's expression quickly changed, and I knew exactly why.

"I can't see them anymore can't I?" I asked him.

Damien took a deep breath and answered, "Nothing is certain. But for now, those three are concentrating on rebuilding themselves. We'll meet each other again, I swear it."

"Then that's good enough for me", I say with a smile.

"And how about the chairman? Is he getting old yet?" Damien suddenly asks.

I laughed and answered him; "He might be...since he's going to give me the company soon."

Damien froze.

I laughed and snapped my fingers in front of him, making him blink back to life.

"EXRay Media? He's giving it to you?" Damien asked.

I nodded my head and answered, "He said he and uncle built it together in the past, so he decided that it was only right if he hands it to me than to anyone else."

"Oh Dane, Hael would be so proud", Damien suddenly mentions, making me take a deep breath.

Hearing my uncle's name alone made me remember everything again.

It's like whatever I do, our past will alway end up haunting us.

"He'd be proud of you even more", I tell him straight in the eyes.

Damien looked teary, but he blinks it away and nods his head.

Both of us finally ate afterwards.

We talked about the other things I did for the past five years but we never really talked about what happened to him.

I knew he wanted to talk about it but I also knew that he wanted to compose his thoughts first, so I didn't open it up and waited until we finished eating breakfast.

"I'm so happy", Damien says as we were now sitting on the sofa.

He was sitting on the sofa as I sat and leaned my back against his chest. Hunter on the other hand was just inside the bedroom, sleeping.

"I feel like I wasn't even apart with you for five years", he continued.

I snuggled closer to him and closed my eyes; finally feeling relaxed after everything that happened to me...to us.

The whole apartment became quiet.

I though Damien was resting now too when suddenly, "Dane, I think it's time we talk", he tells me.

I continued to close my eyes as I asked, "Talk about what?"

"About what happened to me while I was-"

I quickly opened my eyes and cut him off, "No. I don't need to know."

"Huh?" I heard him say.

I sat up and turned around so I could now face him.

"Whatever happened to you while you were imprisoned doesn't concern me anymore. What I care about now is our future. What will happen to us? What will happen to you?" I finally asked him.

The bad guys were finally gone but I still needed the assurance that we'd have our happy ever after.

Damien took a deep breath and answered, "I wanted to tell you this since yesterday but...the car wasn't the only thing that I got back. Everything, and I mean everything that I own, was returned to me. All the money, the properties, everything."

"What?"

I stared at him, unsure how I'd react to what he just said.

"Baby, I can start over again. The mansion, it was named after me too. And there are some Companion's who are still willing to work with me. I can start something better. A business that will help pursue Hael's dream and even legacy", Damien excitedly says.

He looked so excited that I didn't even say anything.

I was surprised that he got all his riches back, but that didn't really concern me. What concerned me were the plans he had for the future...

Why does it sound like I'm not in it yet?

"You're...you're going to...continue the Companion's Association?" I asked him confusingly.

Damien quickly shakes his head and corrects me, "Hell no, I'm not going back to that shit hole. I'm planning something like a host club, or maybe just a casual bar. Something that will still help the lonely feel-"

"Wanted", I finished.

Make the lonely feel wanted.

That was my uncle's motto.

Even when he was about to die, he was still able to mention that to me. So it only meant that the motto was something more to him than just words.

"Do you not like it?" Damien suddenly asked me.

I blinked and realized that he was actually staring at me.

"N-No...I'm just..."

Damien held my hand and looked me straight in the eyes, "Dane, this is the only thing I'm good at, and it can also help the other companion's who have no where else to go. But if you don't want me to, I will not hesitate and let everything go...just for you."

"Damien, you're being unfair", I honestly tell him.

I was feeling trapped all of a sudden.

I literally just saw him again yesterday so what else was I supposed to think?

I wanted to tell him that I had enough with everything that's related to the Association or anything about men serving the lonely.

I want to keep him for myself but I didn't want to end up being selfish, even towards his own ambition.

I wanted to settle down with Damien, but doesn't that mean I'd end up working while Damien stayed at home and did nothing?

Damien's been protecting me ever since before, and now that he's free, he realized that he's finally able to do something for himself, not just for others.

So who am I to stop him?

"Whatever you decide on...I'll always be beside you. We've waited years to finally start over, right? Then let's start over together." I sincerely tell him.

Damien genuinely smiles and grabbed me for a hug.

"Thank you Dane. Thank you", he repeatedly tells me.

I hugged him back and patted his back.

We'll start a new life.

We'll rebuild ourselves like what Jonathan and the others are doing.

We'll do everything that we weren't able to do together before.

We'll finally be able to live like free men. A man Damien had wanted to become ever since he met me.

"Oh, and I have something important to ask you", Damien suddenly says as he breaks from the hug.

He looks straight at my eyes and held my hand, "This will be the starting point of our new life", he says.

I looked at him confusingly as he squeezed my hand tighter.

"Dane Andrew McCartney. If you don't mind, will you-" Damien paused and reached out for his pocket.

My eyes widened as I realized what he was doing.

My heart was beating fast as I waited for him.

"Is this it? Is this what I've been waiting for?" I asked myself as I waited for Damien.

Damien finally looks back at me. He then took something out from his pocket and showed it to me with a grin on his face.

When I saw what it was, I couldn't help but laugh.

Instead of it being a ring, (That I have secretly been waiting for), the item that Damien took out from his pocket was actually a key.

Damien laughed too.

I knew, that he knew, that I was expecting him to take out a ring. But this bastard purposely made me hope for it so I'd be shocked if he shows me a key instead.

When both of us stopped laughing, Damien looked serious again.

He looks straight at my eyes and took a deep breath.

"Will you move in with me?" he finally asked as he showed me the key that I now realized was for an apartment.

I smirked and looked straight at him, "You idiot. Do you even have to ask that?"