MY DARLING DAREDEVIL

Like a virus

Guards immediately did as they were asked and they turned to the blonde lady who sat down comfortably on her chairs while the other’s gasped. They were mortified by his words and most of them knew that Ivy was in trouble and were really sorry for her while others remained nonchalant.

“Miss,” a guard called out to her, his voice booming coldly and loudly in the office that everyone heard and flinched. He also knew that face, and would need to carry out their boss’s orders, but to be on the safer side, being nice and calm was definitely not a bad thing. Especially when it came to a woman as ruthless as the one before him.

Ivy knew why William had decided to grace everyone with his presence and she knew that it was for the same reason that had made Flossie slap her that morning. She had taken the slap and left the woman, because of Damon and the kinship she felt with her. She was his mother and had done exceptionally well when it came to Damon, not to add that she was the reason they all suddenly had issues. The perfect family of four suddenly looked divided because she had spilled the truth that they should have told him a long time ago. That guilt had also helped her, it was her fault and she had taken the punishment for it, but she did not expect that they would all come for her the way they were doing. She slowly turned her gaze to the guards who had surrounded her and she stared at them without fear. At such a time, she hated that she had to pretend to be Ivy. If she suddenly shows herself, everyone would know who she truly was and the cops would be back for her. Her aim to be there was to be close to him, no matter what. But the thought of letting them treat her however they wanted also didn’t sit well with her. A woman had slapped her earlier, she could take that, but for the men, she certainly would not. Nonetheless, they had asked nicely and she could go with that.

Slowly, she got up from where she had sat for hours and lowered her gaze to keep being in character. William glared at her, an intense glare that could have certainly burned her if he had such abilities. There were other ways to take care of her. Their family had been one for such a long time and things were going rather well for them all. His family, when he was much younger, was power hungry, ruthless, selfish and had no love amongst themselves. His father was the very worst and he had been ruthless and wicked even to his own son. He grew up from a hard and distant home, a home where he hated the man who gave birth to him till he took his last breath. He never wanted that for his family but because of where he grew up and how he grew up, he found himself being like his father. Cold, brutal, distant, hateful even to his son. He tried to control it, to make amends and not be like the man in whose loins he had come from but that was hard to do. His son, Ethan had to receive similar treatment that he had received till they grew apart. But all that changed, slowly, steadily, the family he yearned for, the family he never got came together when Damon came into their lives. And so suddenly, it was about to fall apart because of one woman. He would not let that happen, not when he was alive.

“Take her away,” he repeated and turned to Damon’s office. He still needed to talk to him. Ivy flashed the men surrounding her a glare when they gestured for her to move. But she could neither do that, because she had to remain close to Damon.

“Move,” they barked when she refused to move while everyone watched on. Others could see the predicament she was in and they feared for her but she did not. In fact, she was trying to protect the guards because she would definitely kill them if they found themselves in a confined space like the elevator.

“Move, lady,” one of the more stupid ones grabbed her arm roughly and pulled her out angrily. She snared and held his hand to retaliate as she knew how well to do so when Damon’s door opened widely, bringing with it a cold rush of air and power. It went still and Ivy froze. The silence was like hell had been let loose in the same room they thought they had seen death. His cold gaze fell on Ivy and the man who held her and he resisted the urge to growl. He had not heard the ruckus from outside till his grandfather walked into his office. He knew what the man had come for the moment Charles told him of his sudden presence and he had gnashed his teeth at that. His family was simply making things difficult for him and the truth they were trying to hide was making him both anxious and offended.

When he had seen the man walk in, he could perceive trouble and his thought had wheeled to the blondie who so happens to have the same face as Aziza. Without thinking twice, he got up from where he had been sitting and rushed through the door knowing fully well that her face was bound to put her in a lot of trouble.

“Get your hands off her,” he growled angrily, taking every body by surprise and filling them with more fear. The protectiveness in his tone made the pit of her stomach burn. No sound was made, a lot of his workers even regretted why they came to work on such a day that it looked like the office would collapse on them.

“But sir….”

“Don’t make me repeat myself, boy,” he flashed the guard a glare.

“Let her go, now,” he ordered. His gaze went deep, hard and cold all at ones while Aziza gaped at him. Once again, he was at her rescue. This alien feeling was truly beginning to feel very good. She no longer had to be the one to protect herself, to fight so much, or to protect him for a change. The feeling was surely surreal that it made her heart slow down and filled her dark heart with a little bit of colour. She never liked being helpless but at this point, it felt strangely good coming from him.

William stood behind his grandson and glared at him, hating the situation of things and the disrespect that he was being shown by the boy he picked up. But he knew that boy too well to know that he was as hard as a rock and was stubborn as well. It was an office and he would not want to cause a scandal in a working place. So, he said nothing to refute his grandson and watched as the guard let go of the woman he had just ordered to take away.

Instinctively, Damon took Ivy by her arm and drew her to his side, protectively. The situation looked strange especially because she had to be the one to hide behind him like a helpless woman but she could not refute because that was the character she was selling and she did not want to refute. His protectiveness of her was alarming but definitely refreshing. It was not the first time he was shielding her like that, proving to be the man that he was, the man that would protect her. It was years ago but it was happening again and her demons did not want to fight it. She did not want to fight it.

“Come home with me, now,” William voiced out and walked past him without waiting for a protest. His guards followed behind him and he walked out through the elevator. Damon turned to Ivy and he stared at her, worried and concerned, filling his heart and swelling within him like she was in a life and death situation.

“Are you alright?'' His voice came, calm, soft unlike the people around had ever heard and it pushed at her heart, registered in her brains and wavered all over her bones making her legs weak, all over her organs, making her stomach churn and all over her veins, that her blood pumped harder. The way he had talked to her just now, it made her want to remain helpless all her life, it made her want to lean into him, to want to be in his arms and have him hold her like he would never hold any woman in her life. The way those eyes pierced into her made her flinch. He was tearing her apart like before and fighting it was becoming harder. It was like a virus, she had been infected a long time ago but it was so slow to spread to her body. Now, it had a quickening action, the mate bond was the agent that made the virus spread, it was faster, it was quicker and it was more effective, it scared her. She slowly removed her hand from his grip and took a step back from him to protect herself, her heart and most especially him. He knew that he should not have held her that way, he also knew that he was overreacting, but when she moved away from him like that, he frowned. The small distance looked like a thousand miles and it ached his heart. Strangely, the single action hurt him and he found himself getting angry at no one but himself.

He moved away from her and turned to his office, agitated at the way he was reacting. Then his phone rang loudly, distracting him for a few seconds. When he checked the caller, it was his grandfather and a reminder that he was supposed to go see him. Immediately, his aggression was channelled to something else and he picked the call.

“Are you not supposed to be here by now?” William snapped from the other end of the line.

“The last time I had met with my parents, they had refused to tell me what I needed to know. Are you going to give me answers to my questions this time around?” he asked. Silence followed and no one said a thing, it made the pit of his stomach ache.

“Don’t be stupid, Damon. Get rid of that woman and let’s go back to how it always was.” William responded. He clenched his jaw and tightened his hand into a fist to rein in his anger. What were they hiding from him? Why were they hiding it from him?

“We have nothing to talk about then,”

“And a quick reminder. The girl you met in my office is not the woman you are looking for. Don’t go close to her again and I would advise you to stay away from Aziza if you see her. I don’t think she has a big heart to let you slip past her when she can easily slit your throat. Fair warning,” he added and ended the call. Then he picked his jacket, slipped his hand into it and turned to the door. He was angry, confused and lost and he needed answers.

He walked past his assistant without turning back to look at her even when he felt the urge to. He pushed it away, got to the elevator and pressed the button. He got in without further delay and kept his gaze straight and up front till the door began closing. Just then, he caught a glimpse of her. Her blue eyes were staring at him and his heart had melted at that instant.

He groaned, recognizing those feelings that were stirring up deep within him. They were familiar feelings but he never remembered who they were for. At first, he thought they were for Maeve, the only woman he had ever dated and loved but he also knew that it wasn’t for Maeve. What he had for Maeve was sweet, it was unique and it was similar to the treacherous feeling rising in his heart, but she was not the one. How could he have known he had felt that way before, and still didn’t know who it was for.

“Maybe there was no one,” his thought whispered to him and he nodded his head in agreement to it. But his heart told him otherwise. There was something there, there was someone, someone he could not remember, someone that had been there. The thought of it suddenly gave him a nasty headache that threatened to tear his head apart. He groaned and relaxed against the wall of the elevator but the pain persisted. A guard turned to him, understanding what he was feeling and why he was feeling that way, he immediately brought out his medication and handed it to him. Damon stole a glance at it, his pain pushing him to take it, but he remembered Aziza’s words and shook his head.

“Sir please….”

“Arrrghhh” He groaned again, interrupting the protest of his guard. They had seen how he had collapsed the previous night and simply wanted to help. He used his hand to hold his head as the pain increased, pushing him to take the drugs. It was worse than that of the previous night. It was terrifying and it was going dark around him. He turned to the drugs, his pain pushing him towards it, but his will urging him not to. He had to find out the truth.

“Breathe, Damon, breathe and it would go away,” Aziza’s voice came through like the light in the darkness, like a song in his heart and an anchor to hold on to. He listened and withdrew his hand from the medication, then he relaxed his hand on his knees and took deep breaths, then he exhaled and continued the protest for a while, till the darkness in his eyes cleared and the pain slowly subsided. He sighed heavily and relaxed against the elevator walls just at the same time that it came to a halt.

“It’s gone,” he thought.

“I told you that you didn’t need that medication,” she responded and he frowned. He wanted to know the truth his parents were hiding but he also didn’t want Aziza’s words to be the truth, he didn’t want to believe that his parents could be restraining his memories and mind, but it seemed like it was becoming the truth. The door opened and he stepped out with a new goal in mind.

“Aziza, come on, let's meet the family doctor.”