Chapter 379: I am done with you

"Are you sure you want her to come with us again?" Kate asked.

"Her apology seemed sincere." Damon shrugged. "Besides, she is the friend of that lunatic Aurora."

Kate sighed. "You are right. Meira might not exactly be our best ally, but Aurora has done a lot for us. I will forever be grateful to her for helping you back then."

"Yes, she has definitely done a lot." Damon gulped. If only Kate knew the truth. This brought him back to the other thing he needed to talk to her about. Damon started sweating again. He was pretty sure this time no one was going to barge in and save him. Or would they?

He looked at the door again, but no one else was walking in. ’Stop being a fucking pussy, idiot.’ He reprimanded himself and took a deep breath. He opened his mouth when Kate spoke the words in his mind. "I have something to tell you."

"Huh?"

"That guy... who I was sort of dating... contacted me inside the game today." Kate nervously spoke.

Damon’s face changed. "Right. You were already dating someone." He absent-mindedly repeated her words. "How is he doing? Let me know if you need me to bring him here as well." He did not know what else to tell. It looked like he was overthinking things on his own.

"What is his name-" Damon lifted his head up, forcing a smile when suddenly a slap landed on his face.

"Why are you like this?" Kate was livid. She stood up, trembling, eyes tearing up, and stormed out of the room. Then she again stormed back into the room and pulled Damon by his collar. "You are such a coward, you know. Why the hell are you being like this? You will just randomly give me up to someone else just like that? Do you not care about me at all?"

Damon froze, staring at her. What the hell was she saying? She was the one who talked about her boyfriend! How was he supposed to react? The logic sounded logical in his mind, and he opened his mouth. "You said-"

But then another slap landed on his face. "I was only dating him to make you jealous, you dickhead. Heck, I wasn’t even dating him. I only saw him once or twice, and I was perfectly clear to him that I just wanted to be friends and I liked someone else."

"I.. I..." Damon stammered.

"You know what. I am done with you. I am done waiting. You even have a fiancé now. Why would I matter anymore?"

Kate’s voice cracked on the last word, but her grip on his collar only tightened, her crimson-tinged eyes blazing with hurt. She looked ready to both cry and tear him apart at the same time. Damon’s mind blanked for a second.

"That’s not—" he started, but Kate shoved him back a step, her hands trembling against his chest.

"Don’t. Don’t you dare lie to me, Damon. I’ve been watching you this whole time. You protect everyone. You give everyone a place. You even make enemies into allies. But me?" Her voice wavered as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. "You push me away every chance you get, like I’m some fragile little thing you can’t trust to stand beside you."

Another slap was about to land on his face when Damon finally stopped her, held her hand, and then pulled her close to him. "Would you stop that? Just how much are you planning to beat me up?"

Kate froze mid-motion, her hand caught firmly in Damon’s grip, her body yanked forward until she was nearly pressed against his chest. Her breath hitched, her crimson eyes going wide. For a moment, all her fury and hurt tangled into confusion at the sudden closeness.

Damon’s gaze bore into hers, steady this time, his usual evasive smirk nowhere to be found. "You think I don’t care about you? That I’m just throwing you away? Kate, I already lost you once, and I have regretted it every day since. I am never going to let that happen again. Yes, I did give an invitation to your boyfriend to this castle, but I always planned to secretly finish him off." He gave a little villainous laugh.

"You are such an idiot." Kate giggled. Damon pulled her closer. "Why didn’t you just tell me how you felt? Why go through all of this trouble? If you had come to me and slapped me senseless like you did today, everything would have been resolved a long time ago."

Kate hugged him tightly, tears still falling out of her eyes. "I know. I am stupid. No, I have a lot of stupid friends who give stupid advice."

Damon patted her. A gentle smile appeared on his face. "Now, who is the idiot?"

Kate laughed softly through her tears, her face buried against his chest. "Fine... we’re both idiots," she muttered, her voice muffled but warm. Her hands clenched at the fabric of his shirt, as though she was afraid that if she let go, he might slip away again.

Damon’s crimson eyes softened, the hard edge in them melting as he looked down at her. For once, he didn’t feel the need to posture or hide behind smirks and evasions. He simply held her, the weight of years of unsaid words finally easing off his shoulders.

"Kate," he said quietly, his hand brushing through her dark hair. "There are some things I still need to tell you."

Kate tilted her head back slightly, her tear-streaked face glowing in the dim light of the chamber. "Me first. I love you."

Damon froze.

"I love you," she repeated. "Not because you saved me. Not because you’re strong. But because you’re you. I don’t know if you believe me or not, but I have loved you for a long time. Before, you became all this. Before, when we used to go out for ice cream behind Mark’s back. Before, when we watched ghost movies together until 3 am."

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Mass release sponsored by Syphatrol