“Chloe just had a breakdown onstage. The staff took her to the hospital. We don’t know what the fuck is going to happen to her. It sounded like they were already talking about checking her into some rehab facility for emotional and stress-related issues.”
“Oh.”
That was not the right answer.
She crossed her arms and waited for more, for him to tell her what had happened between him and Chloe.
“Panic attacks and everything finally got to her,” Damon said. He reached for his hat and plopped it back down on his head. Then, he immediately removed it and started rolling it between his fingers. He looked up and met her eyes. “I guess she just cracked.”
“And that’s the reason I shouldn’t have been at this show?”
He narrowed his eyes in confusion. “You’re upset.”
“Yes.”
“Because of Chloe?”
Trihn gritted her teeth. “Are you going to act like you don’t know?”
Damon opened his mouth to respond and then shut it. He shook his head to reorient himself and sighed heavily. His head dipped back for a fraction of a second as realization seemed to dawn on him as to what she was getting at.
“You saw her kiss me.”
The truth was like someone branding her skin—fiery hot and impossible to remove.
“I saw you two kiss—along with hundreds of other people, I’m sure.”
“It wasn’t like that,” he said immediately.
“Oh, really?” she asked. “Do you want to tell me what it was like, Damon? Because I was standing there and saw what happened with my own two eyes. My friends were worried about me because all this shit was showing up in the tabloids. I defended you, even laughed it off, because you love me. You would never do something like that. I brought them here to the show to prove to them that their worries were unfounded. Then…that.” She gestured to the stage where she saw them kiss. “Do you have any idea what the fuck that felt like?”
“No. Fuck…I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel if I saw someone else kiss you. I’d want to murder them.”
“Basically. So, who do I kill first? You or Chloe?”
“Please understand—”
“I understand! Chloe is into you and saw her chance.”
“She kissed me. I didn’t kiss her back,” Damon told her. “It really didn’t even happen. You know I have no interest in her.”
He took her hands in his, but she pulled away. She had seen it happen. She so desperately wanted to believe him, but he couldn’t just blow it off.
“Do I? Clearly, she has interest in you!”
“She’s emotionally unstable! I don’t care how she fucking feels about me,” Damon said. He drew her toward him. His dark eyes stared down at her with passion and worry and hope and despair. “All I care about is how you feel. That’s all it.”
“Well, I’m pissed!”
“I can see that, but there’s no reason to be. It wasn’t a real kiss. I didn’t even want it. I shoved her away from me once I got over the shock of what the hell was happening.”
She sighed. “I just want to know if it’s happened before. Tell me the truth, please. I can handle it.”
“No! Jesus Christ, Trihn! She had a mental breakdown and kissed me. I stopped her, and they carted her away to the hospital. I am sorry that she did that. I am sorry that you had to see it. I am sorry that you feel hurt and betrayed. You’re looking at me like I ruined your world, but please, please see the truth.”
“I want to. I want to believe you,” she said, a tear leaking out of her eye. She hastily wiped it away. “I want to trust you.”
“Then, trust me. I love you with all my heart. I want to marry you one day…if you’d have me.” Damon kissed the tips of her fingers. “You’re it for me. You have been since day one, love. That’s not going to change—not now, not ever.”
Real tears hit her anew—but not from the pain of what she had witnessed. It was from the shock and realization of what he was saying.
“You want to…marry me?” she gasped.
“Absolutely.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say you’re mine. Say you have no reason to doubt me because I would never, ever do anything to hurt you.”
“Really? Nothing happened?” she asked, hope filling her up.
“I swear, nothing happened. There’s no room in my heart for anything, except for you. You’re the person I want to share every moment with.”
“Even that kiss with Chloe?”
“I would have much rather it been you,” he said.
Damon set her hands on his shoulders and started moving their bodies together. This was how it had all started. Dancing, the music, the movement—it was so effortless with them.
“I’ll say it as much as you need to hear it, but I would never cheat on you,” he told her. “I want you. Just you. Only you. Forever you.”
Trihn looked up into his face, absorbing everything he’d said. A million emotions ran through her in that moment. She had no way of knowing whether or not his story was true. But when she looked into his eyes, she saw only sincerity.
Damon was exactly the guy she’d thought he was. She had just gotten so wrapped up in what she had seen that she hadn’t put it into context. If Damon feels something, anything, for Chloe, wouldn’t he be at the hospital with her? Instead, he was here, trying to convince Trihn how much he loved her.