The Devil Behind Me (12 page)

“
Addie, tell me,” he gritted through his teeth.

I swung around and glared at hi
m. “You may have bought me, Mr. Evans, but I don’t need to tell you anything. You can’t order me to. My life is my own. You couldn’t even get me a simple shawl without having me expose myself. Well now you see it, this hideous scar on my back. I know how I look, Mr. Evans. I see myself every damn day. I'm sorry, I'm damaged goods. So thank you for the fucking shawl, now I won’t embarrass you in front of your colleagues,” I shouted at him.

Daimon
stood in his multi-million dollar bedroom. The sun slowly going down as a soft glow lit his room. Daimon’s electric blue eyes scrutinized my every move.

“I'm sorry
, Addie,” he said softly as he made his way to me.

“No you’re
not, Mr. Evans,” I fired back. “You’re never sorry, remember?”

I felt him coming closer to me,
his mere presence overpowering me. I moved away, but he snatched my hand, pulled me to the window, and pushed me on it. My back was pressed onto the cold glass, making me shudder. He leaned in closer to me, wedging his leg between mine. I tried to fight him off, but he was stronger than me.

“I'm sorry,” h
e said again, his voice low and intense. I closed my eyes not able to look directly at him. “I'm fucking sorry, Addie. The scar isn’t hideous. You look beautiful,” Daimon said breathlessly. I opened my eyes as he held me there and stared at me. We both held onto each other, our breathing matching each other in slow rhythm as we looked in each other’s eyes. He gradually released me and I pushed him off. “The scar, Addie, just tell me,” he said in a serious tone.

“Why?” I bit out.

“Addie, for fuck’s sake, why can’t you just talk to me?” he shouted.  

“
Frank,” I said his name without thinking. The tiny little world I tried to keep to myself, the life I wanted Daimon not to be a part of, began to unravel.

“What?”
he snarled.

“Frank did this to me,
” I said almost sobbing.

“You have to be
fucking kidding me, right?” Daimon stood stupefied. 

“No, I'm not.
See how fucking stupid I am, Mr. Evans?” I began to cry.

  The bell of the elevator rang. 

“Fuck,” he muttered and walked out to get it. Drako ran in once the door opened. He began jumping at my feet, trying to get my attention. I knelt down and played with him.  

I heard
Daimon come back up, but I didn’t bother to get up as I continued playing with Drako. I felt a soft fabric fall onto my shoulders. I looked back to see Daimon had knelt down and placed it on me.

“Wh
at did Frank do?” he asked softly.

“Frank was a good guy really. When
we started dating, everything was great. But he lost his job and started drinking. That’s when he started hitting me.” Daimon growled once I said it. “I thought I could change him. The last time was pretty bad, enough that I ended up in the hospital and with this scar. He went to jail and I hadn’t seen him since. Well, not until now, that is,” I said quietly.

“
And Sofia?” 

“You noticed, obviously you would. We never told her, my dad and me
that is. She still thinks Frank’s this nice guy and I'm the jerk who dumped him.” I shrugged, wiping my tears away.

“So what does he wa
nt now?” I shook my head, refusing to tell him. “Addie,” he bit out.

“He wants money.
He says I cost him his life and I owe him.” I stood up and headed out the door, but Daimon stopped me.

“
Addie, I promise he won’t come near you or your family again.” I stood there watching Daimon. I wanted to be held, to be comforted. For some reason I wanted his arms around me, cocooning me from everything, but I knew better. This was a fake relationship, nothing more, nothing less.

“No. I don’t want you to do a thing for me other t
han what you’re paying me for. I’ll take care of Frank myself,” I said and marched away.

“Yeah
, just like you took care of him before? He beat you, Addie. He beat you so badly that he put in the hospital. For fuck’s sake, when will you realize you can’t take care of everything?” Daimon said spitefully. He was starting his classic attack.

“Aren’t we going to be late for your gala
, Mr. Evans?” I hissed. “I suggest we get going so I can earn my keep.” I left him in his bedroom and headed downstairs. Drako ran after me and stood by me as I waited by the elevator. Daimon emerged from his room and walked down the stairs while fixing his cufflinks. He stopped and put his hands in his pockets and watched me intently.

“Well
, Mr. Evans,” I said as I bowed my head.

“Stop calling me that!” h
e barked.

“What
? My employer’s name?  I'm sorry, but I always do my job to a T.”

He walked over to me and took my hand. “Fine
, Addie. Have it your way.”

We
sat in the back seat of the black sleek sedan in silence. Not one word was uttered between us as Daimon’s driver drove us to his gala dinner. Daimon brooded in the edge of his seat, while I sat reliving the last night I was with Frank. The stupid things we do under the guise of love. I realized now I might have never really loved Frank. He was convenient and nice when he wasn’t drunk and mean. I wanted someone to love me, to care for me. I guess I latched onto Frank, thinking he could be the one, but I was wrong. Oh how fucking wrong I was. Now I had a scar and a bruised heart to live with.

The car stoppe
d in front of 583 Park Avenue. Daimon didn’t wait for his driver. He opened the door and let himself out. He stood up and fixed his suit jacket then held out his hand waiting for me. I looked at his hand and wondered what I really had gotten myself into. Daimon’s hand looked strong and powerful as he demanded for me to come to him. I stretched out my hand and placed it in his, his fingers wrapped round mine and nearly pulled me out of the car. The shawl fell to one side as I stood beside him. I tensed up, but Daimon only smiled; he was playing his part now. He reached down and picked up the soft, black silk shawl and placed it gently back onto my shoulders. His hand reached for my face and he softly caressed my cheek with the back of his hand. I closed my eyes relishing in his soft tender touch. I almost yearned for it, like I needed some warmth.

“Let’s go
, Addie,” he said softly as he took my hand and walked me toward the building. 

Soft purple lighting
highlighted the four large white columns lining the entrance. The building itself looked old and wondrous. In between the columns were three double doors, above each door was a large arched window. Doormen stood by each door, opening and closing, allowing the patrons inside to come and go as they pleased. It was a black tie affair, everyone wore their best. Women dressed sophisticatedly, while the men all wore black suits. They all seemed on their best behavior, but an air of cattiness seemed to linger around everyone. I felt uncomfortable and uneasy about being here, but like Daimon said, he bought me and I had a role to fulfill. I still thought it odd that he would need to avoid a business marriage, but the rich lived differently than me. Standing there I was proof of that.  

Live soft jazz music
spilled into the air as we walked closer to the building. Daimon marched over to the door, which was opened by the doormen. They nodded their heads as they let us in. Without skipping a beat, Daimon continued inside. I let out a breath once I saw the gala itself. Soft purple and red lights had the entire grand hall glowing. A large crystal chandelier hung in the middle of the room, accenting the space. A domed window was above it, letting in the night sky. It was simply stunning. Daimon held onto my hand, not letting me go as I marveled at the space around me. 

“
Daimon,” I heard someone call out. It was Rafe. “Hey, Addie, you look good,” he smiled at me.

“
Thanks,” I murmured.

“
Not to shabby yourself, Daimon,” Rafe joked.

“
Bite me,” Daimon retorted.

“
That’s Addie’s job, not mine,” Rafe laughed. “Come, our table awaits and I'm famished.” Rafe signaled us to follow. We walked through the crowd of business associates and colleagues, all whom had their eyes on me, or so I felt. 

“
Could you calm down?” Daimon said under his breath.

“
Sorry, Mr. Evans,” I said quietly. He stopped in midstride, turned and glared at me.  “Stop with the Mr. Evans crap,” he said irritated.

“No,
” I smiled. He pulled me close, our faces almost touching.

“Addie, remember you’re the one who agreed to this, so stop making me the asshol
e,” he said callously, as he played with my hair, trying to make it look like an intimate moment.

“If I recall correctly, you’re the one who needed my h
elp,” I said in a hushed voice as I played with his lapel.

“Are you guys coming?”
Rafe called out.

Daimon
pulled on my hand harder this time, jerking me to follow. We made our way to the table that toward the front of the large banquet hall. Daimon released my hand and pulled out my chair. Instinctively, I thought of high school, but I immediately realized he wouldn’t do that here. I hoped. I sat down carefully and smiled to the rest of the guests who sat with us. Daimon sat down next to me and reached for the linen napkin on top of his silver charger plate.

I
looked over the table we sat at, a large gorgeous arrangement of various white flowers overflowed in a silver vase in the middle of the table. Silverware and crystal glasses were placed perfectly on the table. I smiled, taken aback at the sheer opulence of it all. Give me a simple dinner and I’d be happy, but I guess in Daimon’s world that was out of the question. 

“You look good when you smile,
” Daimon said softly to me. I turned and saw him looking right at me with a gentle grin. 

“They j
ust let anyone in, don’t they?” Our moment was ruined by Clara’s snide remark. Daimon hissed under his breath and I stiffened, her presence alone grated on my nerves. 

“
It appears so, since you’re here,” Daimon said to her as he took my hand and held it on his knee. 

“
Daimon, when will you stop trying to make poor Addie fit into our world? The girl is obviously uncomfortable here. It’s really not her fault since she never had a proper upbringing. If anything, you’re only making it worse for her and everyone around who don’t know how to deal with her,” she said as she smiled brightly and sat down at our table. Daimon stiffened and was about to say something, but I placed my hand on top of his. Our eyes met and I shook my head and smiled. I didn’t want him to cause a scene, especially not for her.

“Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with ex
perience,” I quoted Mark Twain. Daimon smiled and shook his head at me.

“What’s that? An Addie tweet
,” she laughed.

“No honey, that’s Mark Twain, but you
should know that since you had a proper upbringing.” I smiled satisfied that I shut her up for a while.

Dinner
was served while Daimon and Rafe engulfed themselves in a conversation about business.

“
So, Addie,” Clara finally spoke up and the rest of the table took notice. “What do you do? I mean besides being a waitress at the bar.” She waited, knowing she was trying to humiliate me in front of everyone. 

“I work,” I said looking right at her.
She wasn’t about to rake me over the coals because she wanted to. 

“Didn’t you have a full scholarship to Yale?”
she smirked.

“I did
.” I smiled back, swallowing the bitterness. Daimon stiffened next to me as he stopped talking to Rafe and watched our little exchange.

“So what happened? I mean you were so smart
, how did you end up, well you know, you?” she grinned.

“
Either you stop now or I will become angry, Clara, and we all know how I get when I’m fucking angry,” Daimon snarled at her. She huffed as she looked at him. She picked up her fork and began to eat her meal. I excused myself to go to the bathroom. As I stood up a fairly large gentleman knocked into me, making my shawl fall.

“Oh my G
od!” I heard Clara cry out.

I hung my head, shame and sheer
embarrassment ran through me. The word fuck kept repeating through my head. I was going to kneel down and pick up the shawl, when Daimon wrapped his arm gently around my waist and pulled me closer to him. I looked back to see Daimon was still sitting down. He leaned in his head and softly kissed my scar. The feeling of his kiss on my scar made my body shiver from the heat of his lips. He then looked up at me and smiled his sexy little smile.

“Go
, I’ll be here waiting,” he reassured me. I bit my lower lip watching him, holding back my tears. “Go already,” he said again still smiling. I tried to kneel down to pick up my shawl, but he wouldn’t let me. “You don’t need it, Addie. You’re beautiful, just as you are,” he said softly. I nodded softly and he released me from his hold.

I car
efully made my way through the crowd to a lavish bathroom. Without the shawl, I felt exposed for the entire world to see. It was a stupid piece of fabric, but it was my sole barrier, protecting me from the prying eyes of everyone’s gauging stares.

I had embarrassed him.
Daimon and his stupid dress, his stunning little dress that made me feel both wonderful and unworthy. The ugly scar, which marred me, made me feel self-conscious and aware of all the eyes, which lingered on my body, wondering what had happened to me. 

I finally mustered up the courage to head back
; once at the table I could put the shawl back on and shield myself again. I made my way out, but I stopped short, seeing Daimon with his arms crossed as he leaned up against the wall, waiting for me with my shawl. 

“
Come here,” he said the moment our eyes met.  My feet instinctively carried me to him. “Even if I tell you you’re perfect, you wouldn’t believe me anyways,” he said as he held out the shawl for me to take. 

“I'm sorry,
” I said quietly as I took the shawl.

“
For what?”

“For embarrassing
you,” I shrugged.

“D
on’t be stupid,” he said bluntly as he took my hand and led me out.

“What’s this gala for anyways
?” I asked as he took us to a bar far from Clara and our table. There weren’t any signs or anything to indicate what the night was about.

“I put this gala together to raise money so underprivileged kids could get a computer and a leg up in school. Just because you don’t have the means
, doesn’t mean you should be left out of a good education,” he said as he called to the bartender.

“So now
you’re helping charity cases. Whatever happened to the Daimon I knew in high school? Who thought charity cases like me shouldn’t have any rights to mingle with the rich?” I watched as he got his whiskey. The bartender asked me for a drink, but I declined. I wasn’t in the mood for alcohol.

“Let’s just say
, you opened my eyes,” he said as he picked up his lowball glass and took a healthy swig of his drink.

The nig
ht ended easily enough. Daimon sent me home early, but stayed back, saying he had to mingle. He knew I was feeling uncomfortable and as much as I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling of everyone looking at me.

He had his
driver drive me home. I sat in the car and thought back through the night’s events and wondered what exactly was on Daimon’s mind.

After thanking the driver, I walked up to the front entra
nce and slowly opened the door. I stepped inside my home and turned off the porch light my father had left on. Taking off my high heels I headed to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. I hardly knew who I was anymore. I eased out of my dress and carefully put it away. I put on an old ratty t-shirt and finally felt like myself. My scar was covered up and I no longer felt the need to think about it. I slowly let myself into my bedroom and saw Sofia fast asleep. Listening to her quiet breathing I reminded myself I was doing this for her, I wanted her to have a better life than me. I was going to provide that for her, even if it meant selling who I was for money.