“D…” She called out his lost nickname.

She had barely changed, her voice was the same, and her height, her body, it was like she never left standing outside his house. Maybe that was the reason why his heart was silent.

“What do you want?” He asked, closing the door blocking her view of his home.

“I have come for you guys.” She said not even batting an eye at her lies.

“Oh? You are already tired of playing house with your new husband and child? What? You have now left that family for this one?” Damien asked sarcastically loving the surprise that filled her face at his words.

“You knew? H..How?” She choked out.

“It does not fucking matter. Why. are.YOU.here?” Damien asked again.

She was speechless. Her mouth opened and closed but no words came out.

“She is here to see her children.” A voice said from behind her grabbing Damien’s attention.

That fucking face that haunted him in his nightmares. The mystery man whom Eve left him for.

“Clause 98 of The Children rights law; In the event where a parent, parents or guardian becomes a Chosen and leaves the Outskirts for the Inner City, by the second year they lose all parental and guardian rights of their child or children. The remaining parent or guardian will be acknowledged as the sole authority figure for the child or children” Damien recited his silver fucking  lining. He had it memorized for this particular situation.

The clause, like the majority of the laws, was put up to protect the Chosens from having to support their families in the Outskirts if they wished not to. It was a loophole Damien had taken advantage of.

“But I do not need to recite it to you,” Damien added looking at the ever-smug man.

“I see you did your homework.” The man said irking Damien who chose not to respond.

“May we please get in?” Eve asked.

“No.” Was Damien’s quick reply.

“Do you want your neighbors to see us?” Eve asked with a hiss.

“I honestly do not give a fuck. And a choice between the neighbors seeing you and having my kids seeing you is quite easy to make.” Damien said in a matter-of-fact voice.

“Then can we go somewhere else to talk?” The man offered walking up to his door.

“You got some fucking balls on you if you think for a minute I am going anywhere with you,” Damien said with a chuckle.

“What if I told you that our business involves your son.” The man baited and Daimen fell for it.

“I would say watch your fucking mouth,” Damien growled out getting into the man’s face, he noticed that they were at eye level. The man’s amber eyes shone with excitement.

 “Christian, please stop.” Eve’s voice pleaded from behind the man.

 “D..”

 “Damien.” He cut her off, his eyes never leaving the man’s.

 “Damien, please let us just go somewhere and talk. If you hear us out and consider our offer you will never hear from us again.” She pleaded.

“That is the second time today I have heard those words,” Damien said with a dark chuckle.

“You know, for people who know their presence is unwanted, you sure like squeezing your way into people’s business.” He added as he stepped back into his house.

“Send me the time and location.” He said and shut the door behind him.

After he heard their footsteps receding, Damien placed his forehead against the door and closed his eyes to try and calm himself down.

Seeing the person who broke his heart still stung, but it did not hurt. As much as time heals it also rots and as much as he hates it a part of Damien's heart will always be have decay.

“Dad?” Zion’s voice called to him making Damien turn to him.

“Who was at the door?” He asked looking past Damien and at the door making him clench his fingers around the door handle.

“Just some fuckers who were lost. ” Damien said with a grin, “ Come on let us go back to the party before Sia and Aiken pick out all the cherries from the cake.” He said as he walked to the living room and tucked Zion under his arm as he did so.

What the two wanted could wait till tomorrow. 

Today, was all about Zion.

                                             ********************************************************

“He is just as you described. Hotheaded and family oriented.” Christian said to his mistress, well his seventh, or was it Eigth mistress, Eve?

“It will be easy to use him,” Eve replied.

 They were in his car, going back to the Inner City after their plan had failed. It was Eve’s plan, to go back to her ex-husband and after a tearful reunion invite them to the Inner City where he could finally have his hands on what or rather who he wanted, Zion. The child who achieved the best grades nationwide during the Entrance examination.

Having such a gifted child under him would not only please his god but also elevate his status.

Sadly,  somehow Damien knew of Eve’s infidelity and snipped that plan in the bud making him step in when he had no plans to. The Unchosen meeting his eyes thrilled him, no one close to him ever did that. No one even thought of challenging him because of which god he was the Chosen Awakened for, so the brown-eyed man’s actions sent a long-forgotten thrill down his spine.

He liked Damien.

“Easy you say?” Christain hummed as he looked out of the car window. “Nothing about your ex-husband looks easy Eve. It will do you well not to underestimate him.” He added.

“Of course Christian.” She purred out.

***************************************************************************************************************

“The Falcon Hotel,” Damie murmured to himself as he looked for his destination.

The next morning after seeing off his kids, he had received a notification telling him the time and directions to when and where he was to meet the two pieces of shit.

He was tempted to ignore it but in all honesty not only was he curious but also bored. Unemployment after a demanding job does that to a person.

“Ah, there it is,” Daien murmured under his breath when he finally spotted the high-end restaurant he was to meet the fuckers at. The Inner City still shone as bright as he remembered, it made him get a headache.

“Morning.” He greeted the receptionist who gave him a work smile, “I am here to meet Mr Bale.” He said politely.

“Ah, yes. Mr Ayker?” He asked and after Damien nodded he clapped giddily and walked out of his desk. “Follow me, I will lead you to him.”  He requested as he walked to the elevator with Damien at his heel.

When the door closed, the receptionist pulled out a card making the elevator move.

Damien could kiss the receptionist for not trying to make small talk with him, curt and professional just as he liked.

After what seemed like hours, the elevator dinged and announced their arrival at the top floor.

“Just follow the hallway and you will arrive.” The receptionist said as Damien stepped out of the elevator.

“You are not coming?” He asked, a bit saddened by the loss of his friend.

“No sir. This level is unrestricted except for guests and a few allowed employees.” He explained.

Damien nodded at his words.

“Well have a nice time Sir,” the receptionist said as the elevator’s doors closed.

Damien stood before the doors for a few seconds. Being in a new environment always unnerved him.

He walked down the hallway as he was instructed and met two huge double doors with lighting carved on them.

A little bit on the nose there

As he approached the doors, they swung open solving his dilemma of how he would get them to open.

The room they opened to was golden and bright. What looked like flimsy lace shears hung from the walls and pillars. The waiters and waitresses were on either side of the long walkway that led to what looked like a long dining table.

Damien had to hold himself back from physically cringing at what seemed like the worst mimicry of Olympus he had ever seen.

He knew everyone else at some point had the same thought as him but would never dare voice their opinions because of fear of angering Christain Bale, Zeus’Chosen Awakened.

After the unwanted guest left his house, Damien researched the amber-eyed man who unnerved him. Three years ago his pride did not let him even think about the man who took his wife, but his interest in his child made Damien have to pay the man attention.

“Damien!” Christain called out for him as if he was his long lost friend from the dining table where he was sat, alone.

Just the two of us then. 

Damien walked to the dining table and stopped, waiting for Christian’s instructions.

He was now in the territory. The gods' power was more powerful the closer one was to the god’s temple and Damien was below it so he would at least try to be his best behavior.

“Sit,” Christian said with an amused chuckle.

Damien took a seat opposite  Christian was seated. The more distance they had between them, the better.

“I would like you to get straight to the point,” Damien said, ignoring the food and drinks before him.

“Why not eat first? Hmmm?” Christian said.

“Would you eat if you were me?” Damien retorted, biting back the spite that wanted to escape from him.

His words seemed to amuse Christian who was laughing giddily at him.

“No. I would not. The only thing I would want was to kill the man who took my wife and  was now interested in my children.” Christian said as he leaned forward towards Damien.

“So self-aware, yet so…”

“Stupid?” Christian finished Damien’s sentence making his lips turn upward slightly.

“Do you want to know why I slept and impregnated your wife?” Christian said in a conspiratory tone as if the two of them were friends sharing a secret. Damien turned to him, confusion was evident on his face.

“When she came to the Inner City and got a job as a model having been blessed by Aphrodite, I did a background check on her as I do for all models who catch my attention.” He continued, not at all phased by Damien’s confusion.

“And I found out that she was a mother to not only one but two children who when tested presented a higher than average Awakener potential,” Christian confessed as he lay his head on his hands that were propped up on the dining table while maintaining eye contact with Damien.

“Beauty, brains, and high awakening potential? I knew I had hit the jackpot and just had to have her give birth to my child who would have similar characteristics. So a little romance here, a kiss there, and a car. She accepted me and I fucked her, nine months later…a healthy baby girl. But…”

Christian sat back upright and closed his eyes as if he was in pain. Confusion was replaced with curiosity as Damien found himself enthralled by Christian’s story

“... she showed none of the characteristics I wanted. I was pissed at her and myself, but mostly her. Then I had a thought, what if what I wanted could not be gotten from the wife but the husband? ”   Christian asked his amber eyes meeting Damien’s brown ones.

“After tests, my fears came true. What I wanted Eve did not possess, you did.” He confessed.

“So lovely Eve, my always eager-to-please-mistress, had the marvelous idea of bringing those children here and making them my own, thus getting my hands on what I want.”

“You insane fucker.” Damien said through gritted teeth.

“Insane? Yes. If it means I get what I want.” Christian said with a smile.

“Your children have something special inside them Damien and you will be a hindrance to me if you do not let them go. ” He added with a tilt of his head.

“Fucker.” Damien cursed as he kicked the chair from under him and walked away from the table.

He barely made it three steps when his muscles seized, paralyzing him and making him stand still as he was.

“You knew there was a chance you were not walking out of here alive. But you still came…Why is that? Your children?” Christian asked as he walked to Damien and circled him his fingers fluttering over his shoulders.

Damien’s eyes were hard and piercing as they followed Christian till he stopped before him and looked him in his eyes while wrapping his hands around Damien’s shoulders.

“Your children will be fine..” Christian said as he brought his face close to Damien’s by grabbing the back of his head and pushing him forward.

“You, however, not so much. If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself for not being strong enough." He ended with a devious smile.

" All in all, it was a pleasure to meet you. Goodbye, Damien.” As Christian whispered out those last words, thunder from above stuck both of them.

While Christian was unharmed, Damien’s heart stopped.