Chapter Six

Damien's POV

I used to have a single ideology about women: that any woman would give up her body easily as long as she had enough money to pay her. I had come to believe that every woman had a price, and while some were more difficult to attain than others, the only difference was money. I had always hoped to find the woman who would remain unswayed in the presence of a large amount of money, but I am still yet to find one.

This woman who has just come into my life only serves to solidify my ideas on women. She did not even hesitate to sign the papers in order to be engaged to me.

I had never really had any problems getting the women I wanted, even back when I was a young teenager, because I had the money and the looks that none of my peers could ever hope to match. Therefore, any woman that caught my eye always ended up falling for me, either falling in love with my looks or submitting to the amount of money I offered her.

And after paying these women, I would always easily get what it was I wanted from them, and nearly all of the time, what I wanted was their bodies.

And now I had paid another woman, but what I needed from her was not her body, but her time and obedience.

What to think that after she had received the money, she just ran out of the court like that without saying a word. I reasoned that she probably had some reason why she had to leave so suddenly, perhaps it was an emergency like the one I was currently in.

So, after I waited for about an hour and a half, I gave her a call, but unfortunately, her phone wasn't ringing. What could be the cause of this, I thought.

Well, I didn't care because I had paid her, and now I expected her to fulfill her end of the bargain.

I expected this woman to appear by my side so we could both go and visit my mother at the hospital before her operation, but for some strange reason, I could not get a hold of her.

Hence, I decided to give Mira a call. My phone rang for a while, and then she picked it up.

"Hello," I said into the phone.

"Hello, sir, please, what can I do for you, sir?" she asked.

"I would like for you to contact Bettany for me," I said, then continued, "But you should also know her phone isn't ringing. So I want you to try contacting someone who can actually get a hold of her."

"Okay, sir," she said. "I will see what I can do."

I ended the call and then rubbed my forehead. This woman needed to come quickly so that I could go visit my mother and get this done and over with so I could finally have some peace of mind.

I did not think that Mira would actually be able to do much besides calling Bettany more times than I did. Hence, I decided to turn to my beta for help.

I placed a call over to my beta, Abel, and began to speak, "I just got engaged to a woman named Bettany, and I need to get in contact with her as soon as possible so that we can both appear before my mother in 2 hours' time. Mira has more information about her. Get to Mira, find out what you can, and then tell me the location of my fiancée. Do you understand?" I asked. We were mind-linked and were able to talk telepathically.

"Yes, sir. I'll do whatever I can, sir," he replied.

I was currently in my car, and after I had made those two phone calls, all I had to do was wait, and I should be in contact with Bettany soon. But I also needed to do something to pass the time.

After a brief moment of thought, I decided I would simply take a short nap while expecting a phone call from my beta, Abel.

I drifted off to sleep, and after a while, I was awoken by a phone call. And sure enough, it was from Abel. I picked up the receiver and said into the phone, "Hello."

"Hello, sir," he replied. "I have gathered the necessary information you need in order to find Bettany. She is currently with her terminally ill sister at the hospital right down the street from where you are."

"Thank you for the information," I said, and then I replaced the receiver.

I put my feet on the throttle and headed for the hospital. Upon entering the hospital, I managed to attract a lot of attention to myself, but I paid no heed to the people looking at me and went straight for the front desk.

"Please, I am looking for a young woman named Bettany. She's here to visit her sister," I said to the receptionist.

It was obvious that the receptionist knew who I was looking for, as she did not waste my time and said, "Miss Bettany is visiting her sister in Ward 39. You should find Ward 39 if you walk right down that passageway," she said, pointing to a particular passageway.

"Thank you," I said, and then headed for Ward 39. I walked towards Ward 39, passing the other wards as they were arranged sequentially. Upon getting close to Ward 39, I reached out for the knob of the door, and just as I was about to open it, a nurse stopped me.

"Please excuse me, sir," she said. "What relation are you to Miss Annabelle?"

"Annabelle's older sister Bettany is my wife," I replied calmly.

"Oh, well, I see," she said. "Since you are the brother-in-law of the patient, you should be allowed entry for a very short period of time. Your wife is in there with her sister. Please make sure not to stress the patient too much as she's still in a very fragile state."

"Of course," I said, and then opened the door to Ward 39. Once I had entered, I saw Bettany with a tear-streaked face, filled with tears which she was constantly trying to sniff back into her nose as she cried and held her sister's hand gently.

My sister had obviously just come from the operating room as I smelled surgical equipment all around the ward. Bettany was taken aback when she saw me and then gently put her sister's hand down and walked up to me.

I spoke first and told her, "Come with me," I commanded slightly.

"Where to?" she asked me.

"We are going to visit my mom in this very hospital," I said.

"But I still have some time to stay with my sister. Please, can you wait for a few minutes for me to spend with my sister?" she asked me.

"Do what you want," I said nonchalantly. "After you're done speaking with your sister, wash your face in the bathroom over there," I said, and then walked out.

I waited for some time, and after waiting for about 5 to 6 minutes, Bettany finally came out.

"I'm ready," she said, and it was obvious that she had washed her face and looked much better now.

"My mom is in Ward 51. Let's go meet her."

"As you wish."

Then we both headed for Ward 51 to visit my mom. Ward 51 actually wasn't very far away from Ward 39, so after walking for a while, we got to Ward 51. Upon entering the ward, Bettany and I found my mom on the bed and a nurse by her side. The nurse, upon seeing us, immediately gave us privacy as she left the room.

"Hello, mother," I said.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," Bettany said shyly.

"Hello," my mother replied in a low voice. "So, you are the one getting married to my son, are you?" my mother asked in a rather weak but imposing tone.

"Yes, I am, ma'am," Bettany said.

"Well, what do you see in my son, young lady?" my mother asked, imposingly.

"Mom," I cut into their conversation. "This is a visit, not an interrogation," I said to my mother in a rather angry tone.

The air in the room was now more tense than it was when we came in, all because my mother was asking unnecessary questions. Why would she ask a question like "What do you see in my son?" at a time like this? What was Bettany supposed to say to her?

This sudden and unexpected question filled me with a strange mix of rage and tension. This question completely caught Bettany and me off guard, and I wondered how Bettany was going to answer the question.

That was when I heard her, in a soft voice, "Well, ma'am, I think your son is probably the most perfect man out there," she said, with an unwavering tone in her voice.

I looked in Bettany's direction, completely mystified by the full capabilities of the woman standing beside me.