Page 37 of Only You
Sabine laughed a little. ‘You are much more suited for land.’ She was quiet, her hands gripping the bench. ‘It crossed my mind after my mother passed that we could have visited for one reason or another, but that seemed too sentimental for my father. It is a “gift only afforded to the feminine”.’ She rolled her eyes. ‘My father is not the emotional type.’
‘I know.’ Damien’s first meeting with Kwame Kouassi replayed in his mind. ‘I’m surprised he showed you so much affection.’
She shrugged. ‘He always wanted me to have two things: stability and power. It’s something he worked for all his life.’
‘So, why not look for something more familiar?’
Sabine grimaced before sighing deeply. ‘He was never fond of the idea of me being with a local man,’ she explained. ‘He had to do a lot of things for us to get the power we have, some of which included hurting our own people. He didn’t want me to bear the consequences.’
That seemed understandable. However, what caused more questions was the way Sabine now wrapped her arms around herself as if to shield herself from danger. There had to be more to the story. Still, he held back the question, ‘What happened?’ and instead said, ‘That explains the fencing.’
‘The fencing, the guards and his insistence of looking for suitors within our newly formed business partners… and I think he was scared.’ Her brows pinched together. ‘He knows from experience how far someone can go when they fall in love, and he didn’t want anyone ruining his plans.’
‘He made you a soldier.’
‘Yes.’ Sabine frowned. ‘In a way, he did.’ He hummed in contemplation.
‘You know what’s the best moment of being a soldier?’ he asked suddenly.
Sabine raised her brow, meeting his gaze as she shook her head.
‘It’s that moment when you let go of all your opinions, when you finally bow your head to what’s happening. You’ll hate yourself for it later but, in that moment, it’s a relief to be able to stop thinking. Suddenly, you’re not someone no one wanted or deathly afraid of losing the only friends you have to someone just like you on the other side. You’re just… ready.’
‘Then why is it so hard to live with?’ she whispered.
As Damien looked her in the eye, they were one and the same. Under all the gleam of privilege and pride lingered the feeling of being lost. Once again, he felt their connection, unwavering and undeniable, just like when they had first met.
‘If I knew I would tell you.’
A tear slipped from Sabine’s eye, and she quickly wiped it away. ‘Despite everything he’s done in my mother’s name, my father spent years teaching me love has consequences. It’s a fantasy that can never be fulfilled. Perhaps, it was not enough.’
‘Why do you say that?’
‘Because here I am with you.’ She bit her lip before placing her hand tentatively over his. ‘I know our time is limited but if I had a choice… you are all I want.’ She gripped his hand tightly. ‘Please, tell me you understand.’
He paused at the fear in her eyes and pulled free of her grip to wrap his arm around her, pulling her to his side. ‘I don’t need to understand,’ he said. ‘You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll always be okay. Even when all this is over, I’ll find my way to you.’
Sabine buried her face in his chest but did not answer. He couldn’t say for sure, but he had a feeling she didn’t believe him. So, he held on as tight as he could, hoping she wasn’t slipping away, that she had enough faith in them to know he would keep his word.
As he made his way down the hall, he knew she would need it. The general waited for him, looking livid as he gestured for Damien to follow him to his study. He instinctively looked out the window and paused when he saw that it looked out to the garden, specifically to the bench him and Sabine were sitting on earlier. He swallowed nervously as he met the general’s gaze.
Love had made him reckless.
Chapter Fifteen
Washington, D.C.
August 2013
The sound of the marketplace filled his ears as he wandered through the streets looking for his mother. She had been gone for two days, an absence that was odd for her. She was supposed to come back with food, but night came and went. He went to her employer’s house the day before, sneaking through the back when he heard the mistress of the house shouting about his mother being missing. He snatched a piece of fruit from the kitchen before silently slipping out. He continued to wait until his stomach was too empty to bear, hoping that maybe someone in the market would know where she went.
Answers came with pitiful or scathing looks, but the answers were all the same: no one knew where his mother went.
Hours from that moment, he would wander the streets. A baker closing shop would have some sympathy for him and give him some bread. Upon trying to take him home, he would tell her his mother was gone. While the baker was kind, she knew she wouldn’t have enough money to care for him. She would do what she thought was best and tell a passing group of soldiers about her predicament. Among them would be General Roulet, someone who took one look at him and noticed that despite being tired, poor and clearly orphaned, the boy wasn’t defeated.
Jones’s eyes blinked open to a dark room. His gaze roamed the ceiling for a moment as he realised he was awake and felt surprisingly rested. He reached over to his bedside table to his charging phone. Squinting at the screen, he read that it was only 2:37 a.m. He groaned, putting his face in his pillow.
This is what happens when you go to bed early after staying up for an all-night session.
