Chapter 7

“Hey," the lady said and looked away from him, wiping her face with her hand

Damien stood awkwardly for some time before he sat beside her. “I could not help but notice you were in a bad mood," he said

He kept his distance so as not to scare her away. One thing a crying lady would not want was to feel threatened at her lowest emotional point. It worked when he dealt with his sister, mother and Rebecca so he believed so to be true.

“What? You want to mock me?" she snapped at him

Damien shook his head. “No, no. Everyone can break down once in a while. It's normal. I just thought you needed someone to speak to. You know, listen to you" he said

She studied his face for a while then looked away. “I'm Damien" he placed his hand on his chest

“So what now? I should tell you my name so you could question my weakness"

“I can never do that. You can choose not to tell me your name. It's your choice. I won't force you"

They both turned silent as she began to sob, her chest rising and falling. “I… I" she played with her fingers, her tears rolling down from her eyes

“I did nothing wrong" she spoke, sobbing “I just thought he was good for me but I was wrong. I apologized but he… he hit me. He made me cry over and over again" she said

Damian moved closer and placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned to him and burst into tears hugging him. “He beat me so much. I'll beg but he does not listen to me. He said he loves me but he always hits me" she said

“It's okay. It's okay" he said rubbing her back

She cried for a while, narrating all that happened to her. Apparently, her boyfriend saw her with a friend and claimed she was cheating on him. Before she could explain what had happened, he hit her and kept pounding on her until she found an opening and ran out of the house.

With nowhere to go, she came to the church to find refuge. Damien was very understanding. He said little and only allowed her to speak pouring out her thoughts and emotions.

From her tone, Damien felt her pain. She was really hurt. After a couple of minutes, the church turned quiet. The lady kept snifling but she had stopped crying. Pouring out her pain, helped her overcome the pain at least a little.

She withdrew from him, wiping her face with the back of her hand. “Thank you," she said

Damien smiled. “Why?"

“I was mean to you but you still made me feel better," she said

“What kind of man would I be if I spot a beautiful lady crying and not make her feel better?"

She smiled. “For that, thank you. Not many men do that"

“My pleasure to help you"

“I'm Joana by the way"

“Nice to meet you, Joana. You are beautiful so please don't let anyone downgrade you"

She nodded. “Thanks" she smiled then looked around “Do you have somewhere to go? I would love your company," she said

“I would stay with you and keep you company"

They remained on their benches chatting about different things for some time. “You just told me your name. Tell me about yourself generally" Joana said

Damien smiled but shook his head. “Tonight is for you only," he said

Joana did not push to know who he was but she told him only a little about herself too. They eventually fell asleep in the church with Joana's head on Damien's shoulder.

The next morning, Joana woke up first and stared at his face for some time. The side of her lips curved up and then she looked away blushing.

Damien woke up and she gave a neutral front. “Good morning" he greeted, rubbing his eyes

She nodded. “Good morning. I'm about to leave would you mind joining me" she said

“Oh I'm fine"

“C'mon. I thought you said you had nowhere to go" she said

Yes, he had said that out of the spur of the moment. He had completely forgotten he was speaking to a stranger. “Please," she said “I won't hurt you. Promise," she said

“So where are we going?" he asked, rising to his feet

“My house"

When Joana said they were going to her house, it did not occur to Damien that it might be something as big as the one he was looking at.

They had taken a cab to this place but there were three cars under a shade in the compound. By merely looking at them, Damien knew they were not cheap.

“Come in," she said, walking to the door with her keys in hand jingling 

She opened the door and flung it open. As expected from the exterior, the interior design was top-notch and not cheap. “Follow me please" she said and walked up the stairs

Damien could not help but feed his eyes with the things that surrounded him. It never crossed his mind that the simple dressed lady he saw in the church had all this or was her boyfriend's?

Why would she bring him here if it were her boyfriend's? Did she want to be beaten again?

After ascending the stairs, Joana opened a door and got in, Damien still trailing behind her. “You can freshen up while I do the same then we get breakfast after. There are clean towels, brushes and other essentials. Oh. Give me a minute" she said and stepped out

She came back five minutes later with a new T-shirt and shorts. “You can change into this after having your bath," she said 

“But…"

“See it as a form of thank you," she said

Damien could only agree and did as she said. Finally, he was able to clean himself up. Everything was available to him in the bedroom. After he met Joana downstairs they went to a restaurant to have breakfast. Not just any restaurant but a five-star restaurant.

After, they went shopping for clothes. Just for him and that was when she popped the question that had been on her mind. “Would you be my bodyguard, Damien?"