Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Katherine strode towards where Caroline was standing with tears brimming her eyes. Her hands clenched on her sides as she watched the young man who was just with her walk out of the door, leaving her all on her own. From their table, she heard Damien tell the other patrons that there was nothing to look at and to mind their own business. The cafe staff had already started to clean the mess on the floor when Katherine reached her cousin.

"Caroline…" she called.

The young woman flitted her gaze towards her, and only then did she realize that she was crying and people were looking her way. She quickly wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand and turned to grab her stuff from the table, not wanting to look at Katherine.

"Hey. Are you okay?" Katherine touched Caroline's shoulder, and then she scanned her body, trying to see if she was hurt anywhere. It didn't seem like she was.

The younger woman kept her lips in a thin line, looking embarrassed at what just happened. She quickly glanced at the surroundings and probably saw Damien and Alianna across the room. "God, this is so embarrassing."

Katherine could imagine. Who would ever want to be the center of attention like that? Whatever happened between the two, the guy walked out and left her—it made her look like she had done something terrible. Taking a deep breath, Katherine inched closer and hooked her arm with the other, tugging her away from the table. "Come on, join us. You can't be alone right now."

Caroline's shoulders sunk, and she nodded, keeping her eyes on the floor as she let Katherine walk her towards their table on the other side of the room. Katherine introduced her to Alianna, and she sat in the empty armchair. Katherine was to her right, Alianna to her left, and Damien across her. She kept her quiet for a couple of minutes, and they let her just rest for a bit. Katherine asked for a glass of water from the staff and then placed it in front of her.

"Caroline…" Katherine called. The younger woman hesitated at first before she lifted her gaze to her. "You want to tell me what happened?" Caroline bit her bottom lip, seemingly contemplating whether to tell her or not. And then she added, "I know we're not really close, and we probably don't like each other that much. But I'll listen to you."

Damien leaned back leisurely against the rest and crossed his arms, looking confident and protective as he said, "Did that punk hurt you? You want me to kick his ass?"

Caroline lowered her head for a bit, a blush creeping from her neck up to her forehead. Katherine had noticed since the start that her cousin had a little crush on Damien, and right now, she looked adorable, that it made her softly chuckle. Katherine glanced at Damien and found him very attractive, even just sitting there, and with what he said just now, that definitely gave the hotness bar a raise.

"No...I—It's my fault he left," Caroline finally said, her voice soft and desolate.

"Would you like to talk about it?" asked Katherine. When the other did not say anything after a few beats, she added, "I made a lot of mistakes growing up. Even now, I still make them. It's okay, Caroline."

Taking a deep breath, Caroline began to tell her story. Apparently, she dated that guy for a month now. They started out as just flings, and she didn't intend to lie at first, but she created this life that she didn't have—like having a father even though she didn't have one. It was just that one lie initially, but one lie became two until it was out of control. Her boyfriend, who started out as a fling, was British, and he didn't know about the Youngs. And somehow, he learned the truth and confronted her about it today.

"I don't even know why I lied about having a father. I'm a grown woman, for Pete's sake. I met him, and he had this perfect life and somehow I wanted that perfect life too." Caroline huffed, sadness laced all over her face. "I've never done anything like this before. I'm such an idiot. His ex-girlfriend was also a liar, and I hurt him again for being one."

Katherine placed a hand on Caroline's arm. "It got pretty heated back there. I hope he didn't hurt you. Even if he was angry, he shouldn't."

"No, no… He got up so fast and somehow nudged the table when he did and knocked over the stuff by accident."

Alianna got a pack of tissue from her bag and handed it over to Caroline. The latter started dabbing on her cheek, her tears seemingly out of control.

It was quiet for a few beats before she began to speak again, "I love my mom…" The sudden divulgence surprised Katherine but let Caroline continue. "I grew up only having her...and Grandpa. But I don't know. I still feel like...something is missing, you know? All my friends have fathers. Mom never told me anything about him. I used to ask, but she'd always dismiss me. You're lucky…" The last words were a mutter.

Katherine's brows knitted upon hearing what Caroline said, and she couldn't help but scoff. "Lucky?" A little part of her felt pissed and also confused at what Caroline was talking about. "I lost my parents...in a fire—both of them. I can't ever see them again. But your mom is still alive."

Caroline's eyes widened, realization dawning on her. "Oh, my god. I'm sorry. That came out wrong… I'm sorry that you lost your parents. I just meant… You knew both of them. You knew your dad and was able to at least spend time with him… I—I would never know how that feels. I'm saying nonsense. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I'll shut up now." She bit her lip and averted her gaze.

Letting out a sigh, Katherine nodded. She didn't want to dwell on that. She also didn't know what to tell the other for lying. God knows lying was part of her too. Thankfully, Alianna told Caroline some generic advice about moving on, so she didn't have to. This thing between Katherine and Caroline would probably always be weird, and she didn't have to press on it. She just felt like she had to be there for her cousin even if they weren't related by blood.

Damien got to his feet. "I'm getting another cup. You want a refill?" Katherine and Alianna shook their heads. He tilted his head to Caroline, "You want anything to drink? My treat."

Caroline thought about it for a second before she opened her mouth and gave Damien her specific order. "I want iced coffee with almond milk, two shots, two pumps of vanilla, four pumps of cinnamon dolce, and whipped cream."

He stood there as if trying to process what the hell her drink would taste like and why she wanted almond milk but also wanted whipped cream. His chest rose when he took a deep breath, running his tongue across his inner cheek. "How about a soda?"

The younger woman furrowed her brows together and stared back at him.

Damien chuckled as he walked away, shaking his head. "I'll be right back."