Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

It had been a couple of months since the last time Damien came to visit his grandmother that he calls "Nana".

Nana was the mother of Damien's late father, Lawrence Park. She was a jetsetter and was rarely in the Park Estate while he was growing up. It was only in recent years that she stayed there because of old age.

Damien sat in the armchair on Nana's left side and he ran his fingers along his jaw, not knowing how or exactly what he wanted to ask.

Noticing that he was strangely quieter than usual, Nana put away the yarn and needles on the table and examined his appearance. "Are you going to start telling me? Or do I have to start counting your sighs?"

After contemplating, Damien finally opened his mouth again. "Nana, that woman..."

That woman – was how Damien called his mother whenever he was in front of his family. He hated his mother because she left and he never knew why he didn't have motherly memories of her except for those particular ones.

But because of those few sweet memories of her 'making' that dish, there was a part of him that was still somehow longing for her care. It was like a black hole in his heart that could never be filled no matter how many bowls of noodles he was going to eat since she left. And now, he didn't even know if he was still going to ever eat another bowl after what he discovered.

Nana knew who he was talking about and was curious as to why he was suddenly bringing her up this time after all these years. "What about her?"

A small smile appeared on his face as he told her about what he discovered that morning.

Reaching her frail hand out and placing it on top of his, Nana clicked her tongue and let out a long sigh. "I am truly sorry that you had to go through that. Why didn't you tell me about that before? If I had known, I would have told you… that wench didn't even know how to cook. That Zhao family really played us. I knew I shouldn't have agreed with your grandfather's idiotic plan to arrange a marriage for your father and that woman." 

"She didn't know how to cook or do any house chores. She left you at a very young age. I should have been firm the moment I knew she couldn't–" Nana stopped herself and bit her tongue as she looked at her grandson who was silently listening to her speak ill of his mother. 

And suddenly, the itch that had been in her heart was clawing its way back again. She had to tell him now. "My sweet one, actually… there is something that you need to know. Will you go with me to my room?"

Damien had to look at her for a few seconds before nodding. He helped her get up from the rocking chair and the two of them walked slowly towards her bedroom that was located on the second floor of the mansion.

Entering Nana's bedroom, Damien recognized the familiar setting — it was the same as the last time that he had been there when he was a young boy. He carefully led her to the bed where she wanted to sit and she pointed to the brown cabinet at the corner. "There is a square tin can on the bottom of that thing. Can you bring it to me?" she said.

Following his Nana's request, Damien did as he was told and handed it over to her before he sat down and waited for whatever she had to say.

He saw her sigh as she held the container in her hands and then she patted his hand saying, "My sweet boy… you have grown so big already but you will always still be little to me."

He gave her a gentle smile and his heart warmed upon hearing her sweet words but he suddenly felt nervous when he heard her start: "I… am sorry that I have to be the one to tell you this. I actually don't know why it had taken me such a long time but… I hope you will forgive me even if you find that you come to hate what you have to hear from me."

"Nana… What are you trying to say?" Damien's brows creased and he watched her as she ran her fingers on the tin can before she opened it. 

There were a few papers and some pictures that she patiently rummaged through to pick up an envelope that was once white but now had brown stains around it. She held it in her hand and placed the tin can aside before she gave the envelope to Damien. 

"Before your father got married to that Zhao woman, he had a lover. Her name was Amelia Silva and she was mixed-race — she's a lovely girl."

Damien opened the envelope and took out a picture of a beautiful young woman whose hair was wavy and black. She had dark, clear eyes and had a sweet smile on her face. 

"Amelia is your biological mother."

His head snapped towards his Nana and confusion masked his face. "I don't understand. What do you mean?"

Damien tried to see if his grandmother was joking but she stared at him apologetically and all he could do was look at the picture in his hands again and there was this peculiar feeling in his heart that he could not explain. Fear? Joy? He wished he knew. But no matter how he looked at the beautiful woman in the picture, he could feel familiarity which was very strange for him.

"That Zhao woman could not bear a child and I only knew a year after she married into the family. Your father was still seeing his lover Amelia behind our backs and your grandfather found out that she got pregnant. Because she wasn't your father's wife, she couldn't stay. And when you were born, Miriam Zhao said that she was going to raise you as long as Amelia leaves and never comes back. That woman… Miriam fell in love with your father. Maybe she thought that if she took you in and take care of you, your father would look at her. But he never did."

Damien was so confused as he listened to his grandmother's explanation. He could barely understand what was happening — he was having a difficult time processing this new information.

"Is that… is that why mother… that woman… she wasn't always nice." Damien tried to recall in his memories, but because he was still very young when that happened, he could not remember clearly. All he could remember were the times that he got scolded for no apparent reason and then all of a sudden, she would be kind and 'cook' him that food whenever his father… that's right… now that he tried to remember it, she was only like that whenever his father was there.

Damien stared at the floor as memories of his childhood flashed in his mind. 

"I am terribly sorry, Damien. Will you forgive Nana?" she asked in a soft voice, hoping that her favorite grandson will not bear a grudge.

Hearing his grandmother, he placed a hand over hers that was touching his arm. He was speechless and was still utterly confused about everything. He had not only found out that Miriam Zhao had lied to him when he was still a boy, and on top of that, she wasn't even his biological mother.

His gaze drifted back to the picture in his hand. And this woman, a sweet-looking woman was actually his real mother.

"Where is she?" Damien faced his grandmother, "Amelia... Where is she now?"

He saw her let out a heavy sigh and she shook her head as she said, "I wish I knew. A few years after you were born, I tried to search for her but I never found her. Your grandfather also didn't tell me anything."

He gently nodded and gave his grandmother a hug. "Nana… I could never get mad at you. You're the only person who truly loves me here anyway." He felt Nana's loving pats on his back and after a while, he got up to his feet and bid her goodbye, bringing the envelope with him.

…

Damien got inside his car and he looked at the envelope in his hand before he started his engine and drove out of the estate.

With everything that he had learned from his grandmother, he didn't know what to feel. But there was only one thing that he wanted to do. And that was to hold Katherine.

Arriving in front of the Royal Penthouse, he took out his keycard and opened the door. Once he entered the place, he scanned the entire area hoping to see her right away. 

Light footsteps were heard from the left and a few seconds later, Katherine appeared wearing a grey tank top and light pink mini shorts. Her hair was tied in a messy bun and her bubbly gloved hands were raised. She looked lovely and she was his.

"Damien…" she called him.

Walking in long strides, Damien wrapped his arms around her waist for a tight embrace and buried his head in the crook of her neck. He didn't say anything. All he wanted was to hold her.