After what seemed like a long night for Katherine and Damien, the two went to sleep separately. However, in the middle of the night, she woke up and subconsciously stretched her hands to the side expecting to grab hold of something — or someone — but found an empty s.p.a.ce.

Slowly opening her eyes, she realized that Damien wasn't next to her because she punished him to sleep in the living room. She sighed and felt her heavy heart sink even more. She was supposed to be mad yet she couldn't help but miss him beside her. Grabbing his pillow, she hugged it tightly and inhaled his scent on it. She frowned and got out of bed, heading towards the door.

Her stomach grumbled as she was making her way downstairs because she hadn't had dinner and stubbornly went to bed with an empty stomach. She had refused her dinner earlier because she didn't want to have to face Damien. As she landed on the first floor, she found him sleeping on the sofa, so she carefully walked past him and headed straight towards the kitchen to grab a quick bite.

When Katherine opened the fridge, there was a plate of chicken alfredo pasta covered with a wrap and a sticky note on top of it that said: 

[I know you'll be hungry since you didn't eat anything. ♥ Damien.]

Seeing the sweet note with a little heart on it just before his name, she slightly furrowed her brows before her cheeks blushed. She bit her lip as she suppressed the urge to smile. 'Stupidly-sweet-annoying silly man,' she said in her thoughts as she grabbed the plate and reheated it before digging in.

She smiled to herself knowing that Damien cooked it himself. Now she felt weird for staying mad at him. She didn't really hate him — she could never, but she was annoyed that after telling him countless of times not to buy or give her expensive stuff, he still went and gave her the house.

The house was just a small matter for him but it was not for Katherine. After living in that shabby apartment for five years, just being able to have a slightly more decent place to go home to was already enough for her — and having Damien to go home to was already such a huge blessing. Owning a house… that was not in her mind at all, feeling that she didn't deserve anything extravagant.

After finis.h.i.+ng her meal, she quickly washed the dishes and sauntered towards the living room where she saw Damien still asleep with his blanket on the floor.

Biting her inner cheek, she strolled towards him and picked up the blanket. Before she draped it over him, her eyes landed on his face and she stopped to stare at him as though she was appreciating every outline of his face. She bent down and squat on the floor, hugging the blanket and wondering if she should wake him up. 

Though she wanted to, a stubborn part of her told her not to and stand her ground; insisting that Damien should learn to listen to her and respect her boundaries. 'Eh. It's just one night, you'll live,' she thought.

Covering him with the blanket, she tucked him in and checked the temperature in the living room to make sure that he was comfortable before walking up the stairs and entering the bedroom.

Knowing that she was gone, Damien's eyes fluttered open and a smile crossed his face as he looked at the door to the master bedroom. He had been awake since Katherine arrived downstairs but he figured that she didn't want to talk to him yet so he remained quiet all throughout. He knew she couldn't stay mad at him and he was hoping that they will make up soon. 

Feeling happy about the concern that she showed to him just now, he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

The next day…

Katherine and Damien barely talked during breakfast and Alianna had to sit through the awkward atmosphere. She suppressed the urge to laugh when she caught sight of Damien purposely moving closer to Katherine many times while they went about in the kitchen, fixing their own breakfast. 

"Well this is nice," Alianna commented, sipping on her coffee. The bruising on her cheek was still visible but it was no longer that painful and had started to heal. She grabbed a piece of toast and darted her gaze between the two who were obviously missing each other.

Katherine held her pride to stand her ground and put on a poker face while Damien had a bright expression as though he just had the most amazing sleep ever. While she reached for a mug, he was reaching for his own mug at the same time. Due to their close proximity, his chest brushed against her shoulder and his eyes naturally lingered on her before he moved away. 

Her heart was pounding in her chest and she could only frown to show her annoyance as she knew very well what he was doing… and it was working. 

Alianna caught Katherine glancing at Damien's back while he was cooking oatmeal on the stove and she couldn't help but tease. "You enjoying your breakfast?"

"What?" Katherine jumped at her question as though she was caught red-handed and heat crept up her nape. "I… uh... yeah…" she muttered before grabbing a piece of toast and munched on it. 

She turned to Ali and asked her about her plans for the next few days. Alianna was supposed to be working but because of what happened, her manager told her to take the rest of the week off.

Katherine and Damien went to work as usual and despite their differences, they maintained a professional working atmosphere. She would never let their personal life affect her work so they still had an amiable workday. 

Having external meetings in the afternoon, Damien left the company and told her that they'd meet at home after work. She finished her tasks for the day and got notified that Felix was waiting for her at the lobby to send her home. 

She felt a little awkward riding in the Jaguar now that she knew Damien had given her that car. She was thankful but still thought that it was unnecessary. However, knowing her man — she sighed thinking that all he did was out of love despite it being annoying. Shaking her head, she leaned back and enjoyed the ride.

Just as she arrived at the house in Pearl Gardens, she scanned the entire property, taking in the fact that she now owned the luxurious house that she could never afford by herself. Breathing in deeply, she entered her home. 

She removed her shoes and slumped on the sofa, wondering where Alianna was but she was feeling too lazy to check. Just as she closed her eyes, she heard the engine sound of a car coming from outside and a minute later, the main door opened. Katherine turned her head and met Damien's eyes but before she could give him a small greeting, she felt a wet nudge on her feet.

Katherine peeked and saw a brown ball of fur on her toes. She gasped and her hands flew to her mouth, "Oh. My. G.o.d." Her eyes widened in absolute surprise. "What…" 

Damien came to sit next to her, not saying anything.

"Did… did you… get this for me?" She was still in shock as she gaped at the fluffy chocolate-colored puppy that's rolling on her feet, staring up at her while sticking its tongue out and wagging its tail. She picked it up right away and rubbed its tummy. "Oooh…" she cooed, hugging it close to her.

Tilting his head, Damien quirked a brow. "That depends… are you going to accept it?" he asked, a playful grin dancing on his lips.

She snapped her head to him, knitting her brows as she scoffed, "You... are so annoying..." She was caught in his trap and she fell into it willingly.

"I'm annoying? Am I annoying in a bad way… or in a good way?"

Katherine bit the inside of her cheek before she darted her gaze away and responded under her breath. "I don't know… I haven't decided yet."