Chapter 49: Your Hot Boss Is Trending!
Half an hour later, Damien's eyes opened and it took him a second to adjust to the lights in his living room. He looked up and saw Katherine had also fallen asleep. He stared at her face which was looking sweet and peaceful until his gaze trailed down to her arm and found her hand resting on his chest.
A satisfied smile spread across his face before he carefully placed his hand over it. Bringing her hand to his lips, he pressed a feather-light kiss on it that lasted for three seconds before he got up from the sofa.
Damien quickly but gently laid her down on the sofa while placing a throw pillow under her head. Just as he straightened up, his phone vibrated in his pocket, indicating that he received a phone call.
"Yes?" He answered the call when he saw that it was from his assistant Markus and went to his office.
"Boss, I've already checked the other hospitals around the area but none of them have any records that we're looking for."
Damien sat on his office chair and asked, "What about Dr. Cheng?" He heard Markus inhale deeply and answered, "Boss… Dr. Cheng is gone."
"What do you mean gone?"
"I am at Spring Grove Hospital right now and the staff told me that he turned his resignation letter last Friday."
Damien's brows knitted and felt odd about the piece of information. "But we just saw him last Friday. How could he leave so suddenly? Have you found out why?"
"I didn't see his letter but they said that it was a sudden family decision and that they will move overseas."
"Check whether he has already left the country. Find out where he is right now. It looks like he's fleeing and we can't let that happen." Damien said in a low voice.
"Yes, I'm already on it. But there's one more thing, Boss." Damien heard shuffling of papers in the background before Markus continued, "I'm sending you the file right now."
While they were speaking, Damien received a few images containing Dr. Cheng's bank statements and contracts. "There are some weird transactions on his account. His salary five years before is the one marked in blue. However, around the time that Ms. Katherine was transferred over to his care, he started receiving money from random off-shore accounts. But I've checked and he doesn't have any relatives overseas."
"Even if he does… He's a doctor, his salary is already high… I doubt family members would think that he is in need." Damien's hand balled into a fist when he realized that this was too much of a coincidence. "I'm still waiting for Zero's update. You can take care of the rest, right?"
"Don't worry boss, I know someone from the airport who can check. I'll get back to you real soon."
"Coordinate with Zero if you're having troubles."
Their conversation ended and Damien contemplated for a while before he decided to call Jeffrey to tell him what he discovered so far.
Jeffrey responded, "Now that's interesting. I don't know much about Dr. Martin Cheng. He seems to be really low-profile so I have not heard if he had any remarkable achievements. But it is strange that he resigned the same day that you visited him and transferred Katherine to me. Have you found him yet?"
"No, Markus is still trying to follow his trail." Damien had a lot in his mind and he worried about Katherine's safety more after finding out all of this.
"You can come by again tomorrow and we can start with the course," Jeffrey suggested.
It took a few seconds for Damien to think about it before he replied, "How safe is it?"
"Hypnosis is generally safe. There are adverse reactions to it but it's rare."
"What reactions?" Damien worried.
"In rare cases, a patient may suffer dizziness, headache or feelings of anxiety. I have already talked to her about this the first time we met and she said she was willing to as long as you're there."
Damien thought he heard it wrongly and had to ask. "What?"
"She wants you to be there with her during the process."
Damien's distressed heart suddenly felt warm. He didn't know that Katherine had so much trust in him that she even wanted him there. "Thank you, Jeff. We'll see you tomorrow then."
After their conversation, Damien went back inside his place and found Katherine opening her eyes. She hurriedly got up from the sofa when she realized that she had fallen asleep and her boss was looking at her. "I'm sorry, I must have been tired."
"It's okay." Damien looked at his watch and saw that it was already five in the afternoon. "Why don't you stay here tonight? I can meet Mr. Davis alone for dinner."
"Are you sure? I don't mind accompanying you to this dinner." Katherine felt weird for not going with him when the appointment was still related to business.
"It's fine. Most of them are men anyway… they might ask for drinks afterwards so it's better if you stay here instead."
"Oh… okay." She nodded and felt awkward for what she wanted to ask but her mouth opened before she could even stop herself. "What time are you coming home?"
Her question made Damien smile but he controlled the urge to tease her and directly answered, "I might come back late. So you don't have to wait for me. There's still some food in the fridge." He turned and headed to his bedroom upstairs.
It took him ten minutes before he came back down wearing a new dress shirt and a suit. Seeing him walk towards her, Katherine unconsciously stepped forward, held the knot of his tie and fixed it.
Damien stared at her acting like a little wife and he clenched his jaw when he felt the urge to kiss her right then and there. But he stopped himself and swallowed.
With a sweet smile on her face, Katherine lightly patted his tie. "There," she said as she glanced at him and saw him staring down at her. "What?"
"Nothing." Damien shook his head and patted her head gently. "I have to go," he said before he turned and left.
Katherine slumped onto the sofa as soon as she was alone and curled up into a ball. She instantly felt bored and did not know what to do. The house was large and spacious but it was lonely without Damien.
She grabbed the remote control on the coffee table, turned on the TV and started scanning through the channels.
The night was quite uneventful for Katherine as she ate alone in front of the TV and decided to go to bed early. When she crawled on the bed, she sent a message to Emma and checked the entertainment website that she used to follow.
Scrolling through the page, she stumbled across an article about Lexi Jin's return to Harbor City after years of being in Europe. She saw some of the model's pictures on the runway and the awards that she received. After meeting her that day, Katherine thought that the model became uninteresting for her.
She placed her phone on the bedside table, dimmed the lights and went to sleep at eight in the evening.
That night, Katherine dreamt again. But this time, it was different. She was running away as though she was being chased. She was on a long dark road with trees on either side and she could feel the coldness of the ground as she was running barefoot.
She looked back but didn't see anyone chasing her but she could feel that someone was watching her… so she ran until she was breathless. She tripped and fell to the ground, wincing in pain.
The next second, she felt someone hover over her. An unfamiliar man's voice whispered to her ear, "Arrête, Katherine."
The voice made her wake up gasping for air. Katherine was drenched in cold sweat and she tried to remember the last part of her dream but as much as she tried, she didn't recognize the man's voice. Moreover, she didn't understand what he said.
Her phone beeped, which made her turn to the side and grab her cell phone. There were messages from Emma:
[Emma: I'm glad you're okay! Have lunch with me tomorrow? My treat!]
[Emma: Adam's been busy lately too, but I told him I invited you tomorrow so he might come. You're meeting us, okay? You're not allowed to refuse :p]
[Emma: OMG! Your hot boss is trending! Check out this link!]
Confused, Katherine clicked on the link that her friend sent.
The page took a while to open but when it did, she saw an article that was just posted an hour ago from a paparazzi.
There were pictures of Damien and Lexi going in and out of a restaurant separately. The pictures that were taken were solos but the write-up said they were on a date.
Katherine's eyes narrowed when she read the words in bold: Resort King Damien Park Rekindles His Love with His Ex-Girlfriend Supermodel Lexi Jin by taking her out on a date. Can Love Really Be Sweeter the Second Time Around?
Katherine almost barfed upon reading the highlight. She knew it was only publicity and did not believe any of it. However, she couldn't help feeling bitter seeing the two in the article and being talked about on the internet.
She looked at the time and saw that it was past midnight. Wanting to see if Damien was there, she took a peek of the living room but saw that the sofa was empty.
Knowing that she was all alone at that hour and after having that nightmare, she went back to bed with a heavy heart but she couldn't sleep no matter how much she tried.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
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Chapter 50: Lucid Dream
Katherine laid on the bed while she hugged a pillow. She no longer felt sleepy, so for the past hour, her eyes were wide open as she thought about where Damien could be.
She debated with herself whether she should send him a message or not but she could not bring herself to do it so she could only stare at her phone that was on the bedside table.
Not long after, she heard a faint noise that came outside the bedroom. It seemed like Damien had just gotten home. Katherine looked at the wall as she tried to imagine him walk up the stairs and finally opening the door. And as soon as she saw the knob turn, she immediately closed her eyes shut and pretended to be asleep.
Damien walked towards the bed and saw that she was fast asleep. He was a little buzzed after drinking with his business partners but since he had a high alcohol tolerance, he wasn't that drunk. He sauntered towards his walk-in closet and stripped off his clothes.
When Katherine heard rustling sounds, she squinted her eyes and saw him in his boxer briefs while he was facing his broad back to her, which made her eyes grew wide in surprise. She gasped but quickly closed her eyes shut when she noticed his head turned to the side.
Katherine kept her eyes shut, she didn't move an inch but her ears were very observant as she tried to guess what he was doing. She heard him got in the shower but she didn't dare to take a peek.
A few minutes later, Damien got out of the bathroom dressed in loungewear. He walked towards the bed and Katherine could smell his fresh, pleasant scent tempting her to look at him but she maintained her act.
As he looked down at her, he caught a glimpse of her phone on the side with the screen still on. Wanting to turn it off to save the battery, he grabbed it and was about to press the lock button when he saw the page that she was reading last.
He checked the article and was instantly enraged at what he saw. His gaze shifted to the sleeping Katherine and he could only hope that she did not believe what she read.
He turned off her phone and placed it back to the bedside table before he left the bedroom.
Katherine slowly opened her eyes and sighed, thankful that he was finally home.
…
It was eight in the morning when Katherine came down the stairs and saw Damien at the breakfast nook already dressed up and drinking his morning coffee. She wondered how many hours he sleeps everyday because he was always up and ready before her.
"Good morning, President Park," she greeted when she landed on the main floor and headed towards the counter to make a cup of hot chocolate for herself.
"How was your sleep?" He placed the cup of coffee in the sink and came to her side.
"It's fine."
Tilting his head, he wondered if something was wrong with her. "You saw the articles last night, didn't you?" he asked despite already knowing the answer.
Katherine formed a smile on her face and glanced up to him briefly before she lowered her gaze again. "Yeah…"
His brows furrowed. He was unsure what she thought about it after reading it. "You didn't believe it, did you?"
Katherine darted her eyes to the side and hesitated before she looked up at him with a relaxed expression and shook her head. "No… Wasn't it all just a coincidence?"
Damien's shoulders relaxed when he heard her answer. He knew that she wouldn't jump into conclusions so after he heard her words, he felt at ease.
However, Katherine turned back to the counter and added, "But… even if it wasn't a coincidence, I don't think there's anything wrong. The two of you dated back then, didn't you?"
"What?" Damien didn't understand what she was trying to say.
"It's pretty normal for people to notice the two of you given your identities." Katherine tried to be nonchalant about the matter.
"But there's nothing going on between me and her. You know that, right?"
Just as Damien asked the question, Katherine's phone rang. "It's Dr. Evans," she said before answering the call. She spoke on the phone while standing in front of Damien for a minute.
"Dr. Evans is waiting for us in his clinic." She put the phone inside her bag and turned to Damien, "Shall we go?"
"You haven't eaten yet."
Katherine drank half of the warm chocolate drink and poured the rest in the sink and quickly washed their cups. "I'm not really hungry. I'll just eat after the session."
Damien didn't force her and decided to take her out for a meal after their appointment in the hospital.
…
Hillcrest Hospital
"Just relax… We're going to try and see the first dream that you had a few nights ago." Dr. Evans said as Katherine made herself comfortable on a Yarmouth chaise lounge.
A couple of years ago, Dr. Cheng told her about her violent episode when she remembered something but after staying in the hospital overnight, Katherine forgot about the memories the next morning. She was aware of the possibilities despite not knowing what would cause them. But because of her recent night terrors, she wanted to try Dr. Evan's method.
Katherine glanced at Damien who sat on the sofa who watched her before she leaned on the backrest and followed Dr. Evan's instructions. "I want you to concentrate on my voice. Listen to nothing else except my voice," he spoke slowly while Katherine looked at him.
Jeffrey waved his hand in front of her eyes, muttered something and before she knew it, Katherine was already unconscious.
"What do you see?" he asked in a calm voice.
"It's… dark… I can't see anything. I don't like it here..."
"It's okay. You're safe… The next scene will be a dream. It's the dream that you had that night… You can remember your dreams clearly." Jeffrey paused for a while, allowing Katherine to follow his guidance. "What do you see?"
In Katherine's view, it was dark at first but the scene slowly became bright and alive and she found herself dancing with a man.
"I'm dancing… I'm happy…" She described the details that she saw in her lucid dream which didn't seem so out of place. She sounded like she was narrating something from a party.
"Gunshots… I hear gunshots."
Damien and Jeffrey looked at each other with perplexed expressions. "What's happening? Tell me what you see." Dr. Evans probed.
"She's pointing the gun at him. He looks so scared…"
"Who is it? Who is she? And who's the man?"
"I don't know…" Katherine whimpered, sweat started to form on her forehead and Damien began to worry.
"Look closely… They're not going to hurt you. This is just a dream."
Katherine heard Jeffrey's voice and she walked forward to take a closer look. "No… no…. No… Don't do it."
"Nooooo!!!" She screamed her lungs out and shouted the scene that played in front of her – she saw herself pull the trigger and killing the man kneeling before her.
"Jeffrey! Stop it! Wake her up!" Damien roared as he dashed towards Katherine's side.
Dr. Evans muttered something and in an instant, Katherine opened her eyes and saw Damien beside her, holding her hand.
She pulled herself to sit up as she panted. Suddenly feeling dizzy, she leaned her head on his shoulder, thankful that he was there with her.
Katherine could remember her dream and what she saw while she was unconscious terrified her. She could never imagine herself as that person who just killed the man in cold blood.
"I'll be back." Jeffrey Evans left the room to give them some privacy.
Damien took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat on her forehead. "I'm sorry… we shouldn't have done this."
She shook her head and a small smile appeared on her face. "It's okay. It's not your fault. I agreed to this. I'm okay… I just need to take a second."
Staring at her, Damien felt a prick in his heart as he recalled what just happened. How could they continue if she was going to be like this every time? How could he bear seeing her so terrified? "We don't have to continue."
Nodding, Katherine agreed, "I'm okay for now. But I don't think I can do this again… at least not too soon." She didn't want to pretend and push her luck.
"Of course." Damien was pleased and felt better after knowing that she wasn't stubborn. What she said while she was screaming earlier shocked him. He could only hope that it was really just a dream. If not, what was he supposed to think if he learns that Katherine knows how to use a gun?
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
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