Bab 216: 16. Raise Your Glass.
As Damon entered the room, the first thing that caught his attention was the overwhelming pinkness. It was so pink, in fact, that he had never seen such a wide range of shades before. From the pink satin curtains with ruffles to the sparkling pink mirror and even the pink floor, there seemed to be an abundance of pink and glitter everywhere. The room's gaudiness exceeded his expectations.
With Mimi in his arms, naked and tired, Damon couldn't help but her smiling smugly. He shook his head and walked further into the room.
"Baby, can you please explain to me what kind of pink palace I've stepped into?" Damon's voice and expression perfectly conveyed his surprise.
Feeling rather pleased with myself, I replied, despite being exhausted. "This used to be the apartment of the master or lord of the house's mistress. He loved her, but they couldn't be together. So she transformed this place into her own sanctuary, where they would secretly meet. From what I gathered, they even had children together, although I haven't bothered to find out who they were exactly. I bought this place a long time ago for next to nothing, considering the expensive upkeep it requires. But I've made some updates to make it more comfortable and easier to maintain. You can leave me on the bed. I'm fine. Thank you. It was truly amazing. However, I'm completely exhausted, so if you want to continue, I'm not in the right condition to do so. I have a kitchenette and another room, and yes, they're also quite pink."
Damon gently lowered me onto the bed and reassured me, "Don't worry, baby, I'm not going anywhere. Yes, this room is pink, but we can make it work. Maybe we can add some black to balance it out. Black and pink actually go well together. And a few more colors too, less pink and more something else."
He seemed a bit hesitant and almost scared of me. I ran my hand over the bedspread, noticing how it changed colors with each stroke. It was made up of tiny palettes, each with two colors.
I proudly told Damon, "Look, I can write my name in this one."
He grunted and touched the bedspread, realizing that pink shades surrounded him. He looked at me as I squirmed in bed, removing the bedspread and slipping under the cool sheets. I didn't have a blanket here, just sheets, as I preferred to sleep comfortably. Damon sat next to me and then lay down beside me, but he had magically conjured clothes for himself.
He glanced at me and asked, "You look tired, my poor baby. Are you exhausted?"
I nodded and thanked him for everything.
I then asked, "Do you want to hear the end of that story?"
He looked at me, slightly frowning, and after a moment, he said, "Was there more? Fine, go ahead and tell me. What happened next?"
I gazed up at the roof, made of pink pastel-shaded tiles. I remembered how much fun it had been to install them. I had done most of the work myself. I noticed that the tiles weren't perfectly straight, but at that moment, it felt symbolic. After all, nothing in this world is always perfect and straightforward. Some things are meant to be wonky.
Calmly, I said to Damon, "Well, you know Betty, your girlfriend. But what happened to her? Did she have a good life, or was she just another one of your meals?"
Damon replied quietly, "I have no idea. I did not kill her. She was just one of many, like the others, a toy for me. I hope she had some sort of life, but her overall happiness wasn't important to me back then. She was just a toy to have fun with."
I smiled and continued, "Betty was Dash's wife. She never blamed me for Dash's death, and I was truly sorry when I couldn't help her. She died of cancer, but maybe she ended up with Dash in the end."
Damon stared at me, his frown deepening, and asked, "And how the hell did that happen? You have a story there, so spit it out, baby. You've piqued my curiosity too much, and I can't wrap my mind around it or come up with a decent explanation. How did one of my toys end up becoming the wife of one of your trustees? And you knew her until the end, while I had no idea."
I turned to Damon and began, "Life, it's a funny thing, you know. After I recovered in Chicago, Adam and I had a wonderful and fun-filled five weeks there. We cooked and did lots of other things, and then Bran wanted Adam back as his lapdog. So, once again, I found myself alone and went back to work. A few weeks into the job, we had a big facility to take down in Utah. I planned it, and Dash, our medic, was one fucking of the tight guy. Jake held me down when Dash wanted to run blood tests on me. It was Dash who discovered the link between low levels of certain amino acids and my anger issues. So, he made sure I ate meat to keep me calmer. He told it to everyone so as you can imagine, I was fed from that point on and with meat. It started actually my hunter's guilt, you know, guys hunting and getting meat for me, game and such."
Damon shook his head and muttered, "God damn our life. I wish I could have met all those great guys you talk about and hear your stories."
I smiled and replied, "Oh, really? So you would have had plenty of guys to threaten when flanking me."
Damon seemed slightly sheepish, but he just grunted softly and said, "Go on, continue with what happened."
I smiled and continued my story. "Well, it was execution day, and we stormed in. There were about 300-400 people to be saved, but I stumbled upon a morgue with about 80 victims. I blamed myself for being too late, as I usually do, and then we got out. It was as clean as it could be, but we didn't have enough places to put all the victims. So, we brought them back to the base, which was quite large, and we had enough manpower to sort through who needed help and who would be fine. Like I said, Dash was something else, and he took charge of it all. Anything less wouldn't do for him. We were busy. I had to use my skills too, and I couldn't just go back to my office. We had to keep moving people in and out, deciding who needed hospital treatment and who could be treated at the base. Who was well enough to go back to their life. Some of them wanted to go to the police, and we couldn't stop them. However, since there wasn't really any evidence left after we blew up the place, and the police had their problems, it rarely brought any trouble to the bad guys."
Damon nodded, eagerly expecting my next words.
I smiled and continued, "And then I found myself in the middle of the crowd. There was this tall woman who had clearly endured some hardships. Her body bore the scars of past surgeries. She approached me, pleading for help. I couldn't believe that she felt so worthless.
I tried to calm her down and reassured her, saying, "You mean everything, and everything is going to be alright. You're safe now."
She then confided in me, "They removed my breast, butt, and jaw implants. They made me feel ugly again. And to add insult to injury, they contacted my boyfriend, whom I had hoped would become my fiancé. But he... he simply brushed it off.
He said to them, and I overheard the call, 'Who is Betty? If she's one of my many flings, let her suffer. I have others, and I'm not even sure who you're talking about. But it's good to know that she was just a fake.'
They even sent him my implants, demanding a ransom, but he didn't care about me at all."
The girl was hysterical, and I had to fight the urge to burst into laughter right then and there."
Damon looked at me, his brows furrowing, and he spoke softly, "Yeah, I've had my fair share of people trying to blackmail me with similar stories involving those women. More often than not, they were part of the scheme. So, my response was always the same."
I smiled and replied, "Well, anyway, Dash happened to be there, and he heard the whole conversation. He took care of Betty, both physically and emotionally, scars and all. They hit it off, and he became her true savior. Their love brought along Johnny, Diamond, Terrell, Haley, Timothy, Fred, and Willie. As you can see, little Betty turned out to be quite fertile, and she loved being a mother. Oh, and she told me about you and her once she realized who I was. It was quite amusing. I used to get mad at you quite often, and Betty was there, not working, maybe as a nurse, so she could be close to her beloved. We would joke or talk about you. Betty was actually a dear friend of mine. For over 35 years."
Damon fell silent for a moment and then asked, "Tell me, what happened to you in that facility where you escaped? You never mentioned anything and avoided the subject when Wulfe tried to ask."
I gazed up at my ceiling and spoke softly, "Did you know that I actually installed these tiles myself? They're a bit wonky, not so perfectly lined up, just like life sometimes. But you have to accept imperfections and move forward."
Damon glanced up at the ceiling, taking note of its height. I remembered how frustrating it had been to install those tiles, but also how satisfying it was to do it on my own.
Damon repeated, "You're deflecting again. Come on, tell me what they did to you in there. I want to know."
I was exhausted and overwhelmed with emotions, and I didn't want to share because I didn't want to feel them. I craved something nice, but I couldn't ignore my alpha female instincts, including my heightened sense of smell. God damn, the pain hit me again, and not from the memory, but the thing I had to do.
I managed to keep control over my emotions and replied softly, "Nothing nice. I was subjected to 253 new ways to die, all of which were medically related. They wanted to understand certain processes and experimented on me."
Damon encouraged me to provide more details, saying, "Please, baby, shock me. I'm not seeking power, just information."
I understood what he was looking for, so I tested my theory. Shifting into a more comfortable position, the satin sheet slid off my body. I intentionally tensed my muscles to appear even skinnier, prompting Damon to cover me with more sheets.
He remarked, "You're so thin. Don't get too cold."
I remained in control, playing my role as a pretender, although it wasn't always necessary. My pretender side was barely awaken, but I was excellent actress.
I continued staring at the ceiling as I spoke to him or anyone else who would listen. "Well, they wanted to study human organs and their functions. They knew my body could sustain transplanted organs for a few days, so they had plenty of time. They experimented with new ways to remove cancer and metastasis. They implanted a liver riddled with cancer into me, and surprisingly, my body didn't grow another one. I'm not sure why. Maybe my body accepted that sick liver as its own. They didn't use anesthesia, just muscle relaxants to paralyze me during the surgery. They wanted to see how much the liver could endure and if it would heal. It was a useful experiment in that regard. Turns out, there are many places in the human body where cancer can develop."
Damon commented, "That's fucking nasty stuff. No wonder you have a pool of rot the size of the freaking ocean. But we'll find a way to remove it without you having to remember everything. Wulfe is working on it."
I let out a soft sigh, realizing he wasn't even touching me as he pulled away. Once again, it was up to me to fulfill my responsibilities.
I turned to Damon and said, "I'm feeling pretty tired, so you can go to Mariella. And before you say anything, I know you want to. Magnum still poses a threat to you, and I can sense your unease with him being with Mariella. So go ahead, show her who she belongs to. I'm about to pass out."
Damon, grateful for my offer, stood up and looked at me, asking, "Do you need anything? Can you sleep without nightmares?"
I nodded and replied, "My mind isn't there yet, so no nightmares. Go on, enjoy your time with her. Be with the one you truly desire."
He looked at me, nodded, and teleported away. I waited a few minutes before getting out of bed. I wasn't actually tired; I was just good at pretending. I made my way to the shower, realizing it had been a while since I used my products here, but they still suited me well. I allowed the water to cascade over me as I started to wash my hair.
The fleeting moments of contentment had passed, and it was time to embrace misery. But I had to. It was my duty, and perhaps, just maybe, the future would bring something better. As for my nightmares, well, I couldn't be sure if they were truly nightmares. They were simply reminders of the consequences that could arise if I was too selfish or possessive. I had to remember that I was the alpha female, with responsibilities for the entire pack. My own needs and desires came second to the well-being of the pack.
I continued by taking my big sponge, which was still intact, and poured lilac-scented washing liquid onto it. I started scrubbing my skin, feeling the roughness on one side, but enjoying the sensation. After thoroughly washing myself, I rinsed off the suds and warmed myself one last time.
Then I wrapped myself in my oversized bathing sheets, which were huge, soft, and mine. I used a smaller, yet super absorbent towel to wrap my hair. After padding out, I went to a dresser and retrieved a sports bag, which was pink, and a gift from Reddington. It had the magical ability to hold a lot of clothes, and inside were my most precious garments from a long time ago.
Reddington had once emphasized the importance of holding onto the past, which is why he gave me this bag. From there, I found a long nightgown, white with pink hearts, and slipped it on. It fit perfectly, making me feel skinny once again. Sitting on my bed, I couldn't help but cry, feeling the fluctuating moods and the immense pain.
It felt like something inside me had died, something that belonged to Damon and me. However, I knew that no matter how much I cried, it wouldn't change anything. It would be futile. So, I gathered myself together, at least for a while, and returned the towels to the bathroom. I put on my fuzzy slippers and left the room, knowing exactly where to go to gather my thoughts and try to move forward.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone