Chapter 301: Four Years Spent Loving You

[Damien Lockwood]

Damien sat on the porch for a few seconds after Frank asked his question, his hands loosely holding a coffee cup, even though the drink had gone cold. He could have asked for more time to think. He could’ve told Frank that explaining everything was complicated and that there were details he needed to consider before discussing it.

He could’ve even said some things were better left in the past. But none of those responses felt right. Frank deserved honesty. And honestly, after all that had happened, Damien was starting to feel tired of hiding behind carefully chosen words.

He glanced down the quiet street again before responding. "When I went back to my parents after Oliver asked me too, they agreed to give me what I wanted."

Frank’s face stayed neutral. "The company?"

"Everything," Damien replied. "The company, the inheritance, control of the family assets. Eventually, I was meant to have full control over everything my father and his father had built."

Frank nodded slowly, he knew all about the one year agreement between Damien and his son. "But there was a condition, wasn’t it?"

Damien tightened his grip on the cup. "They wanted me to completely separate from Oliver."

Frank’s expression shifted slightly, but he didn’t interrupt.

"They weren’t asking for a temporary separation," Damien continued. "They wanted me to cut all ties. No calls, no visits, no messages. Nothing that could suggest I was still involved with him, it was like they knew somehow that I wasn’t going to leave Oliver completely."

"And if you didn’t?"

Damien looked down. "They threatened him."

Frank’s eyes hardened. "They told me they could ruin Oliver’s chances at a meaningful career if they wanted to. They had connections in places I couldn’t influence back then, recommendations could vanish, job opportunities could disappear, and people could suddenly lose interest in hiring him." Damien’s voice dropped lower. "They also threatened to interfere with your medical treatment."

Frank stared at him. "Mine?"

"Yes."

For the first time since their conversation started, Frank looked truly shaken...Damien swallowed hard. "They knew how important you were to Oliver. They were aware of your treatment costs, who was involved, and how vulnerable you were. They made it clear that if I contacted Oliver, they’d make sure both of you paid for it."

Frank looked away toward the street, he now understood his son’s dislike for rich people. "And you believed them?"

"I knew they could do it." Damien’s voice was devoid of anger, just filled with the weariness of someone who’s carried the same truth alone for years. "When I returned, my father still had control. I eventually got the title, but for the first couple of years, it wasn’t truly mine. I was CEO in name only. He was still calling the shots, watching me closely. He wanted to see if I’d eventually fold."

Frank frowned. "And you didn’t."

"No."

"You just stayed away."

"I stayed away because each time I thought about reaching out to Oliver, I remembered their threats." Damien looked down at his hands.

"I hated it." He admitted quietly, "I hated every moment of it, I wanted to reach out to him so bad. but I could only watch from afar."

Frank was silent. Damien pressed on, feeling like stopping now would be too easy after so many years of keeping quiet. "The one-year separation was meant to be temporary. I believed that when I left. I thought I could make it through, regain control, and go back to him. I didn’t realize how long it would actually take."

His mouth tightened. "The first year passed. Then the second. By then, my father was still keeping tabs on me. He still had the power to destroy everything if he thought I was trying to reconnect."

"And the third year?"

Damien glanced down at his hands before answering. "The third year was tougher. By then, I started gaining more control, but that just made my father more suspicious. He knew I was waiting for something. He sensed I wasn’t satisfied with the situation, even if I never openly opposed him."

Frank listened quietly. "And the fourth?"

"By the fourth year...this year, that is they finally believed me." There was a bitter note in Damien’s voice. "They thought I had moved on. They figured enough time had passed that whatever I felt for Oliver was gone. My father eased up on monitoring me. My mother stopped asking questions about where I was going and who I was with. Eventually, everything got transferred."

"The company?"

"The company, the family holdings, all the accounts, the properties. Everything that had been conditional was now permanent." Damien looked directly at Frank. "They had nothing left to take back without risking everything for themselves."

Frank was quiet for several seconds. "And that was when you came here."

"The moment I could." Damien replied without hesitation. "I didn’t go home, didn’t celebrate, didn’t even wait for the paperwork to finalize. I left the city and came straight here...And by coincidence, Joey was getting married. I knew I’d find Oliver there."

Frank studied him carefully. "And found him you did."

"Yes."

Frank leaned back slightly in his wheelchair, looking out at the street as if needing a moment to digest everything he’d just heard. Damien didn’t rush him...after four years of waiting, a few more seconds of silence felt insignificant.

Finally, Frank asked, "Why couldn’t you find a way to tell him?"

Damien lowered his gaze. "I tried to come up with one."

"But you didn’t?"

"Not one that wouldn’t put him at risk."

"Even anonymously?"

"Even anonymously."

Frank frowned. "You could’ve sent a letter."

"They could have traced it."

"What about a phone call?"

"They monitored my communications."

"A message through someone else?"

"My father had people keeping an eye on those around me."

Frank sighed heavily. "So you decided silence was safer."

"I figured it was better for Oliver to be angry with me than for him to lose his own future because of me when he was trying to protect mine."

Frank’s expression softened, though disappointment lingered. "And you thought he would just forgive you after four years?"

"No." Damien’s reply was immediate. "I didn’t expect him to forgive me, I still don’t actually."

"Then what did you expect?"

Damien looked toward the house.

"I don’t know." For a moment, he sounded completely lost. "I just knew I had to come back to him like I promised."

Frank was silent. Damien went on quietly, "I knew he might hate me, might have moved on, might be with someone else, or that I might be too late. I was ready for all that."

"Except?"

Damien met his gaze. "Except realizing how much I missed him."

Frank’s face softened. "He hasn’t changed as much as you think."

Damien almost smiled. "No, he hasn’t."

"He still gets defensive when he’s embarrassed, he still talks too much when he’s nervous."

"I saw that too."

"And he still thinks sarcasm counts as emotional maturity."

Damien actually laughed. "That hasn’t changed one bit."

Frank managed a faint smile before getting serious again. "You need to tell him."

Damien’s smile vanished. "I know."

"Not eventually, not when you think the right moment comes. There probably isn’t going to be a perfect moment with Oliver."

Damien glanced at the closed bedroom door. "I don’t know how to begin...he--he doesn’t even want to be in same room as me."

Frank shook his head. "You can start with the truth, son."

Damien nodded slowly. "I will."

Neither of them noticed Oliver standing at the hallway’s edge at first. He had just come out of his room for a glass of water, nothing dramatic about it, no intention to eavesdrop, and definitely no plan to stand halfway down the hallway listening to a conversation that was about to change the past four years of his life.

He opened his bedroom door quietly, hearing voices outside, and initially wasn’t paying much attention. Frank and Damien had been talking for a while, so he thought they were still discussing harmless topics.

Then he heard his name. He froze, realizing he should have gone back into his room, but instead, he stayed put.

He heard Damien saying his parents threatened his career. He caught mention of his dad’s medical treatment, how Damien had been monitored, and that the first two years as CEO hadn’t truly been his.

Then he heard Damien say they finally transferred everything after four years and that he left right away to find him. He stood still, trying to process it all. Four years. The number had always been the same, but now it felt like a different weight.

He had spent those years telling himself a simple story, one that was easier to handle. Damien had finally chosen his family, his money, the company over him, because Damien had realized Oliver really wasn’t worth the sacrifice.

He made a promise and broke it because, eventually, he stopped mattering enough to keep it. It was painful, but at least it made sense. Now he was in the hallway, hearing a version of events that didn’t align with the story he’d constructed.

He stepped forward without realizing it, Frank noticed first, and his expression shifted immediately. Damien turned, and upon seeing Oliver, he went completely still.

"Oliver." Damien said in surprise.

No further words were exchanged.

Oliver looked from Damien to his dad and back to Damien. There were a million things he could’ve said...

Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you find a way? Why did you let me hate you? Why did you allow me to think you forgot me?

But he said nothing. Instead, he turned around and walked back to his room, closing the door behind him. He leaned against it and stared at the floor.