Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

That night, Katherine and Damien went home to the Young Mansion. As they were getting ready to go to bed, she stared at the full-length mirror in a red satin bathrobe. She had just gotten out of the shower and was looking for a nightgown when her reflection caught her attention. Staring right through the mirror, she gazed at herself and thought about what happened in the afternoon.

Was she right in refusing to help that woman? No matter how much she looked at the situation from a different perspective, she still came to a decision that told her she was only trying to protect herself and the people she loved.

A pair of strong hands slid around her waist from behind, and she was enveloped with a warm body, her back flush against a hard chest.

"Let's go to bed," Damien spoke against her neck, his breathing tickling her skin.

"Mm."

He placed small kisses on the length of her neck, his hands gently caressing her in places that made her tingle. Her robe opened from the middle when he pulled the tie off, revealing her smooth, creamy skin. He loved that she was bare underneath the robe.

Katherine watched his hands roam her stomach through the mirror. He stroked her side and looked at their reflection. "I love everything about you, Katherine. Even your scars that are barely visible to the naked eye," he told her.

Her eyes zeroed in on the spot to the side of her waist where Damien's fingers were. She had told him the areas on her body that had gotten scar revision surgeries—the scars from the wounds she got while on a mission. But she hadn't told him how she got them.

"You wanna hear how I got this?" she wondered, referring to where his fingers were.

"I'd love to know, but only if you're comfortable talking about it."

A small smile briefly ghosted her lips before she looked a bit saddened. "Actually… This doesn't remind me about what happened to me or how I got injured. It's what happened shortly after that I would never forget."

Damien was patient as he waited for her to start opening up about her past. As much as they could, they didn't talk about how horrible it was. But times like this one made him feel both thoughtful and appreciative that whatever happened or whatever she did, it was all in the past. No matter how terrible or great it was, it was part of what shaped her to the woman she accepted and loved.

Hugging her from behind, he kissed her head and listened as she told her tale.

"It happened several months after I was promoted as a field officer. The mission took place in Poland. We were a small team of three, me, Gus, and Chris as our team leader. Our target was a Ukrainian terrorist associate, and we received intel that he crossed the border and was hiding in Lublin City.

"The mission was simple: find the target and neutralize. What we didn't know was that he was hiding in a neighborhood full of Ukrainians from his hometown, and they were waiting for anyone who was going after him."

"It was an ambush?"

She nodded. "It was a lapse of judgment on our part, and we underestimated the situation. We thought he was merely running away from his nation… Anyway, things got bad, and our team ended up separating. I managed to…take care of some of them as I got away. But then I got shot right here."

She traced the nearly invisible scar. There were no visible stitches or scarring. There was almost nothing there unless one would closely look and notice the slight color difference. The skin looked smooth and close to flawless. "It was just a graze, but it was my first gunshot wound. I got away from the area before I passed out on the street."

Damien felt her tense up when he asked, "What happened then?"

Katherine took a deep breath and continued, "A nice couple found me on their way home and brought me to their small apartment on the second floor of a building. They didn't realize I had a wound until they laid me on a bed in their spare bedroom. I was still unconscious so I didn't know what happened until the next day when I woke up with a bandage on my side."

"They took care of you… They didn't call the police?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I asked, and they said they didn't like the police. I learned basic Polish amongst other languages in Shadow, so I got to talk to them when I woke up. But I couldn't really tell them who I was, so I pretended I could only speak their language a little. They were a nice couple. I wanted to get out of there fast as I had to be back to the hotel where I'm supposed to meet Chris and Gus. But the wife… She insisted I eat first before leaving.

Closing her eyes briefly, Katherine recalled the past. "As I was eating, the couple was telling me about how they had just gotten married and that they were trying to have their own family when there was a knock on the door. The husband went to get it, and I heard a familiar voice. It was Chris, and Gus was with him. He asked about me and said that they were my colleagues. The husband led them to the dining area. Once they saw me, Chris asked them who else was in the house.

"I told him it was only the couple. We thanked them on our way out. We got out of the house, and as we were by the door, Chris and Gus shot them to the head…" She blinked rapidly and cleared her throat. Then she took a deep breath. "Their lifeless bodies dropped to the floor." She clenched her jaw.

Damien drew his brows together as he tried to imagine what went through. "Why did he kill them?"

Katherine couldn't forget that day. Her thoughts brought her back to that specific time when she saw the couple lying on the floor with a hole in their heads.

~~~

"Why did you do that?" Katherine questioned, her expression still in shock at what she just saw. "You didn't have to kill them. They were nice."

Gus closed the door of the apartment, and they walked behind Chris. It was still quite early in the morning, and the place was quiet. The silencers on their guns didn't wake the neighbors. Gus placed his coat over her and led her out of the building.

"We don't leave any witnesses, Queen," Chris answered as they descended the stairs. He spoke without looking back. "No one can know what we're doing here. As much as possible, leave no footprints. No witnesses. That's the rule."

~~~

In a way, Damien could understand what was needed to be done. But it didn't mean he liked that it happened. He felt bad for the innocent couple, and clearly, Katherine did too. The wound of the gunshot that grazed her skin had healed. It first left a scar before she got the surgery to remove it, but the reminder was still there. It may be invisible, but one's memories would still remain.

"I'm sorry…" he whispered to her ear.

Katherine didn't say anything as she stared at herself in the mirror.

Damien shifted until he faced her. Then he bent down and placed a soft kiss on the spot that reminded her of a bad memory. Looking up at her, he promised, "It's true what they say… The scars you can't see are the hardest to heal. But I'll stay with you, my love. I'll replace every bad memory and make great ones with you as long as I live."