Femme Fatale: The King's Deadly Temptress

Katherine squeezed Damien's hand and told him, "See? I told you she's coming."

His shoulders relaxed upon seeing his mother by the door. He couldn't understand why he was so relieved that she came. She hadn't been with him for many years and so this sudden anticipation of her being in important moments in his life was new to him.

He glanced at Katherine and kissed her cheek. "You're right. Give me a minute. I'll be right back." Damien got up from his seat and headed to the door.

The eyes of the guests followed him as he walked away from the main table and headed towards the doors that just opened. When he was near, Felix let go of Amelia's arm and stepped to the side. Then he joined Markus and Styles's table.

Amelia looked up and smiled at Damien, feeling a bit nervous, knowing that people were watching them at the moment. "I'm sorry we're late. We got stuck in traffic," she said.

"We just started. You didn't miss a lot," he replied. Then Damien shook hands with Felix, thanking him for the help before turning back to Amelia.

"Everyone's staring," she muttered, enough for her son to hear.

"They should be. I've got a beautiful mother." He cleared his throat and stood next to her to avoid her surprised look. Then, like the gentleman that he was, he lifted his elbow towards her, offering his arm. "I've reserved a seat for you at the main table. I'm sure Nana will be happy to see you."

Amelia's expression turned from surprise to being genuinely touched. For the past months that she had been around Damien and getting to know the kind of person he was, today had been the most progressive. She'd learned about his favorite food, how he liked his drinks, and even some of the things he wanted to do in life. But he'd never called her mom or mother. And because of what she did in the past—leaving him—she didn't think she had the right to ask him that.

Tonight, however, he called her "mother" and was even fearless in bringing her to the family table. She was sure that the guests had a huge question mark on their heads, wondering who she might be and why it was the first time they had ever seen her. But tonight wasn't about her; it was her son's engagement party. And as much as she felt uneasy being stared at by so many people, Amelia hooked her arm with her son's and allowed him to bring her to the family table.

Damien hadn't directly called her "mom". But what he said was already more than enough for Amelia to feel grateful that her son acknowledged her in a room full of people even though she's the only one who heard it.

Ignoring the curious stares, Damien brought his mother to the main table, and as they approached, Nana gasped, clutching her hands together as she got up from her seat. William, who sat next to her, instantly got up to assist her, afraid that she would fall from excitement. 

Nana rushed towards Amelia and took her in a huge embrace without hesitation. "Oh, my Amelia! It's been too long! Oh, what a pleasant surprise!" she exclaimed, her eyes tearing up.

Damien gave the two women some space, and an amused look painted his face when he glanced at his mother who was taken aback by the very warm greeting she received from Nana. He recalled his mother saying that she was afraid Nana would be mad at her when they meet again one day. So their reunion must have been such a relief for his mother.

Katherine felt emotional seeing Amelia and Nana together. She was so happy for Damien and proud of him that he took this step. She believed that he needed his mother in his life and that he was blessed to have one despite what happened in the past.

Grandfather Theo, who had been sitting next to Katherine, leaned towards her and asked in a low voice, "Who is she?"

Realizing she hadn't told him about this part of Damien's life yet, she looked at the rest of the people at the table like her aunt who was also curiously watching Amelia. She wanted Damien to be the one to tell everyone, but she figured she could tell her grandfather in secret, so she whispered into his ear, "Her name's Amelia. She's Damien's biological mother."

Grandfather Theo's eyes widened as he studied Amelia like he was trying to figure out how the woman was Damien's mother. They hadn't talked much about Damien's parents because they weren't in the picture, so Amelia's presence made him curious about who she was and why she only appeared today. With all these questions in his head, he kept quiet and reserved all of them later.

As they were back to the main table, Nana let Amelia sit next to Damien, and she took the chair next to her. William had to move to a few chairs down—next to Alianna, but he didn't complain.

"You didn't have to let me sit here… I'm fine at a different table…" Amelia told Damien in a whisper.

"It was Katherine's idea," he responded.

Katherine and Amelia exchanged gazes, and they smiled at each other. Even without saying anything, they both knew what the other wanted to say.

When Amelia shifted her gaze, it landed on the man sitting in front of her. Frederick. The wide smile slipped off her face and was replaced with a small one as she made a light bow to greet him. "Frederick."

Frederick Park had been speechless since he saw Amelia. It looked as though he was surprised to see her and couldn't believe that she was there in front of him. "Ms. Silva… Y-You're…"

"Excuse me, Chairman," Frederick Park's assistant came to Frederick's side and whispered something to his ear. Almost immediately, Frederick excused himself from the main table and followed his assistant out.

***

Meanwhile, a security guard at the basement parking of Crown Hotel made his rounds and was drawn to a corner where he heard some groaning. He carefully moved as he looked up at the CCTV camera and gave a signal, making sure that whoever was in the security room would watch his back. 

Slowly, he peeked behind a car and saw a woman sitting on the floor with a bloody arm. She scrambled away from him in a panic and then groaned the moment she did, clutching her arm tightly.

"Stop," cautioned the guard. "What happened to you?"

The woman looked suspicious of him and didn't say anything.

Pressing the earpiece in his ear, he told his colleagues to call for an ambulance. However, the woman frantically stopped him.

"Please! No hospitals!"

Confused, the guard paused and looked at her closely. "Miss, you're hurt. You need a doctor."

"No! I can't… Katherine… Please call Katherine Young," she pleaded.