The next day, Damon stood in front of a mirror, stressed, wanting to remove the gauze. He took it away with slow and gentle movements, soon facing the stitches along with the scar. He looked at the spot; Akito left a more significant mark behind than he thought. At least Damon would be fun at parties now, going around telling that he was almost killed, but his brother-in-law saved him.

"It doesn't look that bad."

"I know."

Deetra stayed behind her brother with crossed arms, glaring at the mirror with her head titled. Damon shrugged and turned around, fixing his shirt. He tried to put on a tie previously, but the injury wasn't letting him; even a bit of touching felt like putting in on fire.

"What will we do with Sophia?"

"Tomorrow's the day, so we will torture her more today."

Damon chuckled, walking by his sister before going down the basement. Sophia was still tied up with her head down. It's been a while since she stopped sobbing and crying, and Damon thought she just wanted to look like a strong independent woman.

"Morning, Sophia."

"What do you want...."

Sophia lifted her chin; her eyes widened when she faced Damon's neck.

"What happened to your neck!? That looks... bad."

"Oh, nothing, I just found out that a man that I grew up with raped me when I was a teenager multi times while I was drugged!"

Damon answered back with a smile and a cheerful tone; Sophia looked at him like he was some kind of a mad man.

"I... I am out of words, Smiley... I hope God forgives him...."

"God won't forgive him. God doesn't forgive paedophiles and rapists, Sophia."

Damon grinned and nodded; Sophia just glared away gulping, her neck felt too dry out of a sudden.

"Could I have some water, please...?"

"Of course, the basement is sweltering, and I can't let you die, or yet at least."

Damon brought a plastic bottle of cold water to Sophia from the fridge. He put a chair in front of her and sat down before opening the bottle. Sophia glared at him, anxious as he brought the bottle to her lips, his fingers from his free hand under her chin lifting it gently.

"See? I am not a bad guy."

A charming smile took over his lips as he wiped her bottom lip with his thumb. Sophia kept staring at him, moving her face away abruptly. Damon chuckled, seeing her struggle a bit before calming down.

"Unfortunately for you, I have to torture you a bit more before giving you back to your lovely husband."

"W-What!?"

Sophia turned her head back to Damon, giving him all her attention as she was scared. Damon laughed, loving her reactions to his words.

"Calm down! I am not going to put cigarettes on your body; I am not a monster. Maybe some cuts here and there, some more bruises...."

Sophia started panicking and soon more struggling followed. Maybe because she realized that Damon and James weren't going to punch her and drag knives across her stomach, but someone else would do it.

The door opened, and a familiar woman walked in with a smile and with leather gloves.

"Take care of her, Deetra. Give her some of our hospitality and show Felix that he shouldn't mess with us."

"Of course, I will, brother."

Deetra grinned, and the last thing Damon heard before closing the door behind was Sophia screaming and begging for her life.

James was sitting in the living room, going through his phone, bored. Damon glared at him with crossed arms and a grin.

"Why are you here again?"

"Because I was busy... comforting your sister last night, arsehole."

James shrugged with a smirk back, receiving an eye roll from his friend.

"Deetra told me that Brianna is waiting outside for you; she wants you to take her to the airport."

"Is she going back to the USA?"

"I think so."

Damon walked outside, facing Brianna, who smiled and lifted her hand, shaking it to greet him. He laughed softly and stood in front of her.

"Hello to you, Brianna."

"Oh Damon, I'm sorry for appearing out of a sudden, but I called Deetra wanting to tell her that I have to leave, and she said you could drive me to the airport!"

"It would be a pleasure, c'mon."

Damon opened the co-driver's door with a smile. After taking her to the airport, he waited with her till it was time for her flight.

"So Brianna, I wanted to tell you something."

Brianna glared at him, confused. Damon sighed and kept looking at her; the tension in his stomach was visible again.

"I am bisexual."

"Oh, I know, Damon."

"You... you know!?"

Damon was left speechless and confused; Brianna giggled and rubbed his cheek with a smile.

"Damon, I don't really like stereotypes, but the way you walk and talk screams... "gay" but not "gay" at the same time. Plus, the best sex I've had to was always with bisexual men, so I knew that something was wrong, and you couldn't be an exception!"

Damon rolled his eyes and puffed with crossed arms; his egoism and god complex were already in the clouds with Brianna's comments.

"I don't care, Damon, if you are straight, bisexual, or gay; all I want from you is to be healthy and happy. I consider you my friend, and I hope you see me like that, too."

"Of course."

"Then everything's alright!"

Brianna looked at her wristwatch and stood up before grabbing her suitcase, Damon following her.

"Let me help you- "

"Oh, no, no, it's okay!"

Brianna kept smiling; Damon sighed, glaring at her with a shy smile.

"I hope I'll see you again soon, Hopkins."

"I hope that too, Brianna."

"Give me a call if you ever be in LA, bastard."

"Of course, slut. Have a nice safe trip."

"Thank you."

Brianna laughed, shyly letting a kiss on Damon's cheek before walking away with a grin. Damon smiled; he was happy knowing that Brianna accepted him for who he was and didn't feel disgusted.

He turned away, going straight to his car, hoping Deetra was already over with Sophia.

Some kilometres away from the centre of London, a couple was enjoying some cold tea while sitting on the apartment's balcony. Mason was on his phone while Abigail was looking around, seeing the people flooding the streets. She lifted her glass of tea, sipping through the straw.

"How do we know that the photos are real and not edited?"

Abigail questioned, receiving a sigh from her boyfriend. Mason left the phone on the table and glared at her; he looked tired, mostly emotionally than physically.

"If they were edited, Damon would have no reason to kidnap Sophia."

"I guess...."

"Maybe he was gay all along but was hiding it because of the mafia ties."

"Or maybe he is bisexual or pansexual?"

"That, too."

Abigail puffed and crossed her arms; Mason grabbed her hand and held it; he started rubbing it gently. He couldn't understand why his girlfriend seemed angry.

"Darling, you don't have to worry about Damon."

"I told Felix to stay away as he keeps getting more powerful every day, but of course, he didn't listen! Felix must understand that he can't go around messing up with anyone and ignore the power they hold with no consequences!"

"Well, it's not our fault Felix is egoistic and doesn't listen to anyone. He messed up with the wrong person, and he has to face it now."

"I guess so...."

"Anyway, we shouldn't care about Felix right now; he will find a way. Let's talk about something that's about us, like our wedding."

"Oh, um...."

"How do you feel, love?"

He held both her hands with a soft smile; Abigail looked down and gulped, unsure what to answer and feel. She was still confused, not knowing if the marriage was the best option on the table. It was late, though to change it, that would break Mason's heart in billion pieces.

"I don't feel... as ready as I thought I'd feel... I'm kinda scared, Mason; what if it doesn't work out? What if we are rushing things- "

"Hey, hey, calm down!"

Mason laughed with a smile, Abigail glaring at him; His smile really brightened his face.

"I don't know how to feel, too, and it's okay! We're gonna take this step together! Plus, the idea of marriage looks scary but isn't that bad! Or I think so. You don't have to worry about it, Abigail."

"I... guess."

"In other news, did you like any of the houses we went through?"

"Well, the last one was wonderful!"

"You liked the pool, hu?"

Mason grinned; Abigail giggled as a response. He brought her hands to his lips, giving them a soft kiss before staring at her in the eyes.

"I know that what I'm about to say may sound... cheesy, but I knew from high school that you'd my wife one day, and I couldn't wait for it."

"How did you know that?"

"Um, well, you were the first girl I caught real feelings for, ya knowing feeling this thing that people call butterflies in your stomach. Was I... the first person to make you feel like that? You don't have to answer if you don't want- "

"Yes, Mason."

Abigail had lied; Mason wasn't the first person; Damon was. Abigail's feelings for her soon-to-be husband were strong but not as strong as they were for Damon, which was killing her. She preferred a wedding over telling the truth about the rape. Her decision was quick and stupid, affected by her boss's big scary words.

Mason's face lit up with excitement, hearing his girlfriend's answer. He didn't know that he wasn't her first love. Mason was a kind man, a pure soul. His kindness was taken advantage of many times, but he still stayed like that. He thought that by working by Felix's side, he would make the world and specifically London a better place by helping and saving people. He was another of those young boys that live in their own bubble and think they can fix complicated issues like world peace and hunger.

He kissed Abigail softly on the lips and went back inside the apartment; Abigail sighed, not knowing if she was ready to see Damon tomorrow. Mason wasn't calm neither, not wanting to see Damon, too, but for his own reasons. A part of himself was yelling at him that Abigail's mind was still on him, even after accepting his wedding proposal and was ready to buy a house with her. He was trying hard to drown that thought, but it was in vain. He only hoped he was wrong and delusional. His heart would break in half if Abigail called him "Damon" one more time.

Hopkins came face-to-face with a woman covered in cuts and bruises from head to toes back to the mansion. She was sobbing in pain; some cuts were leaking blood. He turned to his sister, who was taking off her gloves that moment with a serious face.

"Should we disinfect the wounds?"

"Nah, I don't think so."

"Oh, c'mon now."

"Fine, I'll do that, too!"

Deetra growled, leaving them alone for a bit so she'll grab some supplies. He lifted her chin with his fingers and a big smirk. There were tears in the corners of her eyes, and she was panting, groaning from the pain her body was going through.

"I told you your husband would pay for what he did to my best friend."

"F-Fuck you!"

Sophia spat on him, Damon growled, wiping away the saliva from his cheek. He didn't like it when women were disobedient to him. Damon grabbed her chin with force, lifting it, pressing her cheeks with all his strength, his nails deep in her skin. He brought his face closer to her; the basement's poor light was making Damon's face look scary, straight out of a nightmare.

"You better keep your dirty mouth closed, little girl, if you want to survive the night and see your husband again."

Damon let her and turned off the lights. The only sounds in the basement now were her heavy breathing and her cries for Felix.

A/n: Remember to comment, like and add the book to your libary if you liked it :)