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Lorey knew she went back on herself just asking the question, but received an answer she would just have to be satisfied with. Shrugging, she went and retrieved her robe, and met with Richard in the kitchen once more.

"Raquel says she's alright..." Though it was obvious she didn't believe it. "Gosh, I don't know. Maybe when Damian isn't staring off you should go have guy talk with him."
Whatever guy talk was. Lorey didn't even know.

"Do whatever you feel comfortable with." And Lorey let it drop. It was time to eat breakfast, not dwell on other people's relationships.

As she ate, she realized just what a good cook Richard was. She had her own skill, developed from working with what she had, but she definitely preferred what he made.
"You made these eggs so... fluffy!" she said, scooping another forkful in her mouth. "Thank you for all this... I'll make you lunch, how's that? My promise."


Damian knew he wasn't going to eat lunch, though. He didn't want to eat anything at all. Surrounded by water but not a drop to drink was exactly how he would and did feel with Raquel... all the love he could possibly ask for or think of, and yet they were not together. She was not his any more.
Secretly, he would be hers. Damian would always watch out for her and extend a helping hand as a friend. But, despite all the women, he would not have them in any way. He may not even ever go back to the Ball Room, save for the upcoming Gala. What a nightmare.

"I will," she said with a peppy nod. Lorey wrapped herself up in her fluffy robe and ate what Richard made like each bite would be her last, all the while thinking of what she could make that might make people smile.
"You know that woman who left after dumping pancake batter on my boss?" Lorey finished up the very last speck of what was on her plate before letting the fork rest with a clatter. "She taught me how to make BLTs. Sound good?"

Lorey did make her BLT sandwiches, which were a very good hit. Even Damian, who was forced to eventually drag himself out of the raft by a determined Lorey, had one, and praised her for her surprising cooking skills.

"Very good," was all he was willing to mumble with averted eyes and a pale face, but it was praise just the same. Only one bite was taken at the table before another mumble, which must have meant he had something to do at his laptop, which must have been in his room because that is where he went straight away with the device tucked under his arm. Lorey could only shake her head at him, not knowing what could possibly make the situation any better. Because, they knew the situation, even if he wasn't about to tell them about it himself.


Damian's work was really more of a distraction. Online, he played flash games, answered troublesome e-mails concerning stocks, answered phone calls also concerning his wealth, and never left his bed. Raquel, he knew, might be staying locked up in her room as well, but for her sake more than his, he stayed where he was. She could have free reign of the house without having to worry about looking at him.

Not that he thought she didn't want to at all... but there was guilt, and a great deal of self-examination, leaving Damian utterly miserable, and that he didn't want anyone to see.

It wasn't about a few days later when he actually ventured out of his room for more than half an hour at least.

It was four in the morning, and he decided he wanted something to eat, as he hadn't eaten anything all day. Damian tiptoed, held his breath so as to not make any noise, but all was done in vain as he saw Lorey's silhouette in the kitchen ust as he rounded the corner. She'd had a headache and was taking a painkiller for it, though nothing could have cured the shock she felt at seeing Damian's ghost-like figure standing awkwardly at the doorway.

"Something wrong?" she whispered, not knowing what else to possibly say. Of course something was wrong. He was pale, haggard and anti-social.
Damian shrugged, though, saying something softly about food, yet he found himself to be satisfied with just sorrow once again. A few tired and frustrated moments passed on his part, before his choked voice whispered out to her,
"We're no longer together."

And he began to cry softly, because somehow Lorey was the only person in the entire house who could even be trusted with his emotions. She had been holding his heart before Raquel, after all.
Even if she did not want his then, in the kitchen, Lorey placed down her glass to go to him. His tears frightened her. If Damian had something to cry about, then goodness knew the entire house should be worried, since their well-being was essentially his.

"Hush," she said, pulling him into an awkward hug. "You really, really did love her, didn't you?"

"I do..." was his only response for quite some time, in which they actually talked about everything that had been happening. Lorey heard about the night on Altru, of all the conversations they had concerning their relationship, and finally about how they didn't have what her and Richard had. That was what had done it finally: knowing that they had not reached true happiness and trust.
"If there is one thing I have learned, it is that it does not matter how wealthy you are, or what you do for a person or how much you go through with them... if you are not meant to be, then you are not meant to be."

Sad words from a sad man. A few more moments of comforting were all he could bear before he whispered a thank-you, and shuffled off without eating anything for the night.
Lorey watched him go with equally sad eyes. The Gala was that evening, she knew. How would he be able to handle going with Raquel?

"Yes, coming..." Damian emerged from some recess of the house wearing a striking pinstripe tuxedo, with every detail paid close attention to. He had nothing else to do with his life then but to look like half the man Raquel deserved in her life. It was shameful how they were still doing this, but what confused him was only one unanswered question: were they together for this one night?

Uneasy eyes came to rest on Chase as he came to greet him, the smile on his face certainly not matching. For a brief moment when Chase seemed preoccupied, Damian flashed Richard a look of warning, which soon melted into the easy smile as he shook Chase's hand.
"And how is everything at the Ball Room?" he asked, then only waiting for Raquel and they would be off to see for themselves.


Lorey came into the room as well, wearing a sun dress and no shoes. She'd been out in the back yard with Trinity playing with string, and had just brought her in when she heard the doorbell ring.

Lorey had a distinct look of distaste on her face as Chase took her hand. She came so close to reprimanding him, but Raquel practically floated her way in, cutting her off with only a glance asking for approval.
"Raquel, you look beautiful!" she exclaimed, just taking her in as the men had their talk.

Which, she noted, painted Chase in a disgusting light.
"It's so odd, but she looks to me to be a beautiful person," Lorey said with a surprising bit of bite in her words. All her attention, though, was on Raquel as she walked aorund her to take in every angle.
"Who is far more beautiful than any trinket, I'd say." She flashed an assuring 'go get them' smile to Raquel, regardless of any indication that she shouldn't have said anything on the matter at all.


Damian was simply dumbfounded up until the point Lorey made. He swore, if he made one more comment referring to her as an object, neither Chase nor his violin would make it to the Gala. At least, not in one piece.
Still, he only smiled, and looked at her sadly as she modeled for Lorey. She wasn't his.

"As do you..." he said in a rather dreamy way. "You are breathtaking. And I am sorry for not saying anything, but I would have made a scene in front of everyone." And, he thought to himself, she may not have even wanted him to. But, Damian offered her his arm and tried his best to smile like they always had together when they weren't reeling from some emotional torment.

"I am ready when you are," Damian said softly, making sure not to call her by any pet name or to refer to her as being his in ay way. It was something that he would have to condition himself for, though he did not want to make it permanent in his life.


Lorey watched Chase go, giving a frustrated, outraged noise as he went out the door.
"How dare he? His trinket!? As if she were a shiny toy for him to play with!" She raged herself right back into the kitchen to fetch a bottle of sparkling water.

"It's alright..."
Lorey came out with her bottle of water, looking rather astute as she came to sit on the couch. A book had been placed on the side table, which she picked up and opened to the very beginning. It was a novel, bought from the corner store on her last outing there. Ever since she started working at the flower shoppe, she felt like she shouldn't abandon her want of knowledge, since she was finding that reading more was helping her mentally. Remembering names of flowers and the temperatures to keep them at was easier, and she adored being able to do her job well.