591: Two Families

Two Families

Saturday — January 19  2

It's been a month since Chris's death—and Gus's. Honestly, Katherine still wasn't convinced that Gus was dead, only because she didn't see it for herself, unlike what happened to Chris. Perhaps her friend chose the timing to just disappear, leaving no traces for a clean slate. If that was what he wanted, she could totally respect it.

However, not knowing what happened to him just made her keep wondering. As per Hughes, over thirty bodies were found, and all of them except the man from Maverick Security had no identities. So it was impossible to identify that one of them could be Gus. Even if they wanted to check the area themselves, they couldn't—because the NIA secured the whole perimeter of the old Castle in the prairie with a huge sign: No Trespassing, along with several people from the military patrolling the area.

So over a month later, everyone just seemed to move on.

A warm hand rested on Katherine's knee, snapping her out from her train of thoughts. When she came to, a smile immediately brightened her face as she looked up to Damien sitting next to her at the dining table of the Young Mansion, along with her and his family.

"Are you okay?" he probed, squeezing her knee a little.

She smiled at him as she nodded, kissing his cheek as reassurance that everything was okay. "This is a little overwhelming, but I'm okay," she whispered.

Kissing her temple, Damien whispered back above her ear, "I can totally understand. We can't keep putting this off anymore. Let's just try to get through this dinner. I promise to make it up to you later tonight."

"You better." A small hint of a blush crept on her cheeks when she glanced at his hand that's still on her knee and was slowly stroking her skin in circles.

She crossed her legs, the knee where Damien's hand was now on top and had slid slowly above her thigh as he was casually talking to his grandmother opposite him. Katherine wrapped her arms around his arm and rested her head on his shoulder while she listened, slowly scanning the faces at the dining table.

Grandpa Theo sat at the head of the long table. To his left was Deborah and to his right was Frederick. Next to Frederick was Nana, William, and then William's mother. While on Deborah's side were Damien, Katherine, and then Caroline. They had a four-course meal for dinner where the first three were spent talking casually about getting to know each side of the family. Now they just finished dessert, and the agenda for tonight was in focus: the wedding.

However, Katherine and Damien didn't expect how meticulous it was. The main goal was indeed the wedding; however, before that even happens, an engagement party should be held. With their family's reputations, it was a must.

Looking at Grandpa Theo's happy expression, Katherine felt a prick in her heart. He had been healthier these past few weeks. No more cough, but because he was already old, he had to take better care of himself. She just couldn't fully enjoy this dinner, knowing that the man to his right and the woman to his left could possibly be her parents' murderers. There was just no easy way to handle this except to ignore the elephants in the room for the meantime.

Apart from Damien and Katherine, only William could sympathize with them. Her eyes met William's who offered a warm smile and raised a glass towards her. She couldn't believe that a day like this would come where she no longer hated being around him. He and Damien had gotten even closer the past few weeks as he often visited them. The two men would huddle for hours.

She knew what they were doing inside—planning how to overthrow Frederick Park. She wanted to be of use to help them in whatever way she could, but Damien didn't want her to get involved in this battle, especially with her still recuperating a few weeks ago. Katherine was so much better now, of course, but that didn't stop Damien from being protective over her.

So while he was busy, she spent a lot of time with her grandfather, helping him to get back in shape. The doctor said his health took a U-turn and was now back to his normal, healthy old self—and as long as he kept a good diet and regular exercise, he was okay.

Katherine wasn't surprised when her grandfather immediately requested for the two families to get together tonight after that doctor's appointment. He was undoubtedly excited about the wedding—obviously, the engagement parties. Yes, parties.

"So, it's settled then!" Grandpa Theo clapped his hands once. "We'll hold the first engagement party. The tentative date will be two weeks from now. That should be enough time to send all the invitations to all the corporate guests from both sides. While the following weeks' parties would be for friends and family."

Frederick and Deborah were quick to agree. And Nana was also excited. All heads turned in the couple's direction as if waiting for what they had to say.

Katherine and Damien looked at each other. They knew this was going to happen and while he actually didn't mind the parties, she had some reservations.

"Isn't...having more than one party a bit too much? I'm still not sure about it. Why can't it be just one?" she asked despite already knowing the answer. She just wanted to try getting her point across.

Deborah Young softly laughed. "Oh, don't be silly, Katherine. You're a Young and Damien is a Park. One engagement party simply isn't enough. Our family already has about...four hundred guests if we're being shy—all from the business side of Young Corporation alone—maybe even more. This doesn't include all the relatives and your friends. I'm sure the Park Group and Crown Resort Group would double that. It just wouldn't work to have one engagement party."

"Your aunt's right," Frederick supported. "If this is about finances, you don't have to worry about that. The Park family will take care of everything."

"We can't accept that," Grandpa Young chimed in. "This is a union of two families. We can talk about money matters down the road, but I'd want to spend on my precious granddaughter too—I just want to make that clear." Then he turned to Katherine. "But I agree, Pumpkin. This is why we need to have more than one celebration. There are so many guests, so it's only natural to have multiple parties."

Ignoring the fact that Deborah and Frederick seemed to be agreeing on a lot about the things discussed that evening, Katherine contemplated. She forgot about the guests that were from the business side of their families. All this time, she was only thinking about her and Damien, and the guests that she really cared to be present on their special day didn't even exceed forty people.

Damien squeezed her hand, and when she looked up at him, his gentle smile made her stomach flip. How could she say no to this man? Even Damien wanted a big celebration?

Nodding, she turned to the older people at the table and said, "Fine. Okay. Let's do this."

…

Later, everyone moved to the living room where they enjoyed some wine. Katherine stood by the window overlooking the garden, holding a glass of red wine as she marveled at the view outside. Warm colorful lights illuminated the landscape that's filled with flowers and greens. She missed the snow that fell during Christmas, wishing to see the garden to be covered in white again.

She took a sip from her drink, the liquid warming up her throat. She gasped when a pair of arms circled her waist, a familiar scent wafted her nose when Damien rested his chin on her shoulder.

"I'm only allowing you that drink tonight. You shouldn't even be drinking," he said.

"This is my second glass. And why shouldn't I be drinking?" Katherine leaned into him.

"Then you can't drink any more than that. I want you sober enough when we get home."

"Why, President Park? What are we doing at home that I need to be 'sober' for?" she teased, though she already knew where his head was at.

"I called the doctor to get the results from your check-up today. And he gave me the green light."

Katherine laughed. "You actually asked the doctor if we can have sex?"

She gasped when he pulled her closer, her hips flush against his erection. "Not exactly. But he said you can resume your daily activities as long as you don't strain yourself too much—this was our daily activity, you know. It's been too long, Kitten. I don't think I can last one more day."

"I don't know...I think I have no energy tonight."

"Stop playing with me." Damien groaned against her neck, and she chuckled.

Turning around, Katherine hooked her arms around his neck and kissed him. A knowing smile spread across her face as she looked into his heated gaze and spoke on his lips, "Darling, you're not the only one looking forward to tonight. A surprise is waiting for you under this dress."

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