Chapter 101: Raymond’s story
I sat there, completely lost in my thoughts, unsure of what to do next. It was painfully obvious that I wasn’t going to stop thinking about Raymond anytime soon. No matter how hard I tried to push him out of my mind, I couldn’t. His face, his voice, the way he looked at me it all lingered. And now, after hearing there was a story about him, my curiosity had only grown stronger.
I told myself to ignore it, to let it go, but that only made it worse. Now I wasn’t just thinking about Raymond, I was thinking about what made him the way he was. I wanted to know. No... I needed to know.
With a frustrated sigh, I pushed myself up from the bed, my fingers instinctively adjusting the thin hospital clothes clinging to my body. I didn’t even bother to think things through properly. I knew that if I followed the usual procedure, informing Damon first and then waiting for him to decide when to tell me, I would lose my mind. I didn’t have that kind of patience.
Curiosity was already swallowing me whole.
Without giving myself another second to reconsider, I hurried out of the room and made my way straight to Damon’s office. My steps were quick, almost unsteady, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t.
When I finally got there, I paused just long enough to knock.
"Come in," his voice called from inside.
I pushed the door open and stepped in. Damon looked up from whatever he was doing, and the moment his eyes landed on me, his expression shifted to one of shock.
"What are you doing out of bed, Lena?" he asked immediately. "You do know you’re supposed to be resting, right?"
I ignored the concern in his voice and walked further into the room before taking a seat in front of him. One of his eyebrows arched slightly, clearly surprised by my behavior, but he didn’t say anything right away.
Instead, he studied me.
"What do you want?" he finally asked.
I didn’t hesitate.
"I want to know Raymond’s story," I said bluntly.
"What?" Damon exclaimed, his eyes widening in astonishment.
I offered him a small, almost innocent smile. "Well, the ladies said you would tell me if I asked. They also said that once I hear about him, I would understand him... and his feelings." I shrugged lightly.
"I don’t think that’s true," I added, leaning back slightly in my chair. "But here I am, waiting for you to convince me otherwise."
Damon stared at me for a moment, as if trying to figure out whether I was serious or not.
"Are you sure?" he asked again.
I nodded without hesitation.
"What harm could it be?" I said with another shrug. "It’s not like I believe it anyway."
He let out a long sigh, running a hand through his hair before leaning back in his chair.
"Alright," he said slowly. "But I hope Raymond doesn’t kill me for this."
That made me raise an eyebrow, but I stayed silent.
"You have to promise me something first," he continued. "You must not tell Raymond that I told you any of this. At least... not now."
"I promise," I said immediately.
He studied me for a second longer before finally nodding.
"Fine."
Damon took a deep breath, as if preparing himself, then began.
"When Raymond was young, just like every other child, he was playful... full of life. He laughed easily, smiled often. Honestly, he was everything you could imagine a happy kid to be." A faint smile appeared on his lips. "I remember he loved swimming."
I blinked in surprise.
Raymond... and swimming? That was not something I ever thought I would hear in the same sentence.
Damon exhaled slowly, the smile on his face fading.
"The truth is... I can’t really tell you his story the way he would," he admitted. "But what I do know is that his life was never the same after his mother’s death."
His tone shifted, becoming heavier.
"He changed. Completely. He became distant, cold. We were close, really close, and I used to visit him all the time, but he wasn’t the same anymore. The boy who used to laugh and joke around... disappeared. It was like he became mute overnight."
I leaned forward slightly, my heart tightening.
"I tried everything," Damon continued. "Anything just to get him to talk... or even smile. But nothing worked. It was like he had shut himself off from the world."
He paused briefly, his expression darkening.
"I think everything truly changed the day I went looking for him without telling him."
I frowned. "What happened?"
Damon glanced at me before continuing.
"That was the day I overheard him arguing with his grandfather," he said quietly. "They were shouting at each other at the top of their lungs."
My breath caught.
"What did you hear?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Damon’s eyes locked with mine.
"Raymond’s father murdered his mother," he said.
My entire body went rigid.
"And his grandfather wanted him to bury it... to keep quiet about it."
"What?" I gasped, my voice rising. "Tell me you’re joking!"
Damon shook his head slowly.
"Look at how you’re reacting now," he said. "And you’re already grown. Imagine how Raymond felt when he saw his father push his mother down the stairs."
My hands flew to my chest.
"It’s not a good story," Damon continued. "I remember hearing it that night... I couldn’t breathe. I had to hide because I was so scared."
He paused, as if reliving the moment.
"His grandfather tried to take him away from that mansion, the same place where his mother died, but Raymond refused. Completely."
I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry.
"After a lot of begging and persuasion, his grandfather finally left. And then..." Damon’s lips twitched slightly. "Raymond came straight to where I was hiding and pulled the curtain open."
"You’re kidding," I whispered.
He shook his head. "I was shocked too. I had no idea how he knew I was there."
"What happened next?" I asked.
"He asked me what I was doing there," Damon said. "I told him I came to see him... to make sure he was okay. But honestly, I was terrified."
He let out a small breath.
"Then he asked me how much I heard."
"And?" I pressed.
"I told him everything," Damon replied.
My eyes widened.
"He warned me not to tell anyone," Damon added. "Said his grandfather would kill me if I did."
Despite the heaviness of the story, a faint smile touched his lips.
"But strangely... that was what brought us closer."
I stayed silent, completely drawn into his words.
"Raymond has been through a lot," Damon continued. "His father was a chronic cheat. He cheated on his mother constantly because he never loved her. Their marriage was arranged, and from the start, there was nothing there."
He shook his head slightly.
"It was during one of those times, when his father came home with his mistress... Lucas’s mother, that everything went wrong."
My breath hitched.
"After the woman left, Raymond’s mother confronted his father," Damon said. "And in the heat of the moment... he pushed her."
I closed my eyes briefly.
"She fell down the stairs," he finished quietly. "And died instantly."
"Oh my God..." I whispered, my voice trembling.
"That’s one of the many reasons Raymond hates both his father and Lucas," Damon added.
I pressed my hand against my chest, trying to steady my breathing.
Damon continued, his voice softer now.
"Raymond basically grew up without parents. He refused to be taken care of by anyone, not even Mama, who was his mother’s best friend."
I frowned slightly.
"When he became a teenager, things got worse," he said. "By then, we were already best friends. Raymond started getting involved with gangs. Street fights. Dangerous things. He became... notorious."
I stared at him in disbelief.
"No one would have believed he was the young master of the Black family," Damon added.
He leaned forward slightly.
"It was during one of those street fights that he met Liam. Liam had been cornered by a group of thugs and was about to be beaten to death. Raymond stepped in, saved him, and brought him home."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"And from that day on, they became like brothers."
I listened quietly, absorbing every word.
"We went on to save a lot of people after that," Damon continued. "And eventually, Raymond built his own gang from scratch."
He sighed.
"He was in a very dark place for a long time... until he met Cynthia."
Something in his tone made me tense.
"She made him pause," he admitted. "At least for a while. He stopped doing some of the things he used to do. But... it didn’t end well."
I frowned. "Why?"
"Because Cynthia was ambitious," Damon said bluntly. "She believed that Grandpa Pierce wouldn’t hand over the company to Raymond which was why she started dating him in the first place, especially since he wasn’t actively involved in it at the time."
He let out a dry laugh.
"What she didn’t know was that Raymond already had his own company. From a very young age, he never really cared about the Black Enterprise."
My eyes widened slightly.
"She went behind his back," Damon continued, his tone turning cold. "And started sleeping with Lucas."
"What?!" I nearly shouted.
Damon chuckled lightly at my reaction.
"Yes," he said. "That’s how it happened."
I shook my head in disbelief.
"That betrayal almost pushed him back into darkness," Damon added. "That’s why he moved to York City. And we all followed him, afraid to leave him all by himself."
He paused before looking at me intently.
"Raymond in a dark place is not someone you want to be around," he said.
A chill ran down my spine.
"But then... something changed," he continued. "You came along."
My heart skipped.
"I remember not being in support of that contract," Damon admitted. "But I can’t deny the truth, your relationship worked. You healed him in a way no one else ever could."
I swallowed hard.
"You’re the first person he has opened up to since his mother’s death," Damon said. "Even Cynthia couldn’t do that."
His voice softened.
"She reminded him too much of his father, selfish, ambitious, only caring about herself. Her betrayal brought back the pain he felt when his father killed his mother.
But you..." he paused, his gaze gentle, "your innocence reminded him of his mother."
Tears began to sting my eyes.
"And that’s why he wants to protect you," Damon added. "With everything he has."
My chest tightened.
"When Raymond said he would burn this entire city down if anything happened to you," Damon continued, "we all knew he wasn’t joking."
Silence filled the room.
"I don’t know if I told his story well," he said after a moment. "But if you ever reconcile... maybe you can ask him yourself. I’m sure he’ll tell you better."
He paused, then added softly,
"And if you’re wondering whether Raymond loves you... I would bet my life that he does."
My lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
"He pushed you away because he was scared," Damon said. "Scared of getting hurt again. Scared of losing you... or worse, watching you die."
When he finished, I felt completely numb.
"Thank you... for telling me all this," I managed to say.
He nodded. "You’re welcome."
I stood up slowly and walked out of his office in a daze.
The moment I stepped outside and the door closed behind me, the tears I had been holding back began to fall. Everything Damon said replayed in my mind over and over again.
Raymond... that little boy...
I didn’t even realize when I reached my hospital room. My vision was blurred with tears as I climbed onto the bed, curling into myself.
All the emotions I had tried to suppress came crashing down at once.
I cried for him, for the pain he endured.
For the loneliness he must have felt.
For everything.
And somewhere between the tears and the overwhelming ache in my chest, sleep finally claimed me, my face still stained with silent sorrow
