As soon as Damien gulped down the last few drops of coffee from his mug, he fell heavily on his bed, yawning and stretching himself out. Today he decided to have some rest, and quickly rounding up all his work in two hours, he had came home early, showered and had the best lunch he had had in a long while. Now he was relaxing after having coffee on a Tuesday evening, and he was suddenly feeling better than he had in the past few weeks. His mind didn't race with thoughts and he wasn't worrying about anything else today. He felt good. There was just one last thing left to crown it all up though, and that was a peaceful slumber. He stretched out further, burying his head in his pillow as he shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep. Minutes later though, all to no avail nature’s call had deserted him, and he had gone from lying on his chest, to his back. Now he was seated upright, staring at his laptop and wondering what else to do. So much for getting rest today, Damien thought to himself, hissing. When his phone began to ring, he immediately picked it up from his dresser, grateful for the distraction, and cocking an eyebrow in surprise as the caller ID flashed on his screen, he quickly swiped the answer button. It had been a while since she called him, and wondering if everything was okay, he asked as soon as the line got through, "Mother? How are you doing?" "Hello, honey. I'm okay, how are you? How is work?" His mother's cheery voice sounded from the other end, and Damien smiled to himself, already at ease from his earlier worries. She sounded upbeat, and that was what he wanted. "I'm doing okay, Mom. Work is the same." "That's good." "Yeah.” Damien agreed, and after a little while he asked, "Is everything okay?" "Well, I was wondering if you could…lend me some money? Before you say anything else, I assure you I'm not planning to spend recklessly. I saw this really nice kitchen equipment on sale today and.." "Mother…” Damien cut her off, his voice low, "How many times have I asked you to stop calling to ask for money? You have a black express card, Mom. Which you're well aware that I add money to every month. Why do you keep forgetting? Get whatever you want. Whether it's reckless or necessary… that's what it's there for." Damien clenched his fists as he spoke. "I wasn't sure if…" His mother started to say but he stopped her. "You don't need to think, mother. Okay? The card is yours, the money is yours, you can have anything you want. I worked my ass off to get us out of London for a reason, and now it has paid off. We were in need for so long…" Damien trailed off as a lump formed in his throat. All the times when they barely had enough to eat, and how they would stay hungry for days on end resonated in his head. They hadn’t been able to afford anything they wanted, as they all lived from hand to mouth … all they had back then in London was each other, and that tiny rented house infested with rats and a leaky roof. "We're done with that time, Mother. We're out of that phase of our lives and we're never going back. Ever. S-so… get what you want, do what pleases you okay? There’s no limit at all.” He heard his mother sniff from the other end and he could tell that she was sobbing. "Thank you so much son, thank you.” She whispered. He waved her words off muttering some incorrigible stuffs and she just laughed, resuming her enquiry about work and his health. When he had answered all her questions, she laughed again seemingly satisfied. "What do you think about coming over for dinner sometime next week?" She asked, “It'll be just you and us. It's been a while since we had something together as a family with no outside interruptions..." By outside interruptions, Damien knew that his mother was talking about Katherine and a laugh threatened to burst out of his lips but he held himself back. He began to consider her request, almost saying yes but at the last minute he changed his mind. He had way too much to do. So many meetings and projects coming up, and he wouldn’t be able to make it all. "I'm afraid I can't, Mom. At least not next week. I'm really busy." The sound of her huffing made him laugh, “It won't be long. Just an hour or two? It'll be nice to see you. Your sister misses you too, you know." Damien smiled at the thought of Layla, his little sister. He missed her too, and he would definitely see her, but he just couldn't accept this invitation. Not right now."I can't, Mother. You know what, let's reschedule. Some other time. I'll let you know when I'm free. Is that alright?" Chuckling when his mother reluctantly agreed, he listened to her begin to recommend a list of herbal teas she had recently discovered and how good they would be for him.