Thank you all for your responses to the last chapter. That damn Kol! Lol! I loved getting the comments through email that were filled with asterisks. I love you all and thank you so much.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Bonnie stood in the middle of her office surrounded by stacks of papers, finding it hard to breathe. She placed her hand over her heart as she felt it rapidly beating. She was sure she left the report on her desk. No one was allowed in her office. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, her stomach was in knots and she felt nauseous as she turned her head swiftly looking around. She heard the elevator ding in the distance, drawing her eyes to it and she watched Allison step off with her phone glued to her ear. Bonnie stepped over the papers on the floor and rushed out of her office. She felt unhinged as she approached Allison, "I need to speak to you immediately," she stated trying to keep her voice from breaking.
Allison met Bonnie's crazed gaze and slowly ended her call, "Bonnie, how can I help?" she asked trying to mask her apprehension.
"Did someone come up to my office while I was gone?"
Allison paused, "No…umm…is something wrong?"
"I had a very important document on my desk and now its gone, did you rearrange anything on my desk?" Bonnie asked moving closer to her.
Allison thought for a few moments, "No…I didn't touch anything."
Bonnie closed her eyes and grimaced, "Shit!" she hissed turning on her heels and rushing into her office.
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Damon sat staring down on the numerous pages in front of him. He reached over and picked up the glass of bourbon he had poured hours ago taking a sip. He sent Rosa home hours ago after tearing into the office barking orders to get his PI on the phone. He read the words on those pages numerous times and no matter how many times he blinked or tried to erase what they said, the words remained. He knew that Tyler Lockwood was a lying bastard, but he never once believed that Bonnie would be a liar too.
He read every single line of the pages sent to him. At first he didn't believe it, but he knew that it was from that document that he came across in Bonnie's kitchen. She had this for days and knew that Tyler hid information, but she still agreed on the settlement based on the information Tyler submitted.
Damon closed his eyes. He could see her face, see her smile, see her laughing, see her holding his face in her hands, he could hear her voice as he made love to her and he could hear her telling him that she could fall in love with him.
"You are such an idiot!" he emotions bubbled up and he threw his glass against the wall sending splinters of glass all over the floor as he pushed all of the papers onto the floor.
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After spending hours trying to get in touch with Fred, searching her office and kicking herself for allowing Alan to influence her decision regarding the report—Bonnie walked into her apartment defeated. She was due in court early the next morning so Judge Johnson could sign off on the divorce agreement and that's the last place she wanted to be. She didn't know what was in Fred's report and chances are, she would never know. Alan probably made sure Fred never shared that information with anyone and now that the report mysteriously disappeared from her office, she would never know.
She took a seat on one of the stools in her kitchen and fished her phone out of her bag. She pressed Damon's name and stared at his picture for a few moments. She bit her lip as the tears fell from her eyes, she couldn't text him or even call him. The report undoubtedly had something inside of it that would have turned the case and she hadn't been honest with Damon about the sign off. Their relationship was better than this. She rested her phone against her forehead for a few moments before sliding off of the stool and walking over to her wine fridge. She removed a bottle of Chardonnay and trudged towards her bedroom slamming the door behind her.
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The next morning, Damon sat in the courtroom 20 minutes before the hearing was due to begin. He stared down at the red folder in front of him. He hadn't slept the night before. The ache in his stomach had twisted itself into a knot that threatened to make him sick. All night he thought about Bonnie. The woman that he loved, the woman who betrayed him, the woman who sat across from him and his client and misled them. As much as he wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, he couldn't. The truth was in the texts. He was so disgusted and angry that he could barely find the words to speak.
"Damon," her voice cut through his thoughts like a machete. He turned to look at her standing behind him. He took her in. She didn't look well. She looked as if she hadn't slept, but he had no sympathy for her. He didn't care what was wrong with her.
"Bonnie," he stated.
She walked up to him, "We need to talk," she whispered.
"Sorry, I don't think we should," he mumbled as the courtroom door opened and Olivia walked in, "excuse me, I have to speak to my client."
Bonnie blinked. Damon's voice sounded cold…distant…she wasn't entirely sure if it was her imagination or not. She slept no more than an hour and it was a feat to even bring herself into the courtroom today. She breathed out as Damon brushed past her, walking over to Olivia and escorting her out of the courtroom.
Bonnie took a seat at the opposite table and removed a copy of the settlement agreement from her bag slowly. "I hope this will be over within a couple of months, I have a date and a bottle of champagne on ice," Tyler remarked taking a seat next to her.
"This is a divorce hearing, can you at least pretend to be sad that your marriage is coming to an end," Bonnie remarked disgusted.
"It was over long before today," Tyler stated and Bonnie believed that was the first truthful statement he had ever made.
The courtroom door opened to Damon and Olivia walking in. Olivia cut her eyes at Bonnie and Tyler and Bonnie felt if looks could kill, she and Tyler would be buried six foot under. Bonnie looked over at Damon and he kept his gaze away from her. Something was wrong…this wasn't them.
"Please rise, Judge Michael Johnson entering the courtroom," the court clerk announced.
Each litigant rose as the judge entered the courtroom, "Take a seat," he reviewed the documents in front of him while everyone took their seat, "I've had a chance to review the divorce settlement agreement that Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood have come to…"
"Your Honor, I apologize," Damon stated standing up, "I have some new information that makes that agreement null and void."
Bonnie's head snapped over to the other side of the room as Damon went on, "After that settlement was negotiated and after my client signed it, I received some additional information that was unknown to my client before she agreed to that settlement amount."
Judge Johnson looked at Damon over his glasses and then at Bonnie, who jumped up from her seat, "Your Honor, I have no idea what Mr. Salvatore is talking about. He had all available information when his client agreed to that settlement," Bonnie argued feeling as if eagles had been awakened in her stomach. She felt like she would vomit, this was wrong. Something had changed.
"Your Honor, we recently learned that Mr. Lockwood actually had a child while married to my client," Damon declared.
Bonnie's eyes widened as she then looked down at Tyler who closed his eyes and exhaled.
"Mr. Lockwood has been making payments to the child's mother for the past year. It was a line item missed in the forensic report. The child is only a year old and he provided funds to the mother through what we believed was a charity until further research was conducted," Damon went on, "this goes to show that Mr. Lockwood has consistently betrayed the vows that he made to my client and he made a mockery of their marriage. He did this and was willing to give her a measly 5% of his company. He has misled this court."
Bonnie gripped her chair as Judge Johnson's eyes trained on her, "Ms. Bennett, were you aware of this? Did you intentionally contribute to misleading this court regarding your client's infidelities as well as the funds that he was redistributing to his illegitimate child? Because if you did Counselor, I know you are well aware of the repercussions of lying to the court," he stated sternly.
Bonnie's mouth went dry as she looked over at Damon and then at the judge. This is why he had been short with her, hadn't answered her texts or anything. He found out what was in Fred's report.
"Counselor…" Judge Johnson brought Bonnie back to reality.
"I…" Bonnie began searching for the right words to save this.
"She had no idea," Damon interrupted, "my private detective found out this information late last night. I imagine that Mr. Lockwood knew and he didn't disclose to his attorney. Your Honor, I apologize for this. I am sure that if I meet with Ms. Bennett and her client, we can come up with a new settlement and we can resolve this matter quickly."
Judge Johnson looked from Damon to Bonnie wearing a face that rocked Bonnie to the core, "You have an hour and if you don't come to an agreement, I will come up with one that you, Mr. Lockwood won't like…court adjourned until 11am," he banged the gavel before leaving the courtroom.
Bonnie felt as if the room started to spin. She found herself gripping onto her chair for support as Tyler began to immediately talk in her ear, "This is ridiculous! How did he get that information! Did you leak it to him?! If you did, I will sue you and your firm!" Tyler snarled at her.
"Shut up!" Bonnie stated through clenched teeth before turning to Damon who was speaking with Olivia, "Damon, we need to talk!"
"We most certainly do," Damon stated, "Olivia, I will be back and when I come back, be prepared to celebrate."
Damon turned to Bonnie and followed her out of the courtroom. They headed down the hallway with hurried steps reaching an attorney conference room and Bonnie slammed the door, "What was that!" she raged, "you totally blindsided me!"
"Blindsided you?" Damon narrowed his eyes at her. His eyes were devoid of any feeling as he studied her, "that information was known to you and you hid it from me…from Olivia…from the court!"
"I knew nothing about…."
"Stop lying to me!" Damon exploded so loudly that Bonnie jumped, "you knew damn well that Tyler was hiding a kid that he had during that marriage and if that got out, he would look like even more of an asshole and we could have received a bigger settlement. You hid that information."
"I didn't know anything about a kid," Bonnie shook her head.
"You didn't huh? Then tell me about this report!" Damon thrust the red folder at her.
Bonnie opened the folder and she was met with pictures of the report that Fred created, "How did you…?" she breathed out as she glanced at the contents which included an entire page regarding donations to 'Baby Dolls for Princesses' which was actually a bank account tied to a woman named Vicki with a one-year-old child, "you took this from my office?"
"I didn't take shit from your office, I've never been to your office," Damon snapped, "someone sent it to me. They told me that you were lying and using me and apparently that was true. I don't know how I could be so stupid!" he raged, "I let my guard down. I knew there was a reason why you took so long to sign off on that report. You didn't believe it and had another investigation conducted and you kept the results a secret and then proceeded to present that bullshit settlement knowing that your bastard of a client was cheating all over town! What kind of person are you?!"
Bonnie read through the pages as her hands shook, "I…I never read the report."
Damon narrowed his eyes, "You expect me to believe that someone as smart as you wouldn't read that report? What kind of idiot…oh wait…you take me for a huge idiot! You used your body and your words to snow me and get me to believe whatever you said. You whored yourself out for a case and now its blowing up in your face!"
Bonnie felt like she had been stabbed in the heart at his words. He had cut her deep with those last words and her hand quickly raised up to slap him in the face, but his hand caught her wrist, "Don't you even…" he warned her.
"Don't you ever talk to me like that again," she hissed with her eyes turning into slits, snatching her wrist from his.
Damon chuckled humorlessly, "Funny, you would attack me. I looked in your eyes so many times and I thought that I saw the truth. I thought that we had something and now I'm standing here and I realize you played me. You came to me, came to my bed and it was all a game…so what you could become partner? That's pathetic, sick and desperate."
"I never read the report! Our partner signed off on everything before I could!" Bonnie defended herself, "and by the time I was ready to read it, it was gone. Someone took it from my office. I tried to do the right thing!"
"I saw that report at your house, the morning of your birthday and I walked away from it. I trusted you," Damon stated quietly, "and you stabbed me in the back. Whether you read the report or not, you knew something was wrong and you decided that your career was more important than being fair. I thought you were so much better than this."
Bonnie stared down at the papers.
"I protected you in there with Judge Johnson, but that can easily go away…"
"What?" Bonnie asked looking up at him.
"You get Tyler to give Olivia 35% of the company, $20,000 in alimony payments a month, she keeps the Key West property and she gets the condo she's living in now," Damon stated.
"Tyler will never agree to that."
"Maybe you should explain to him the repercussions of lying to the court and what that can do to him. Also, I'm sure Judge Johnson is pissed enough to give her 50% of the company. I'm giving you a deal here Bonnie, take it…you have twenty minutes," Damon stated before walking out of the room slamming the door behind him.
Bonnie felt the tears welling up in her eyes and then the fury surfaced, she pushed the door open to the conference room walking out to the hallway and found Tyler, "What's going on?" he asked.
"You know damn well what's going on," her eyes bore into him as they walked back into the conference room, "I asked you multiple times whether you told the truth and you said yes! You were hiding a fucking child the entire time! What kind of worthless bastard are you?"
"Excuse me, Counselor recognize who you work for," Tyler moved closer to her.
"I am working for someone who is going to give the woman that he married, lied to, cheated on and used, 35% of his company, $20,000 in alimony payments along with the properties he promised her before."
"The hell I will. She's not getting anything close to 35% of my company. You do your fucking job and make that settlement that we agreed to come through!"
"No, that's over!" Bonnie screamed throwing her arms up, "you lied. You concealed a child and it stops now! If you don't take this deal that Damon is offering, I can guarantee you…you will lose so much more. This is not a game and I am no longer playing with you. You will give her everything I just said and if you don't, I will tell the court that you deliberately misled the court along with our firm."
Tyler narrowed his eyes, "You wouldn't do that. The partners would ruin you."
"I don't care," she stared directly into his eyes.
"I will pull all of my business from your firm," Tyler threatened.
"Do it," Bonnie challenged him.
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Bonnie's voice shook as she stood from the table. She looked over at Damon, who refused to make eye contact and she looked up at Judge Johnson, "Your Honor, my client would like to apologize for this oversight in the proceedings. He would never mislead the court. We are willing to amend the settlement agreement to awarding Ms. Olivia Lockwood 35% of Lockwood Industries, $20,000 in alimony payments and the Key West and Mystic Falls properties," Bonnie declared.
Judge Johnson looked over at Damon, "Mr. Salvatore is your client in agreement with this?"
"She is, Your Honor," Damon stated.
"So ordered…Ms. Olivia Lockwood will receive 35% of Lockwood Industries, $20,000 in alimony payments and the aforementioned properties. The documentation will be drawn up and you will receive the final decree in a few weeks," Judge Johnson stated, "court adjourned." The sound of the gavel banging traveled throughout Bonnie's body.
"You will be hearing from me!" Tyler snarled in Bonnie's ear before tearing out of the courtroom.
Bonnie looked over to see Olivia beaming as she hugged Damon, "Thank you Damon…thank you so much!"
Bonnie felt like her entire body would break down as she sat down slowly at the table willing herself not to cry. She knew that Alan and Tyler were hiding something, but she never thought it would be something this big. She allowed herself to be played because of her ambition and she knew that. She watched as Damon escorted Olivia out of the courtroom without another glance at Bonnie.
"We have to celebrate!" Olivia declared, "on me. I have to call Luke, but we can meet for dinner…please…you've done so much for me," she stated turning to Damon outside of the courtroom.
"Sure," Damon plastered a smile on his face.
Olivia held up her arms in victory as she headed down the hallway. Damon stood in the hallway outside of the courtroom. He was so angry at Bonnie. His anger had festered like a sore the entire night. When he saw her enter the courtroom, his anger boiled over. He had fallen in love with her and she had played him. Winning this case by any means necessary was a way for her to become partner in the firm. She misled and lied to 'win' and he couldn't forgive that. He turned and pushed the courtroom door open and he stopped in place, Bonnie was sitting at the table with her head resting on the table. He could hear her taking in breaths and in that moment, he knew that the love he had for her was still there and he hated himself for it. He had protected her despite how she played him. He was the pathetic one. He needed her out of his system. Damon turned around and left the courtroom without another word.
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After sitting in the courtroom until another hearing was due to begin, Bonnie walked into her apartment throwing her bag down on a chair. Ever since she left the courthouse her phone had blown up with text messages and calls. She ignored every single one. She emailed Allison and told her she wouldn't be in the office for the rest of the day or the next. There was no way she could handle seeing or speaking with anyone.
She sat down on the couch in her living room and stared at the wall. This was her fault. As much as she wanted to blame Tyler, Alan…even Damon…this was her fault. She should have read the report, dealt with its findings and let the chips fall where they may. However, her preoccupation with becoming partner to make her father proud…to make her father proud…she was admitting it to herself silently. This was about Rudy. Working at this firm was about Rudy. Being a shark was about Rudy. It was about bonding with her father who had walked away. She had wrecked her life chasing after her father and his dreams for her. Her career was in ruins and she was confident that the firm would cut ties with her by the time Tyler was done.
Then there was Damon. She loved him. She was in love with him and he felt betrayed by her. His eyes told the story. They were angry, they were unfeeling, they looked as if they hated her as he stood in that conference room. He had every right to feel the way he did about her. The words hurt, but she had compromised herself because of this case. He was wrong about why she fell for him. She loved him and that was another consequence of her actions…losing Damon. She covered her eyes as the tears that she had kept in her eyes all day begin to fall.
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"You didn't have to treat me to dinner," Damon stopped the car in front of Olivia's apartment building.
"Damon, I had to. You did something amazing, you came into this late and you worked magic to get me a good settlement. You cared about me, you sympathized with me and I am grateful. I just wanted to show you how much," she stated.
Damon nodded as he opened his car door, walked over to the other side and opened up Olivia's. Although Olivia had been good company at dinner, his thoughts were preoccupied with Bonnie and how their relationship had been torpedoed. Throughout the day, moments that they shared raced throughout his thoughts and he wondered how many of them were genuine.
"Damon?" Olivia touched his arm.
"I'm sorry…I spaced out for a moment there," he apologized, "I'm glad that I was able to get you everything that you deserved."
Olivia smiled, "I thought you would be a real asshole at first, but you turned out to be pretty down to earth."
"Oh thanks," Damon snorted.
"I really believe that you had my best interest at heart," she looked up at him with sincere eyes, "and after dealing with Tyler, that was definitely welcomed."
"I tried my best."
She smiled before hesitating a moment before touching his cheek, "Thank you Damon," she whispered leaning up and kissing him on the cheek. Damon closed his eyes.
Olivia pulled back and then whispered, "Thank you," before placing her lips on his. Damon received the kiss for a few moments as he tried to erase the memories of being with Bonnie out of his head, "Olivia…we can't do this," he panted breaking their contact.
"Damon, I've been wanting to do this for awhile. Tonight is a celebration and it doesn't have to mean anything other than that…a celebration," she stated.
Damon looked down at Olivia. She didn't look vulnerable or as if she was doing this on a whim. He placed his hands on her cheeks and captured her lips in a kiss.
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Two days later, Bonnie walked through the glass doors of Briddle, Asher and Fant, LLP with her head held high. As she made her way through the hobby, she could hear the whispers of some of the younger associates. She stepped on the elevator and headed up to the 12th floor where her office was located. She hadn't slept in two days. Each night she woke up on the couch at around 4am and spent the rest of the morning looking at infomercials. Her phone had messages from Elena, Caroline, her mother, grandmother and her father. She refused to answer any of them. She couldn't speak to anyone. Her heart was broken, her pride was shattered and this was just the beginning. The elevator doors opened and she stepped off. Making her way to the office, she saw her fellow attorneys stealing glances at her as she made her way to her suite. Allison was behind her computer and her eyes drifted over to Bonnie, "Bonnie, Good Morning…I have your calendar ready for you," she stood up handing Bonnie a piece of paper.
"Allison…I actually want to speak with you first."
"Oh?" Allison's eyes shifted.
"Come in my office, please," Bonnie headed into her office with Allison on her heels.
Allison stood in the middle of the office as Bonnie took a seat behind her desk. She stared at Allison for a few moments causing Allison to shift uncomfortably, "Bonnie, can I help you with something?"
"I asked you a couple of days ago was someone in my office and you told me no…no one was in my office."
"No one came to your office," Allison stated.
"Then if no one came to my office, how did opposing counsel get a copy of a very important document that was on my desk before I left?" Bonnie asked.
Allison's mouth opened and closed like a guppie, "I…I don't know."
"You don't know?" Bonnie stood up from her desk and walked over to the woman who looked petrified, "mysteriously a propriety document gets in the hands of opposing counsel and you don't know how it happened when you were the only one sitting outside my office!" Bonnie raised her voice causing Allison to jump.
"Bonnie…" Alan stated from her doorway.
Bonnie glanced up to see Alan standing in her doorway with his mouth set in a straight line.
"Allison, please give me and Bonnie some time," Alan glanced down at the scared assistant sitting in the chair.
"I wasn't done," Bonnie stated through clenched teeth staring directly at Allison.
"Just a few moments," Alan requested.
Allison jumped up from the chair, leaving the office and closing the door behind her in the moment that it took Bonnie to answer back.
"You didn't answer any calls over the past two days," Alan stated matter of factly.
"I needed time to gather myself."
"Tyler called all of us, he was less than happy with your representation and he wants to take all of his business elsewhere."
"Oh?" Bonnie moved papers on her desk.
"Yes. How could you let opposing counsel get a copy of Fred's report?" Alan asked.
Bonnie shook her head in disbelief, "I didn't give him anything, someone sent it to him and it wasn't me."
"You sure you didn't give it to him…pillow talk, perhaps?" Alan raised an eyebrow.
Bonnie's eyes almost fell onto the floor as she eyed Alan, "You know, I stood in that courtroom completely blindsided by what was actually in that report. You knew what was in that report and you still signed off on those financials. You allowed me to present that settlement knowing that Tyler was lying about at the very least his infidelity when that was the cornerstone of Olivia Lockwood's entire argument. You knew that if anyone found out that he had a child outside of the marriage, she would be in a better position to negotiate."
"What we did wasn't illegal," Alan shrugged.
"Keep telling yourself that," Bonnie snorted.
"You had that report for how long Bonnie?" Alan moved closer to her, "and you never cracked it open? You made a choice. You chose to keep yourself ignorant so that you could prosper in your career. Not saying that wasn't a good choice, what I am saying is that you had a choice and you chose your legal career over what you thought was right. Now, if you would have actually fought after the news came out—that would've been impressive. You chose to crumble under the pressure of that man that had you wrapped around his finger."
Bonnie shook her head in frustration, "You lied! We lied! I couldn't stand up in court and wiggle Tyler out of it. The judge wouldn't have believed anything I said and he was caught! Tyler lied and Judge Johnson knew it. Tyler was lucky to retain more than 50% of his company after that lie."
"You were picked for this case because you are the best that we had…"
"I am the best that you have," Bonnie corrected him with a steely gaze. She was done playing with this firm. She had been humiliated, made to be a fool and lost one of the people most important to her. She wasn't in the mood to be disrespected by anyone at Briddle, Asher and Fant, LLP, "I've been a fantastic Domestic Relations Attorney since I arrived here. I've done everything that I was supposed to and you gave me a lying bastard for a client who put my reputation on the line and this firm's and you want to stand here telling me that I made a wrong decision? What he did was indefensible!"
Alan stared back at her without blinking, "The partners met this morning, we think that you need to take a leave of absence effective by end of business today. Your cases will be reassigned and we will revaluate your position in this firm."
Bonnie felt like all air had been sucked out of the office, "What?" she breathed out.
"Tyler wants to leave this firm. He doesn't have anything favorable to say about you. You let him down and you let this firm down and we need time to determine if you are someone we want to keep on here," Alan stated.
Bonnie turned away from him shaking her head in disbelief, "This is not saying that we are parting ways with you, its just saying that your position here needs to be reevaluated," he went on.
"My position here?" Bonnie breathed out, "my position here," she turned to Alan, "I told you that Tyler was lying. I told you he was a worthless client and you pushed me to bring this to a close. You told me that my job depended on it. Damon pushed me up against a wall and I had to agree to their settlement. I've worked long hours for this firm, taken on extra cases, been a team player…I've done everything that I could possibly do to show my worth to this firm and you stand here slapping me in the face with some leave of absence bullshit? Tell you what, you can take this position…your reevaluation and everything else about this firm and stick it up all of your collective asses. I quit. And I swear to God, no one here better give me any trouble with my severance package or I will sing like a canary to the Bar Disciplinary Board about you signing off of that financial disclosure knowing that there was information that at the very least was inaccurate."
"Are you threatening me Bonnie?" Alan challenged her moving closer to her.
"It's not a threat," Bonnie stated grabbing her bag, "it's definitely something that I will do. I have nothing to lose here, Alan. You can have all of this." Bonnie breezed past him and walked out of her office with her heels clicking on the marble floor of Briddle, Asher and Fant, LLP for the last time.
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"You have been in a shitty mood over the last couple of days, what the hell is wrong?" Stefan asked.
Damon killed the engine to his car near Pietros where he was meeting Olivia for dinner, "Nothing is wrong, its been a busy couple of days."
"You wrapped up the Lockwood case, huh?"
"Yup," Damon stated.
"And I heard that you won."
"Yup."
"I thought you would sound a little more excited. Elena says that she hasn't spoken to Bonnie about it, but she thinks something bad went down."
"Look Little Brother, I have to go. I will talk to you later," Damon ended the call before Stefan could say another word.
Since the hearing two days before, his mood had not improved. He thought that once the case was over, he would start to feel better about what went down; however, he didn't. He felt worse. He had won the case, but he had lost Bonnie. It wasn't just the fact that their relationship was in shambles, but also the fact that she had lied to him. He felt like a gullible fool for believing that their relationship was legit. He actually wanted to believe that it wasn't just some con by Bonnie to keep him snowed while she and that firm worked to hide Tyler's secrets. He never allowed himself to be played and the fact that he was, drove him crazy and infuriated him. Over the last two days, he spent some time with Olivia. She was nice, but it was clear that they were using each other.
The valet guy opened the door to Pietros and immediately Damon's eyes went to the bar. She was sitting there nursing a glass of wine just staring out into space. She looked just like she did on that night he first met her face to face, but there was something in her face that wasn't there when they first met. He stood in the doorway of the restaurant staring at her.
"Sir, can I help you?" the host asked.
"Umm…I'm just going to go over to the bar for awhile. I have a reservation at 6," he mumbled heading over to the marble bar and the stools. He should have stayed at the host desk, but his mind shut off as he walked over towards her, "bourbon…neat," he ordered from next to her. He watched her entire body stiffen as she glanced over at him.
"So drinking your sorrows away," he commented without looking at her as the bartender set the glass of brown liquid in front of him.
Bonnie didn't answer as she glanced down at her glass of wine as if it was the first time she noticed that she was drinking wine, "Despite what you think, I didn't know what Tyler was hiding. I never read the report because one of the partners signed off on everything before I even had a chance to read the report. I put my career in front of what I knew was right," she stated without looking at him, "I am paying for that choice," she looked up at him and he noticed then the red brimmed eyes and the light in her eyes was nonexistent, "I apologize for misleading you and Olivia…I apologize for not being truthful…" she breathed out as he saw the tears pooling in her eyes, "I never took our relationship for granted and I never once tried to manipulate you…" she breathed out heavily biting her lip, "but what I didn't do is whore myself out for this case. I didn't make love to you all of those times for a case. I didn't tell you some of the most personal things about my life for a case. I didn't let you see the deepest parts of me because of a case and the fact that you could think that or even believe that of me, tells me that you didn't love me. You didn't give me the benefit of the doubt. You didn't ask me about any of that information…you didn't trust me," she nodded and swallowed hard, "and that's what hurts the most."
Damon studied her as she spoke. Her words, the tone she used, the way she looked—it made the anger and venom that he felt for her melt away, "Bonnie…"
"No," she held out her hand downing some of her wine, "you believed that I used my body to cloud your mind to agree to anything…"
"I apologize for saying that to you, I was angry. Hell…I'm still angry. I felt used by you Bonnie and I said that out of anger. I shouldn't have. I should have known that you would never do something like that. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have went there," he stated reaching over to take her hand and she immediately pulled it away.
"I quit my job…its all over...everything is over," she mumbled taking a sip of her wine.
"Wait…what?" Damon asked.
"Damon…hey…sorry I'm late, our table is ready," Olivia floated over smiling from ear to ear.
Damon watched as Bonnie looked from him to Olivia, then at Olivia lacing her hand through Damon's. It was at that moment he noticed the shift in her eyes. The emerald eyes turned almost jade and she downed her glass of wine completely, "Well I guess I should go. Please continue celebrating in whatever way you feel the need to," she stood up picking up her purse and throwing cash onto the counter.
"Bonnie…wait…" Damon reached out to her.
"No…no…it's fine, Olivia…congratulations," she managed to choke out before rushing out of the restaurant.
"Olivia…I just need to go see if she's ok," Damon looked towards the door.
"Go…go…I will get the table," Olivia sighed.
"Thanks…I will only be a minute," he stated heading towards the door and finding Bonnie outside. She was searching her purse and he could hear curse words flowing from her mouth, "Bonnie…hey…let me get you a car ride home," he offered her.
"Go to hell," she spat out.
"Bonnie…"
"Olivia! Really? It's only been a day and you…" she stopped as the lump in her throat grew and she found herself unable to speak, "you are sleeping with her already?" she whispered in a devastated tone.
"Bonnie, it's not like that."
"It is…are you going to deny that you two are sleeping together?" she challenged.
"It's not what you think," Damon answered weakly.
"Just stay away from me! Don't talk to me! Don't come near me!" Bonnie screamed at him, "I've lost everything and I just want you away from me!"
"Let me get you a car, you shouldn't drive," he offered.
"My Lyft is here," she stated as a sedan pulled up, "and don't talk to me ever again."
Damon watched as Bonnie slid in the backseat and the car drive away. There was a part of his heart that broke away in that moment. He never wanted to hurt her and he had done just that. Everything had been blown apart. He turned and walked back into the restaurant. He found Olivia and sat down at the table, "You and Bonnie, you two had something going on…didn't you?" she asked studying him for a moment.
"Olivia…"
"It's ok. Obviously, it didn't cause anything to end badly for me," she shrugged, "and just so you know, this thing between us? I know that its just two people having fun together. We're attracted to each other…sure…but I know that this doesn't go any further than what it is now and guess what…after everything I've been through with Tyler, I'm fine with it."
Damon looked at Olivia and nodded slowly.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
Bonnie sat on her couch deleting every photo of Damon out of her phone when her doorbell rang. She slid off of the couch and opened it to Elena, "Bon, I came as soon as I could," her best friend stated with sympathetic eyes.
Bonnie nodded as the feelings of sadness, disappointment and anger washed over her and she melted into tears. Elena immediately pulled her into a hug as Bonnie shook with sobs.
BDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBDBD
Damon slid out of bed as Olivia lay next to him. He grabbed his cell phone and padded out to the living room of his condo. Taking a seat on the couch, he pulled up a selfie of him and Bonnie. He bit his lip as he dialed her number and received a recorded message, 'Sorry, your call can not be completed at this time.'
He glanced down at the phone and then sighed leaning back on the couch. She had blocked him and that was it. That was the end…the end of them.
Present Day
"So you wanted to know what happened, that's what happened. We tore what we had apart," Damon answered as Stefan sat across from him, "and I don't think we will ever be able to get back what we had. I'm being railroaded for murdering Olivia, Bonnie barely can stand the sight of me…"
"But she's defending you in spite of what happened between you two, she believes you."
Damon snorted, "She believes me. But when I see her. When I look in her eyes, I see that her feelings for me are still locked away and they may never come back. I love her Stefan. From that moment I saw her in that restaurant to the moment that she walked away from me, I've loved her and that's what I want back."
Stefan leaned forward holding up his fist, "First you get your freedom and then you will get Bonnie back."
Damon looked down at Stefan's fist and met it with his.
Well that was what happened in the past, well part of it. Damon and Bonnie both did some damage to their relationship and being in a relationship during the divorce proceedings backfired. Now? When will Bonnie find out about Kol leaking that report? Who did kill Olivia? Will Bamon be able to reunite? We shall see…
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