Damon was away from the mansion all day, leaving behind Domenico with Monica. Deetra was around most of the time with James; Monica was polite to both of them, always smiling shyly. Thankfully, Domenico had found some stupid lie to explain to her the expensive mansion and the bodyguards.

Right now, Damon was walking towards his car as he had finished his dinner with a client. He had made a good deal, and he was pleased with it. The drug baron took the car's keys out of his pants pockets, whistling lowly. His eyes caught something, though, as he turned his head towards the park. A young woman was sitting on a bench, a baby was in her arms. She was pointing at many ducks in a close lake; the baby was smiling and laughing loudly.

"Abigail...."

Damon talked to himself before pushing the keys back into his pocket. With quick steps and a broad smile, he crossed the road walking straight to her. He didn't even look around for any cars; his eyes were pierced on her silhouette. Nothing was going to interrupt him. Not even the vehicle that was coming towards him and nearly hit him. Damon simply ignored both the car and the man that was swearing at him and entered the park.

Abigail raised her head and glared at the kingpin. He stood in front of her with his hands in his pockets and a gentle smile. The woman held into her kid, that was too focused on the ducks.

"Hey, Abigail..."

"Damon... What a surprise...."

"Can I have a seat?"

Damon pointed at the free space beside her with his index finger. Abigail looked at the bench and then at him, nodding slowly. The kingpin sat down, leaning his elbows on his knees before rubbing his palms together. He glared at the ducks that were swimming around and then at the baby between Abigail's arms.

"Why are you here alone?"

"Mason went to buy some pizza for the night, and then we'll head home."

"Oh...."

Damon glared around and then at a small paper bag that was beside Abigail. He pointed at it, confused.

"What's this?"

"Oh, just birdseed... Emma likes watching the ducks while I feed them...."

Damon grabbed the bag and held some birdseed in his palm. He threw it towards the lake quickly; soon, all the ducks covered the spot where it was. Emma's eyes shined under the moonlight as she giggled, loving the sight. The man smiled, seeing the kid's happiness reflecting on its small brownish eyes.

"She really likes ducks, hu?"

"Oh, you can't imagine!"

Abigail laughed, bringing Emma closer to her body. Damon stared at the ducks for a few seconds and then at the child.

"Can I hold her?"

"Um...."

Abigail started glaring around, worried before gulping. She didn't want anyone and especially Mason, to see Hopkins hugging Emma. Damon understood her in seconds; he sighed and laughed awkwardly.

"You don't have to -"

"No, no, it's fine!"

"Are you sure, Abigail? I don't think Mason will be really excited to see a drug baron holding his daughter."

Abigail rolled her eyes, knowing that she will regret this quick decision. She handed Emma to Damon gently and carefully. The man held her close to his chest like she was a fragile thing. He giggled, seeing her look around before starring at him with a half-opened mouth. Oh, how much he wanted to pinch her small fat cute cheeks.

Emma put her little palms on Damon's cheeks and patted them with a smile. His eyes lit up as a wide smile took over his lips. Abigail was glaring at both of them; it was one of these rare times that Damon appeared cheerful. Emma turned her head and raised her hand, pointing at the lake. The man looked at it and nodded with a grin.

"Oh, you like ducks? Do you know what sound they make, Emma?"

The kid glanced at him with half-opened eyes. Emma was used to turning around when she heard her name. She looked confused, staring at Damon gasping.

"They go quack!"

Emma made her lips into a circle, trying to mimic the sound but failing. Damon giggled softly, seeing her try again and again to make the same sound. He put his hand behind her head to lift it and held her close.

Maybe if Damon was more cautious, he would see Abigail's eyes that were all over his silhouette, carefully watching his every word and movement. A silly smile had taken over her face, and her cheeks were red.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Both Abigail and Damon looked at the left facing Mason, who was standing there holding a paper bag. His face was serious, and his eyes were stuck on Damon's face. He gulped, knowing he had fucked up.

"Oh, dear, you're back! Damon passed by and saw us, and he wanted to play with Emma for a bit!"

"Oh."

Mason nodded with a grin; he didn't look happy at all. Damon turned to Abigail, giving Emma back to her before standing up fixing his shirt. Mason's eyes were focusing on its movement of his; soon, he growled angrily but tried to hide it.

"How are you doing, Mason?"

Damon decided to break the silence and appear polite. He was tired of Mason seeing him as a threat to his family.

"I'm fine... What about you, Hopkins?"

Damon knew for sure that Mason was mad at him for holding his daughter. He would call him by his last name when he was angry to him.

"I'm okay but could be better, I guess... I should be going; I hope you have an amazing evening!"

The drug baron turned to Abigail before pinching Emma's cheek gently. Emma giggled and held Damon's fingers for a few seconds before letting him go. Damon laughed and patted the kid's head before walking away. Mason's eyes were still following him around.

"What was that, Abigail?"

Mason lifted his arms in the air, shouting; Abigail just glared at him, confused, before standing up.

"What do you mean? Oh, c'mon, Mason, he did nothing wrong! If you saw him playing with Emma -"

"I did! Why was he holding my daughter!?"

Abigail narrowed her eyebrows scoffing before glancing around.

"YOUR daughter?"

"Oh, Abigail, you know what I mean! Stop trying to act like you're the victim here! We discussed and agreed that we don't want Damon around OUR daughter."

Abigail nodded and sighed, looking down. Mason was right; they had a whole conversation around Hopkins.

"... He didn't flirt with me, and he was nice towards Emma... Please, Mason, give him a chance -"

"None."

Mason talked with determination before crossing his arms against his chest. His wife said nothing in return; she just kept looking around everywhere except him. Mason sighed and started walking towards his car; Abigail followed him silently. She didn't want Damon out of her life, but she couldn't do anything. She had to follow what she had decided with her husband and keep Damon as far away as she could for their and the baby's safety. Abigail hated it, but there's nothing else she could do.

When Damon returned to his house, he found no one in the living room. He looked around confused and decided to go to the garden. Soon, he saw Deetra and James lying down on the grass among the flowers, talking and laughing while glaring at the sky. He smiled and decided not to disturb them.

The drug baron walked upstairs and stayed outside Domenico's bedroom for a split second. He could hear a movie playing loudly and some talking here and there. Damon decided to knock on the door to check on them; Domenico said "yes," quickly letting him step inside. A smile took over his lips when he saw Domenico lying against the bed with Monica between his arms. They were sitting in the dark watching a movie from his laptop.

"Hey, Damon!"

Domenico spoke with a cheerful tone receiving a giggle from Monica.

"Hello, Mr. Damon!"

"Just call me Damon, Monica. It's fine."

The girl nodded softly and looked away as Damon smirked wide.

"Is everything alright? Did you two eat?"

"Oh yes! Deetra was with James out and got us some pizza! She said she picked some for you, too."

"Oh, that's so nice of her. I hope you have a fantastic night, if anything happens I'll be downstairs or in my bedroom. Deetra and James are in the garden."

"Okay, okay, good night!"

"Good night, Damon!"

Monica talked with a smile as Damon was ready to close the door.

"Good night, kiddos."

The kingpin left the two of them alone and returned downstairs, wanting to prepare a drink for him. The day was exhausting, but seeing Abigail made it way better.

Damon puffed, filling a glass with whiskey. Suddenly, he liked its malty taste and the warmth down his oesophagus. He didn't want any ice close to the liquid this time. The man had a seat on the leather couch and held the glass close to his lips before hitting his tongue against his teeth and biting it gently. He leaned his head back before glaring at the ceiling and closing his eyes. Damon inhaled profoundly and had a sip from his drink.

"She smelled... wonderful... as always...."

He talked to himself before opening his eyes. They were shining under the lights; their amber colour was more intense than usual.

"And Emma... Oh... such a cute baby... She shouldn't be Mason's daughter...."

A groan escaped his mouth; he was trying hard to keep it back but failed. He had another sip, the whiskey was stronger than he remembered, but he didn't mind.

"Of course, that stupid arsehole had to destroy the moment...."

He cursed under his breath, remembering Mason and his stupid face. After all this time, Damon was still mad at him; he wasn't entirely over Abigail, and Mason knew it very well. That's why he was angry every time Damon was around and was trying to keep him away from his wife and daughter.

"I shouldn't miss her touch so much, but... she should have been here right now... not... at a stupid cheap two-floor house with that motherfucker...."

Damon continued speaking to himself; he couldn't keep his mouth from leaving his lips. He wanted to show his hate towards Mason so much and talk about it. He ignored that he was having a conversation with himself.

"Boss."

A deep male voice snapped him back to reality. The drug baron raised his head and glared at the muscular man in front of him. He was barely blinking as he fixed his suit jacket with an emotionless face.

"Go on."

"We caught an intruder."

Damon raised his eyebrows before finishing his whiskey with a quick sip. He rubbed his lips with the outside of his hand before sighing.

"What do you mean "intruder"?"

"It's a boy. He tried to set a bomb close to the mansion, but we caught him early."

Damon stood up with a growl fixing his tie. It felt like choking him. He knew about which boy the bodyguard was referring to.

"Where is he now?"

"He is being held at the entrance; we wait for your orders."

The drug baron rubbed his face tiredly; of course, someone had to destroy his evening.

"Take me to him."

The bodyguard nodded, walking out with his boss following him. He wasn't in the mood to deal with Alex, but he had to.

Damon was left speechless when he faced Michael instead of Alex outside. The boy wasn't struggling at all; his long hair was up in a bun and his eyeliner half-ruined. He smirked when he saw Damon as the kingpin glared at him, confused.

"Michael? What are you doing here? Did you really think it was a good idea to blow up my mansion all alone?"

"Oh, c'mon, Damon... Everything can be a good idea if you have the right people beside you."

Damon chuckled and rolled his eyes, turning his back to him, wanting to go back inside to relax.

"Just kick him out. He is no threat."

A bodyguard nodded as Michael laughed loudly. He had Damon's attention back. The drug baron raised his eyebrow, glaring at him with crossed arms.

"Watcha laughing about, kiddo?"

"I hope your family can live through explosions, Hopkins."

The boy grinned as a loud sound was heard in seconds. An explosion had happened, and everyone's attention was on it. Damon's body felt like electricity went through when he saw smoke coming from the garden.

"DEETRA!"

His body had tensed up as he rushed towards it, worried and angry. The last thing he saw was Michael's nasty smile.