"What?"
"What?"
Desiree and Riven shared a gaze before Sophia intervened again. "Come on, it's just a dance!!" she rolled her eyes staring at her sister's facial expression.
"If you insist..."
Riven took a step forward, but Desiree retired back of one step so that the distance between them was still the same.
She shook her head.
"I guess the earlier we please your sister the earlier she will leave us alone." He whispered, leaning his hand forward.
"Wanna dance?"
She took a resigned breath and then nodded unsure.
"If I must.."
She took his hand and when their hands touched an intense electic shake was felt by the couple.
They walked to the dance floor where few other couples were dancing as well.
A sweet slow melody was played on the piano and the atmosphere turned oddly romantic.
"Why would you force them to dance out of nowhere?" Damian asked quite baffled seeing such a weird couple together.
"My sister looked odd when she spoke to your brother earlier so I thought she may be attracted by him. and she definitely need a push with boys."
"Oh.." Damian was still staring at the couple.
Riven had laid his hand on Desiree's hip so delicately almost as if he worried to break her at some point, almost if he was hesitant at any gesture he did.
Meantime she trying her best not to expose her distress and anxious at that moment.
"Why are you staring at them so much?" Sophia asked refering to Damian who could depart his gaze from his brother.
"He's not the right person, Sophia. Especially not for your sister."
"Why do you say so? Let's give them a chance, they could get to know each other. my sister seems quite agitated which shows Riven has an effect on her."
"Trust me. He's not the right person."
"But why?"
Sophia and Damian both looking at them now, Sophia trying to understand why her fiancee would be so drastically negative about their potential as a couple. Damian, instead, looked at them with the certaintinty that Riven couldn't offer Desiree what she truly needed.
He took a long breath.
"Sophia, I had never told you this before but Riven was adopted by my parents.
He was found at an orphanatrofy, my mother was a working there as a nurse and the more she studied him the more she noticed something off about him as if he had never turned on the feelings' buttom. He had been in the orphanage for 3 years when she first got there and since that day she had never seen him cry, smile, be sad or be happy. Excitment was an unknow word for him just like joy and enthusiasm. When he heard the new that some people wanted to see him and know him to eventually adopt him his face was exactly the same then when those people turned their backs on him and left the structure. She had never seen a child like that, it was as if he was deprived from emotions, as if he was careless with his life, he didn't care whether he stayed there, whether he was adopted. he had no friends in the orphanage, he played alone all the time and whenever someone tried to talk to him, he would ignore them or worse, be arrogant with them.
So she did some checkups on him, about his health, his brain status and eventually she brought him to the best therapists in town.
The diagnosis was terribly scaring, yet at the same time just so correct as it explained well the reason behind his extreme detachment from the entire world.
He had antisocial personality disorder, he was unable to feel emotions, to interact properly, to enjoy feelings and at some time he was unable to enjoy life at all. that diagnosis broke her heart to the point that she began desperately seeking answers, she slowly got close to him enough allowing him to open up and tell her his story."
Sophia's heart shrinked at that narration, she could barely believe that. She darted her gaze from her fiancee to look at Riven, she could see now what he meant. His entire facial express and his deep eyes seemed despossessed.
Damian continued his description.
"So she discovered the most terrible past beyond him. He was born in a terrible situation, which apparently would explain why he turned in what he is. His father was a alcholic and as if it wasn't denigrating enough he wasn't just that, he was also a violent alcholic when he drunk too much. He became violent with River's mother, he hit her numerous, she said it was because he didnt recognize her but Riven never believed that version, he though he hit her because he liked hitting her.
And she cried and cried, submissively. He would hide under the bed as he heard them fighting. He covered his ears with his little hands in the desparate attempt to cover hitting slamming and crashing noises as well but in vain. Until crying and sobs started. Those continued until he heard noises of stepfoots, empty bottles crashing against the floor and breaking in pieces and then the door slamming close. it was a routine. Just then he could sneek out the bed and rush to check on her mother who was bleeding and crying.
However her mother was not in the best mental conditions as well, she took too many drugs to put her to sleep and to momentarily forget that the man she loved was someone who physically and verbally abused her.
When her son took good care of her, had her have a shower, eat and drink and then lay her to sleep. She just looked at him and with crying empty eyes she whispered, "why don't I just die? What's the purpose of living like this?"
he ignored that question and went back to sleep.
He spent his childhood like that, until he grow enough to physicially impede to his father to hit her mother. By physically I mean that he stood there, in front of her and when he hit her he put his body over hers. Often, his father was too drunk to even notice the person he was hitting wasn't her mother, other times he got so mad at his son that he ended up hitting Riven more strongly.
However, soon her mother's whishes were fullfilled and she died of an overdose of antidepressants, he was 8 years old then and one day he was found alone in the house. A neighbor noticed the light turning on and off for days and advised the ambulance. He was malnurished and disidratated.
When the police and the ambulance asked why he was there alone, why he wasn't eating nor drinking he said "There's no purpose,no purpose in living like this." they sent him to the orphanage where my mother found him.
He never had any friend, any stable girlfriend, or any passion at all. I strongly believe that he still is that 7-year-old lost baby that has no purpose in living."