Falling for Mr Callahan

One knee, a thousand questions

Damien’s POV

“You know…” Lucas said as he dropped into the chair opposite mine. “I’d almost forgotten how much I dislike family dinners.”

I looked up from the file I was reviewing.

“Your mother called my mother. Apparently, they’re hosting a dinner this weekend.” He rolled his eyes dramatically. “The highlight of the evening? They’ll be introducing Scarlett as your would-be partner.”

He scoffed.

“You know, there’s really no need to make it so obvious that you don’t like Scarlett.”

“You know I can’t hide my feelings.” He shrugged. “If I don’t like someone, I simply don’t.”

I couldn’t argue with that. Lucas had never been good at pretending.

One of the reasons we’d remained friends all these years was because I never had to wonder where I stood with him.

He’d tell me. Whether I wanted to hear it or not.

“Besides,” he continued, “if I acted like everyone else around you, you’d probably have married Scarlett already simply because your parents asked you to.”

I leaned back in my chair.

“That’s not true.”

“No?”

“I just don’t want to settle down now.”

He remained silent, waiting for me to continue.

“You know what this company went through.” I looked around my office without really seeing it. “When Callahan Group was on the verge of bankruptcy, I sacrificed my youth to keep it alive.”

My voice softened.

“I watched my father carry the weight of that failure every day.”

While people my age were graduating, traveling, Falling in love…

I was learning how to keep a company from collapsing.

“And until the expansion into at least five African countries is finalized…” I continued, “…I don’t think I’ll be ready for marriage.” Silence settled between us.

Was that really the reason? Or had work simply become the excuse I’d hidden behind for years?

“If that’s what you choose to believe…” Lucas finally said.

His words echoed the same question my own subconscious had been asking.

~~

The weekend arrived far quicker than I expected.

Unfortunately…So did the dinner.

Truthfully, I’d rather have stayed home and finished the reports waiting on my desk. But if there was one thing my mother wouldn’t accept, it was me skipping a family gathering.

After finishing my morning workout, I settled into my home office with a cup of homemade coffee. I usually grabbed coffee from my favorite café, but today I didn’t feel like going out. Instead, I spent the afternoon reviewing documents.

By the time I glanced at my watch again, it was almost four. I sighed.

Work would have to wait.

After taking a quick shower, I changed into a cream-colored knitted shirt paired with black trousers. Simple, comfortable and good enough.

I picked up my car keys and walked out of the house, the front door locking automatically behind me.

The drive to my parents’ house took less than an hour. As expected, finding somewhere to park took longer. Cars filled almost every available space.

Typical Callahans.

After driving around for several minutes, I finally found an empty spot.

Even from outside, I could hear laughter drifting through the house.

The colors my mother had chosen for the decorations were blue, white and yellow. The entire house looked warm and inviting.

Home.

The moment I stepped inside—

“There is my favorite son!” My mother hurried toward me with her arms spread wide.

I laughed.

“Oh, Mom… I’m your only son.”

“I know.” She hugged me tightly before pulling back to cup my face.

“But you’re still my favorite.” She reached up and stroked my chin affectionately.

“Mom…”I gently moved her hand away. “You know I’m a grown man now, you can’t keep doing this.”

Instead of answering… She smacked my backside.

“Mom!”

“Why are you shouting at my wife?” Dad’s voice interrupted us.

I turned toward him.

“So… I’m not your child anymore?”

“No, son.” He wrapped an arm around Mom’s shoulder. “I’m simply saying that being my child doesn’t give you permission to bully the love of my life.” Mom immediately wiped imaginary tears from her eyes. I stared at both of them.

Honestly…

After all these years, they were still ridiculously in love. And somehow… I hoped I’d have something like that one day, not because people expected it, but because I genuinely wanted it.

Just… not now.

“How can you cut me off the family talk?”

A loud voice interrupted us. I turned immediately.

“My only sister,” I muttered with a smile.

Angel stood there with her hands on her waist, pretending to be offended.

“Oh, so this is how family meetings happen now? Without inviting me? Hi, big bro,” she said as she walked over, trying to throw her arms around my neck.

Like always, she underestimated the height difference. She struggled to keep her balance while still trying to hug me.

“You know you don’t have to put your arms around my neck every single time,” I said, laughing. “You can greet me like every normal sister out there.” She gasped dramatically.

“You know I was never normal.” She placed a hand on her chest. “And I bet if I ever become normal, this house would be so boring.” She pretended to gag.

We all laughed.

The only place I ever let my guard down was here… Home, with my family. They had always been my safe place.

When my father was still the CEO of Callahan Group and the company was on the verge of bankruptcy, I remembered how much it affected all of us.

Little by little, the laughter disappeared, the spark in our family slowly faded.

I couldn’t just stand there and watch it happen.

So I made the decision to leave university and join the company. Helping my father save Callahan Group was never a sacrifice I regretted.

Not for a second.

Looking at my parents now, still teasing each other after all these years, I couldn’t help but admire what they had.

If I ever got married… I’d want a home just like this.

One filled with laughter and love.

~~

The party had started. Lucas came around, and we were both talking about different things. We had grown up together since his parents and mine had been friends for years, so it was never awkward whenever he came over to my parents’ place.

“Do you know your mom just loves me?” he said, trying to make me jealous.

“She said I’m like the son she never had.”

“Too bad she already has a son,” I retorted.

He laughed.

“You’re just jealous.”

Before I could respond—

Scarlett walked into the party wearing a blue gown that stopped just below her knees, the gown showing off her curves perfectly. She wore emerald jewelry that enhanced her beauty even more.

She was beautiful but I’ve seen better.

“But then…” Angel said thoughtfully, startling both Lucas and me.

“When did you get here?” I asked.

“Just now,” she replied. “You were too busy talking to notice me.” She shifted her gaze back to Scarlett.

“She’s beautiful, but then something seems missing whenever I look at her.”

Lucas nodded in agreement.

“Right? It feels like she’s trying to be what she isn’t.”

The two of them looked at each other, nodded, then returned their attention to Scarlett. I still didn’t understand why the both of them were so against her.

Scarlett greeted everyone before walking towards where we were standing.

“Here she comes,” Angel muttered under her breath.

“Hi, Damien…” Scarlett greeted, placing a light kiss on my cheek.

“Angel, how are you? And you too, Lucas?”

She greeted them with the same warm smile she’d walked in with.

They both returned the greeting, though neither of them made any effort to hide the fact that they weren’t interested in entertaining her.

Either she didn’t notice or she deliberately ignored it.

She turned to me and gently slipped her hand around my arm.

“Come on. Your parents have been looking for you.”

She led me towards where they were standing.

The moment we got there, they exchanged pleasantries before the topic I’d always managed to avoid came up once again.

“So…” Dad began with a smile. “When are the two of you going to stop keeping me waiting and finally tie the knot?”

“Exactly!” Mom added dramatically. “I can’t wait to carry my grandchildren. Look at my hair—it’s already turning grey. Is it until everything turns white before you two decide to get married?”

I narrowed my eyes playfully.

“I can’t find any grey hair on your head.” She immediately gave me a light tap on my arm.

“Mother…” I muttered, rubbing the spot dramatically.

Scarlett laughed softly.

“I’m more than ready,” she said sweetly, “but Damien is the one setting us back.”

She looked at me before facing my parents again.

“Since he’s decided to take his time, I’ve just been waiting.”

Mom clasped her hands together excitedly.

“Since the two of you have decided to be slow about it, your father and I decided to take matters into our own hands.”

Mom walked towards the center of the party with a bright smile on her face.

“Good evening, everyone. Thank you all for coming. We truly appreciate your presence, and we hope you’re all enjoying yourselves.” She paused briefly, looking around the room.

“As most of you already know…”

Before she could continue, I gently took Scarlett’s hand and turned her to face me. A confused look crossed her face.

I reached into the pocket of my trousers and brought out the small velvet box I had been carrying all evening.

Her eyes widened, people around us began to murmur.

Now, all attention was on us, I slowly went down on one knee.

A collective gasp echoed through the room.

Mom froze mid-speech.

Dad stared at me in disbelief.

Lucas’ brows shot up.

Even Angel looked completely stunned.

I opened the box.

“Let’s get married.” Silence, complete silence.

Scarlett looked at me as though she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.

Mom’s mouth fell open.

Dad blinked several times, trying to process what had just happened.

Across the room, Lucas remained unusually quiet.

For someone who always had something to say, he was completely speechless.

Angel looked from me, to Scarlett, then back at me.

“What the hell?” she muttered under her breath.

No one answered her, because everyone in the room, was just as shocked.

Only one person smiled.

Me.

Not because I was excited about getting married, but because I knew exactly what everyone in that room didn’t.

This proposal was never about love.