"Are you not going to drink it? Or are you worried that I have mixed something in it?" Damien asked with a faint smirk, his eyes glinting with a hint of mockery.
Before Evelyn could answer, a heavy spoon hit the side of a bowl with a sharp clink.
"Damien!" his grandfather snapped. the old man's eyes narrowing with restrained anger. "Is that any way to speak to your wife?"
Damien blinked, he hid his resentment for Evelyn and forced a smile on his face, "grandpa, i was only joking. You need not be so angry."
"You should never joke like that at the table," the old man growled. "Especially not with someone who just spent the entire afternoon working on your behalf. I have sent Gloria to look for her, but she told me Evelyn was working."
Evelyn didn't lift her head. Her fingers gripped the soup spoon, but she didn't bring it to her lips.
"Grandpa, I know that she worked hard. But I was busy dealing with a client too." he spoke in a bitter tone. "And I served her first because I knew she would be hungry. It is not my mistake that she did not want it." he looked away, hiding his anger.
Grandpa sighed, finally feeling that Damon was not at fault this time. He looked at Evelyn with a softened gaze, "Evelyn, he is only worried about you. He is finally learning to take care of someone other than himself. You should support him."
Damien raised a brow but said nothing. He filled his own bowl in silence and started drinking like an aggrieved child.
Evelyn forced a small smile and brought the soup to her lips. It was still warm and flavorful. But it tasted like unease. She nodded politely to the old man, ignoring the way Damien's eyes occasionally flicked to her.
Dinner continued quietly. She didn't touch much of the main course, so Damien filled his plate occasionally. The old man looked happy to see that, so she ate it quietly and in exchange, she helped the old man patiently by cutting food into smaller bites and after finishing dinner, she reminded him to take his medicine with water. Damien didn't interrupt, though Evelyn caught him watching her more than once.
By the time they returned to the car, the air between them had grown still again. The soft click of her seatbelt echoed before she finally pulled the thick file from her bag and handed it to him without looking.
"This is the revised proposal," she said plainly. "I finished it."
Damien took it with a frown. He thought she was only acting when the maids saw her working. Curious, she flipped the pages and started reading it without starting the car.
He read through the pages and was stunned at last, "You revised the whole amount without reading the old data?" Although he complained, he felt that they could still work for this amount. It was neither too much like before, but it still gave them a good amount of profit.
"I adjusted the margins based on last quarter's supplier fluctuation. You can check the red highlights." She waited for him to ask more but when he did not, she then added, "Why did you come back?"
He blinked, confused. "What?"
"I thought you left," she said. "You walked out angry earlier and the maids could not find you."
Damien's expression didn't shift. "I just went to the garden to clear my head. And then I got a call there and got busy. The clients wanted to know if I could come to attend the meeting in person to usa. Will you come with me?"
"But…" her voice trailed off. In her memory, he had stormed out of the house and hadn't come back till morning. He had gone to the club and met Diana for the first time. That was when everything had begun to fall apart."
Looking at her unease, he frowned. He tilted his head and smirked with a cold look in his eyes, "Why? Were you hoping that I ran off and gave you center stage at dinner? Have you already planned tears and script against me, Eelyn? I would never make it that easy for you to win Grandpa over."
"I do not need to act to gain his love and approval. But i guess.." she went silent but Damien knew she was talking about dinner. How he had served her and acted benevolent to show his grandpa.
His eyes narrowed with hatred and resentment.
"You are acting all the time, Evelyn. You are acting that you love me and enjoy this marriage. If you are so truthful, go and tell him the reality and divorce me. Could you do that?"
Evelyn turned her face away and looked out the window. He glared at her and started the car finally.
as the car drove on in silence, Evelyn felt the faintest chill of uncertainty crawl up her spine. She did not remember this argument and he had never asked for divorce in the past. He wanted her to play a dead wife till the end. If he didn't leave… Then when would Diana appear?
Damien watched her from the mirror and noticed the sweat on her forehead. He frowned. What was this woman planning this time? Most of the time, she behaves like a dead person. Even if he flirted with other girls or left her alone and went into the room, she would never react.
In front of his family, she behaved like a perfect model wife and even helped him in work. But this was the first time he had seen her flustered. He had always thought his indifference would break her. But could it be the opposite? Was she confused because he showed her warmth?
But he did enjoy her confused reaction and his lips curled upwards.
"I want you to come with me to usa." he announced, suddenly bringing her attention back to him.
"You have many other secretaries!" she frowned and he nodded.
"Yes, but I only have one wife."