"What is going on in your mind these days. I simply can not understand you." a wry smile appeared on her lips as she looked at him. "Why are you behaving so distant?" he said in a quiet voice. the depth in her eyes made his stomach twist.
"Am i? The way I look at it, I am just fulfilling your wish to never return to your company again. I have bills to pay, Damien and for that, I need to work." It was the most honest thing she had ever said to him. And somehow, that hurt.
"I have given you the card and so has my mother. You did not spend from it and now you make it like we refuse to pay for your expenses." Damien whispered, looking away with a tight jaw. He didn't like this version of Evelyn. She didn't flinch from him anymore. She didn't chase his approval. She didn't even seem to need him.
He took a step closer. "I said no job." She turned and walked toward the kitchen instead, as if the conversation no longer interested her.
"Alright," she said simply.
His brows furrowed. "What?"
"I said alright," she repeated over her shoulder. "We will talk about it some other day. For now, are you hungry?"
The shift in her tone confused him. Just like that, the fight was over?
"I will fix dinner. Would you like to have some fish or just stew?" she continued as if they had just spoken about the weather.
The way she dismissed him easily left him confused. It felt like she was letting him go.
"Evelyn Albercht, if you do not return to the job tomorrow, I will give it to someone else. I will give it to the girl you saved the other day." for the first time in the whole discussion he felt her pausing her for a second.
The stiffened look on her face made him feel better but it was gone as easily as it had come.
"That is better. She is in need of it." she lowered her head and refused to look at him again. There was a strange tightening in his chest that he could not accept.
"Fine! Do not regret later and come to me begging." she did not reply to him this time. He waited for her apology but it never arrived. In the end, he was so full of anger that he could not feel hungry anymore.
He picked up his suit from the sofa and left the house. Evelny stared at his leaving figure, her eyes flickered with something darker.
"That is right, Damien. Bring Diana back so that I can ruin both of you together."
—-------------
Damien did not feel better after driving the car so fast. When he stopped in front of Dark Eclipse, he had thought that the darkness of the surroundings would make him feel better. But it did not?
When he started losing control, he didn't understand. He had always wanted to get rid of Evelyn, now that she had finally left the office, he should be happy. Then why in the world was he so agitated.
He pulled his tie and threw it on the passenger seat. Then he unbuttoned the first two buttons of his shirt as he walked inside the club. The music outside the velvet-curtained room pulsed with slow, seductive bass, but inside, the world was dimly lit by golden wall sconces and the soft glow of expensive whiskey bottles lined up on a backlit shelf. The private room was designed for power and pleasure. It had lush leather seats, a crystal chandelier above, and the scent of rich cologne mixed with expensive liquor and faint perfume.
Damien stepped in only to see his private room was not empty. The three men already inside, his business partners, school time friends and people he could call looked at him surprised.
"What are you doing here? Did you not say that you are busy?" Luke raised a brow as he looked at him.
The girls had draped themselves across their laps, giggling, whispering in honeyed tones, feeding the men fruit and drinks. Each girl was a beauty in her own right with flawless skin, high heels, and sequined dresses that shimmered like water under moonlight.
One had long raven hair and eyes the color of night; another was all curves and bold red lips; the third had a delicate, doll-like face and a practiced innocent smile.
When Damien entered, the girls turned toward him like sunflowers seeking the sun. innocent smiles bloomed on their faces. The red-lipped one immediately stood, brushing down her short dress and walking toward him with practiced sway. Another tilted her head and whispered to the third, who giggled, pushing her hair behind her ear and adjusting the strap of her top.
But they didn't make it far. Damien's eyes flicked toward them just once and they knew not to cross the line. The girls froze mid-step, a chill prickling down their spines. They glanced at each other, smiled awkwardly, and slunk back to their original positions, though they still tried to seduce him from afar. The red-lipped one crossed her legs slowly, letting the slit in her dress slide higher. The raven-haired one stretched in a way that highlighted her figure while pretending to fix her shoe.
But Damien had already turned away and sat down with a heavy sigh, tossing his suit jacket onto the seat beside him. He didn't reach for the drink waiting for him.
"Why are you sulking tonight? I heard that you got the permission to build the housing society in the Bneghram land. The project would cost billions. I was about to ask if you are in the need of a partner to complete the project?" A tall, sharp-tongued, and always the first to stir trouble, Theo asked in a business tone.
Another chimed in, "I heard that he threw his wife out of the office today. It could be that he could not bear the loneliness and sunk into loneliness." Lucas, the more composed one, with a smirk playing on his lips whispered, "The so-called womanizer, reduced to a wounded man nursing his ego. Admit it, you just want to make your wife jealous."
Theo slapped the table in laughter. "But did he not throw tantrums on her all the time? It is his way to tell her that he needed more attention. What's so new this time? She would come begging him to not fire him."
Damien didn't respond immediately. His fingers slowly curled around the untouched glass of whiskey. He swirled it, watching the amber liquid catch the chandelier light like fire trapped in a crystal.
"She applied for a job somewhere else."