Chapter 24: The Husband's Humiliation
“What are you two doing?”
A voice filled with murderous intent cut through the air.
Damian had somehow appeared in the doorway. He had not bothered with the supposed gas leak; perhaps he had been suspicious from the start. He looked coldly at Ethan, who was tightly gripping Evelyn’s arm.
“Bringing your little lover into my home when I am away. Evelyn, you have truly grown bold.” He advanced step by step.
Evelyn felt a chill shoot from her feet to the top of her head. She understood the madness in Damian’s eyes. He truly would kill Ethan.
The second before Damian could make a move, Evelyn violently shook off Ethan’s hand. She turned around, forcing a cold, resolute expression onto her face, using every ounce of her strength.
“Who told you to come here? Get out!” she snapped at Ethan. “I do not need your pity! Who do you think you are?”
Ethan was stunned. “Evelyn, you...”
“I said get out! Are you deaf?” Evelyn stepped forward and shoved him hard. “I do not want to see you again! Stop bothering me!”
She had to make him believe it; she had to make Damian believe it. This was the only way she could protect him.
Stung by the unfamiliar look of rejection and disgust in her eyes, Ethan staggered back two steps. He looked deeply at her, his eyes full of heartbreak and confusion, and finally, turned and walked away, looking utterly defeated.
The door closed.
Evelyn could feel Damian’s furious gaze boring into her back. He was walking toward her, step by step, the sound of his leather shoes on the floor echoing like hammer blows against her heart.
Evelyn forced herself to relax, lowering her eyelids to shield her eyes, hiding all the hatred within. She knew that any resistance now would only provoke a more insane retaliation. She had to comply; she had to lull him into a false sense of security.
She slowly lifted her head, forcing a broken and submissive expression onto her face.
“I am sorry, Damian... I was wrong. I should not have... met him, and I should not have angered you.”
Then, she turned toward the doorway, where Sienna was leaning against the frame, arms crossed, with a look of pure schadenfreude.
Evelyn took a deep breath and slightly bowed toward Sienna. “Also, Miss Sienna, I am sorry. I should not have been so emotional earlier and scared you.”
Damian was clearly pleased. He liked seeing her in this domesticated state; it proved she had finally accepted reality. She could not leave him and would always belong to him.
“Damian,” Sienna immediately clutched her chest in a show of fragility. “I... I was so scared just now. Did he want to take Evelyn away? I...”
She tried to lean into Damian’s embrace, wanting him to comfort her and prove that she was the one he cared about most at that moment.
But Damian did not even spare her a glance; his full attention was on Evelyn. He simply gave an impatient jerk of his chin toward the maid beside him. “Escort Miss Sienna back to her room to rest.”
Sienna’s expression instantly froze. She looked at Damian in disbelief, but he acted as if he had not seen her, walking straight up to Evelyn.
The maid politely stepped forward and whispered, “Miss Sienna, please.”
Sienna’s fingernails were practically digging into her palms. She glared venomously at Evelyn’s back but dared not defy Damian, so she reluctantly followed the maid out.
Only the two of them remained in the room.
Damian kicked the paper bag on the floor away; the food and medicine Ethan had brought scattered everywhere. He bent down, picked up the small pill bottle labeled “Vitamin C,” toyed with it between his fingers for a moment, and then disdainfully tossed it, along with the bag of food, into the trash can.
“Trash belongs in the trash can,” he said coldly.
Next, he picked up the house phone and instructed the kitchen, “Prepare a cream-baked lobster and black truffle pasta. Send it to the room immediately. Be quick.”
That had once been Evelyn’s favorite dish. Back when they were in love, he would personally cook it for her.
But now, just hearing the names of the dishes made her stomach churn.
The food arrived quickly, rich in aroma and exquisitely plated. Damian pushed the plates toward her. “Eat, Evelyn.”
Evelyn picked up her knife and fork, but just the intense smell of cream made her nauseous. She was pregnant, and her morning sickness made her repulsed by greasy food. Moreover, the food came from Damian, creating a massive physical and psychological barrier.
She forked a small piece of lobster meat but could not bring herself to put it in her mouth.
Damian frowned. He thought she was still sulking over Sienna.
“Are you still angry about Sienna?” He reached out and draped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her close to him.
Evelyn’s body instantly tensed up, but she suppressed the urge to push him away.
“Darling, you need to be sensible.”
His fingers gently stroked her arm. “I admit, Sienna is entertaining. She is young and has a certain spirit that reminds me of when I first met you.”
Evelyn’s heart sank to the bottom. So that was it: she was simply an outdated model, and Sienna was the new one.
“But that is just for novelty,” Damian’s tone shifted. “You need to know that the person I love most will always be you, Evelyn. We have eight years of history; no one can replace that.”
As he spoke, he cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. “It is just that... after all these years, you still have not been able to give me a child. The Greene family needs an heir.”
“Sienna is pregnant,” he observed Evelyn’s expression closely. “But do not worry, she is not fit to be the mother of my child. Once the baby is born, I will bring him back and entrust him to you to raise. He will be our child, recognizing only you as his mother.”
Evelyn’s blood seemed to freeze in that moment. She looked at Damian; there was not a hint of guilt in his eyes, only the casual entitlement of a patron.
He actually intended for her to raise the child he had with another woman. What kind of humiliation was this!
She wanted to scream, to claw at his hypocritical face. But she could not.
Slowly, slowly, she blinked, forcing back all her emotions. Then, she gently nodded.
“Okay.”