Chapter 38: Love is Fake, Money is Real
Under the urging of her colleagues, Evelyn mechanically untied the ribbon and opened the box.
Resting quietly on the velvet lining was a ring. It was a massive pink diamond, surrounded by countless smaller diamonds, reflecting a dazzling and fake brilliance under the light. It was stunning, expensive, and inhumanly beautiful.
“My God! It’s ‘Tears of Venus’! I’ve only seen it in magazines!” a female colleague screamed, covering her mouth. “That must be at least seven figures!”
The stares of envy and jealousy surrounded her like a tide. Evelyn looked at the ring but only wanted to laugh.
Damian, is this your compensation? A cold stone to make amends for the hurt and humiliation you inflicted upon me? She could almost picture him in his office, flirting with his lover while casually instructing his assistant to buy this expensive jewelry, like dismissing a difficult client.
Perhaps he had sent Sienna similar gifts too? After all, the red mark on Sienna’s neck was still so fresh.
A diamond in exchange for a night of passion, and another diamond to buy out his wife's dignity. For him, this was a bargain.
Love? What is love?
Evelyn picked up the ring. The cold metal against her skin made her shiver.
She closed the design draft page and opened a second hand luxury goods trading website. She calmly took a few photos of the glittering pink diamond, edited the product information, and entered ninety percent of the market price.
$$Tears of Venus, 99% new, only tried on.$$
The moment she clicked "Publish," she told herself: Love is fake. All those solemn vows, all that tender passion, they are all damn fake. But money is real.
The envious voices of her colleagues continued to buzz in her ears, their words like tiny knives scraping her already tattered heart.
“Evelyn, you truly are the happiest woman in the world!”
“With a husband who loves you this much, what more could you possibly want?”
Happy? Evelyn looked at the words "Published Successfully" on the screen, a cold, humorless curve twisting her lips.
Yes, truly happy. So happy she wanted to destroy the whole world.
Just then, a new message notification popped up at the top of the screen. It was from Sienna.
Evelyn's fingers trembled slightly as she tapped to open the message.
“Evelyn, I just thought you should know, Damian just personally apologized to Mr. Barry for your little fit of temper yesterday. He really goes to great lengths for the company.”
“He also said the Design Department work might be too stressful for you, and he wants you to start by doing odd jobs to get used to it. As for your position, he’s having my sister take over. Isn’t he just so thoughtful, always considering everyone?”
So, not only did Damian not stand up for her, but he also humbled himself to apologize to that Barry for the sake of the collaboration. Even more ridiculous, he wanted to drive her out of the Design Department and make her an errand girl for Sienna’s sister, serving tea and water?
This was no longer mere humiliation; this was stomping her dignity into the ground and grinding it under his heel.
A surge of anger rushed from her feet to her head, burning away her last shred of reason. She abruptly stood up, the chair sliding back with a sharp, grating sound. All her colleagues’ gazes snapped toward her, but she didn’t care anymore.
She demanded an explanation. She needed to ask him face to face: Damian Green, what exactly did he take her for?
She rushed toward Damian’s office, practically running in her high heels.
The door to Damian’s office was slightly ajar, leaving a gap. She was about to raise her hand to knock, but the sounds coming from inside froze her entirely in her tracks.
It was Sienna’s laughter, that sticky, seductive giggle. “Darling, you’re so naughty...”
This was followed by a man’s low, passionate gasp. “Am I? But don’t you love it?”
Suppressed moans, and the wet smacking sounds of kissing... These sounds intertwined, drilling into Evelyn’s ears and tightening around her heart.
She stood stiffly by the door, her blood seeming to instantly congeal. The blazing anger from moments before was instantly doused by a bucket of ice water, leaving behind only cold, smoking ashes.
Go in and confront them?
A picture flashed in her mind: she would push the door open, see the two disheveled figures, and then scream and cry like a madwoman. And they would only look at her like a clown.
No. She couldn't give them that satisfaction.
Evelyn slowly, step by step, backed away, turning around, her movements stiff like a puppet on strings. She didn't know how she got to the top floor, only feeling the desperate need for a place where she could breathe without being seen.
The wind on the rooftop was strong, pressing her thin business dress tightly against her body. She stood there for a long time, until her limbs started to feel numb.
The phone in her pocket suddenly vibrated wildly, and the name “Damian” flashed on the screen. She numbly swiped to answer.
“What the hell are you doing?” His voice on the other end was cold and furious. “Evelyn, where is that ring?! I just saw that ring listed for sale on a second hand trading platform!”
His accusation was like a rusty knife, twisting in her already tattered heart. Evelyn suddenly wanted to laugh, and indeed, she did, a dry, peculiar sound.
“The ring? Oh, I sold it. I sold it to someone who needed it more. I thought, instead of hanging on the hand of an ‘improper’ wife like me, it would be better sold to someone who needed it more.”
There was a deathly silence on the other end of the line. A few seconds later, Damian's voice was squeezed out, as if through gritted teeth. “What... did... you... say...?”
Before he could explode, a soft voice impatiently cut in, loud enough for Evelyn to clearly hear every word.
“Damian, darling, don't be angry. If Evelyn doesn't cherish the gifts you send, then don't send them anymore. Honestly, if you’d let me go talk to Mr. Barry, I promise things would go smoothly. I know how to handle old men like that.”
It was Sienna. Evelyn’s heart seized up, almost stopping. She waited, waited for Damian to show even a hint of impatience toward Sienna.
Instead, what she heard was his voice instantly becoming tender.
“Don’t talk nonsense, baby. I would never let you endure that kind of humiliation.”
The eight year long taut string finally snapped. Evelyn didn’t even realize she was the one who pressed the hang up button. The phone slipped from her numb hand, hitting the ground with a dull thud.