Chapter 39: Abandoned Again
Evelyn didn't try to pick it up. She simply stood there, allowing the rooftop wind to dry the tears at the corners of her eyes.
Just then, another vibration sounded. It wasn't the broken phone on the ground, but the private phone she kept in her handbag. She numbly pulled it out; the screen displayed Ethan's name.
“Hello?”
“Evelyn? Are you alright? You sound off.” Ethan's gentle voice came through the receiver.
“I'm fine.”
“That’s good.” Ethan seemed relieved. “I have good news: Director Worth’s leg is recovering very well. The doctor checked her and said she can be discharged tomorrow.”
“Really? That’s wonderful!”
“Yes. So, I wanted to ask if you have time to pick her up tomorrow?”
“Yes! Of course, I do!”
She needed to do something, anything, just to temporarily escape from this suffocating quagmire.
Hanging up the phone, Evelyn straightened up. She glanced down at the phone with the shattered screen at her feet, picked it up, wiped off some dust, and put it in her pocket.
She turned, walked back to the elevator, and pressed the floor where Damian's office was located.
This time, she didn't hesitate.
She pushed the door open directly.
The office was empty, only the sickly sweet scent of perfume mixed with a hint of tobacco remained in the air from the recent intimacy. The smell made her stomach churn.
She walked to the desk. Damian was looking down at a document. Hearing the sound, he impatiently raised his head.
When he saw it was Evelyn, the crease between his brows deepened. “What do you want now? Haven't you caused enough trouble?”
Evelyn ignored his interrogation. “I need to take tomorrow off.”
Damian scoffed, as if he'd heard a great joke. “Take a day off? Evelyn, have you forgotten who you are? What ‘leave’ do you have to take?”
“Director Worth is being discharged tomorrow. I need to pick her up.”
Damian was stunned; he clearly hadn't expected this reaction from her. No tears, no hysterics. She was frighteningly calm. This calmness gave him an unprecedented sense of losing control.
He scrutinized her. A few seconds later, his face was replaced by a "gentle" yet chilling smile.
“Oh, so you’re picking up the Director.”
He stood up, walked around the desk to stand before her, and even tried to reach out to put his arm around her shoulder. “Look at you, why didn’t you tell me about such a big thing sooner? The Director is your most important elder, and she watched us every step of the way. How could I let you go alone?”
Evelyn subconsciously shifted sideways, avoiding his touch. Damian’s hand froze mid-air, then he casually withdrew it and slipped it into his trouser pocket.
“I’ll go with you. It’s perfect timing, with the company preparing for IPO. Our going together to visit an elder will project an image of a harmonious couple devoted to charity. It will be good for the company’s stock price.”
Evelyn sneered inwardly. See, this is Damian. Even the only source of warmth in her life could be used by him as a stepping stone for the company's IPO and a prop for a show. She truly wanted to just throw the word ‘Get out’ in his hypocritical face.
But... Director Worth. If the Director saw Damian accompany her, she would be happy and completely put at ease. She couldn't let the elderly woman worry about her anymore.
Evelyn nodded softly. “Alright.”
The next day, Damian showed up on time downstairs in his black Bentley, just as expected. The entire drive, the two exchanged no words. But as soon as they arrived at the hospital, Damian instantly switched modes.
He enthusiastically opened the car door, took Director Worth’s luggage from the nurse, and carefully supported the Director with his other hand, constantly urging, “Director, slow down, watch your step.” The appearance of such considerate care was so convincing that Evelyn would have almost been fooled, had she not personally endured his real nature.
Director Worth was clearly overjoyed by Damian’s presence, her aged face beaming. “Damian, you are so busy with work, why did you come personally?”
“Don’t mention it,” Damian replied with a smile as he helped the Director into the spacious back seat. “You are Evelyn’s family, which means you are my family. No matter how busy I am, I must be here to pick you up.”
Evelyn silently sat in the passenger seat, looking at Damian’s perfect profile in the rearview mirror, feeling only a wave of nausea.
On the way back, the Director was in high spirits, telling Damian amusing stories about the children at the orphanage. Damian showed great patience, interjecting a word or two now and then, making the elderly woman chuckle, and the atmosphere seemed incredibly harmonious.
However, this heartwarming family scene was interrupted by a sudden phone ring just as the car drove out of the hospital district. Damian glanced at the lit screen, which displayed Sienna’s name flashing. In an instant, all the gentle smiles vanished from his face, replaced by unconcealed tension and anxiety.
He immediately answered the call, forgetting that Evelyn and Director Worth were sitting right beside him.
“Darling, what’s wrong?”
On the other end, Sienna’s voice, thick with sobs, came through the receiver, shrill and grating. “Damian... Wuwu... I... I was organizing the gifts you gave me at home, and that jade bangle... I accidentally dropped it, and it cracked... I... I'm so scared, I don’t know what to do...”
“Don't move! You stand still!” Damian immediately turned and said to Evelyn, “Sienna is home alone. She doesn’t know how to handle this. It would be terrible if she cut herself. I have to go help her right away!”
Before Evelyn could even react, Damian sharply turned the steering wheel, aggressively pulling the car over to the side of the road.
“You take a taxi and send the Director back to the orphanage,” he quickly instructed. “I’ll come find you once I’ve dealt with the situation there.”
Before he even finished speaking, he had pushed open his door, circled to the passenger side, and practically hauled Evelyn out of the car.
Before Evelyn could steady herself, the Bentley roared, lunged forward violently, its tires screeching against the pavement, and disappeared into the traffic in the blink of an eye.
Cold wind, swirling with dust, rushed into her face. Evelyn supported Director Worth, who looked bewildered and had just gotten out of the car, as they stood on the noisy roadside, feeling like they had been abandoned by the world.
A cracked jade bangle was far more important than an elderly woman with a fractured leg who had just been discharged from the hospital.
This was her husband.