Chapter 6: Feigning Affection
The evening gala was held at Manhattan's most prestigious hotel, with crystal chandeliers glittering magnificently.
The air was permeated with the mingled scents of perfume, cigars, and money.
Evelyn wore a black off shoulder gown, the least conspicuous piece in her wardrobe. She wore no makeup, her bare face standing out with a distinctive coolness among the heavily made up socialites.
Damian held her arm tightly as he guided her through the crowd, wearing an impeccable smile, introducing her to every business partner and industry figure, "This is my wife, Evelyn."
His face displayed a perfect smile, as if they were still that enviable model couple.
Evelyn smiled compliantly, like an exquisite doll.
Just then, Sienna approached with two glasses of champagne.
Sienna looked radiant tonight, wearing a fiery red form fitting gown that accentuated her curves, with a dazzling diamond necklace around her neck, particularly eye catching among the crowd.
"Damian," she called intimately, though her gaze fell challengingly on Evelyn, "and... Evelyn, good evening."
She handed one of the champagne glasses to Evelyn, her face showing perfectly calibrated concern, "Evelyn, you do not look well. Are you all right?"
She continued, "Last night... did I give you the wrong impression? I know you might be uncomfortable, but you should not lose control like that... I am really worried about you."
Her voice was neither too loud nor too soft, yet enough for several people nearby to hear clearly.
Evelyn noticed the looks cast her way, filled with sympathy, contempt, and schadenfreude.
She did not get angry, but rather smiled.
"Is that so?" She looked at Sienna. "You say I am jealous? Crazy?"
She slowly took out her phone from her purse.
"Then listen to this and decide which one sounds more like a clown, a 'crazy' woman or a 'young and beautiful' secretary."
Evelyn's finger was poised over the play button.
On her phone was a recording of Sienna's unbearable boasting and provocations at her door last night.
She had been prepared. The moment Sienna began speaking, she had secretly pressed record.
The color drained from Sienna's face. She had not expected this move from Evelyn.
Damian's pupils contracted sharply.
He knew better than anyone that once this recording became public, the image he had carefully cultivated would be destroyed in an instant.
The president of Omni Group indulging his mistress while driving his wife insane?
This scandal would be enough to send the company's stock price plummeting!
Just before Evelyn could press play, he snatched the phone from her hand.
"Enough! Stop this nonsense!"
His voice was kept low but filled with threatening rage.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, he violently smashed the phone onto the polished marble floor.
"Bang!"
A crisp sound.
The phone screen shattered into pieces.
The surrounding murmurs ceased abruptly as everyone stared in shock.
Evelyn gazed blankly at the shattered phone on the floor, which contained all her collected design materials.
"Damian..." Sienna called out in alarm, though a flash of triumphant satisfaction passed through her eyes.
"My wife is unwell. We must excuse ourselves." Damian forced a stiff smile, then grabbed Evelyn's arm, practically dragging her out of the ballroom under the shocked gazes of the crowd.
Evelyn heard the whispers behind her.
"Oh my God, so the rumors are true..."
"Poor Mr. Damian Green, married to such a crazy wife."
"Look at Miss Sienna's expression. She really has been wronged terribly."
...
The journey home was wrapped in deadly silence.
The pressure in the car was suffocatingly low.
Damian's jawline was tense, his grip on the steering wheel making it creak, veins bulging on the back of his hands.
Evelyn leaned against the window, watching the rapidly receding streetscape, her face expressionless.
As soon as they reached the cold mansion, Damian could no longer contain his fury.
The door slammed shut, and with the back of his hand, he violently pushed Evelyn against the wall.
Evelyn staggered and hit the wall, a dull pain shooting through her arm.
"What are you trying to do, Evelyn? Are you trying to ruin me?" Damian was like an enraged beast, his bloodshot eyes fixed on her. "In front of so many people! Do you want everyone to know I have such a disgraceful shrew at home?"
Evelyn leaned against the wall, looking coldly at him. "You destroyed everything we had first."
"I destroyed it?" Damian laughed as if he had heard the most ridiculous joke. He approached step by step, his tall figure completely engulfing her.
"I gave you the most privileged life, made you the esteemed Mrs. Green, and this is how I destroyed you? Look at yourself now!"
His gaze swept across the living room, finally focusing on the messy desk in the guest room.
Those drawings, those fabrics, in his eyes, had become the culprits igniting her rebellion.
He rushed into the guest room and grabbed the half completed designs from the desk.
"It is these pieces of trash! They made you forget your place!"
Evelyn's heart sank suddenly, and she rushed over.
"Do not touch them!"
But it was too late.
"Riiip..."
The harsh sound of tearing paper filled the air.
Damian grabbed the few drafts she had spent the entire night drawing and, in front of her, violently tore them in half, then into quarters, eighths...
The paper fragments, like snowflakes, fluttered from his fingers, scattering at Evelyn's feet.
Evelyn swayed slightly, looking at the fragments on the ground, her eyes hollow, as if her soul had been extracted.