Chapter 15
In the past, when Damien got tired of Celeste and stopped caring, he always thought that nothing in her life mattered more than loving him. He assumed she would be bound to him for life no matter what. But reality had slapped him hard in the face.
If his past self had known about today’s events, he would probably have hated himself for the rest of his life. After all, he had once truly and sincerely loved her. His love just couldn’t withstand the test of time.
Damien looked out at the busy traffic through the window, feeling incredibly empty and dejected. Life seemed to have lost all meaning in an instant.
The phone on the desk beside him kept lighting up–it was his friend Kevin Tully calling.
“Damien, the guys are having a get–together. Are you coming today? Bring your mistress along.
“Don’t bring your wife, though. She’s timid and can’t handle much, and she’s pretty boring.”
Hearing the noisy chatter from Kevin’s side, Damien’s brow furrowed deeply as he said with suppressed anger, “Ophelia and I have broken up. If you ever dare say another bad word about Celeste, your family’s company might not be so lucky.”
Kevin was stunned for a moment, and his friends fell silent upon hearing this. After a long pause, they gave a few dry laughs.
“Damien, you’re joking, right? Didn’t you like Ophelia? How did you suddenly break up? What about Celeste?”
“We’re divorced,” Damien said quietly.
There was an indescribable sense of loneliness in his tone. Meanwhile, Kevin and the others froze for a moment, and even the music in the background stopped.
“No way? Really? You’re actually divorced?”
With Damien’s continued silence, Kevin and the others had to believe it, even if they didn’t want to.
They suppressed the hint of joy in their hearts and pretended to comfort him, “Damien, we all know you’re heartbroken. Come drink with us. Maybe if you drink enough, your heart won’t hurt so much.”
After a long silence, Damien agreed. When he arrived at the private room at the club, he sat down with a grim expression, silently drinking bottle after bottle.
Several friends were drinking with him, and some tried to comfort him and defend his honor.
“Damien, Celeste really doesn’t know what’s good for her. With her family background and status, being able to marry into the Ashford family was like winning the lottery.
“We can’t believe she actually divorced you. She really doesn’t know what’s good for her.”
“Exactly. It was just over finding another woman, right? Everyone in our circle has multiple women. You stayed faithful to her for six years–doesn’t that earn you the right to have someone on the side?”
“Right, you didn’t even have several others, just one. Once you got bored, you would’ve dumped her anyway. Why did Celeste make such a big deal about it?”
Though they spoke this way, some of them clearly had ulterior motives and were just deliberately agreeing with him.
Damien drank his alcohol in silence, finding their chatter irritating. With a bang, he slammed the bottle heavily on the table, and the entire private room instantly fell silent.
He looked around the entire private room and unconsciously frowned. “Where are Kevin and Chase? Why don’t I see them?”
Before they could explain, Kevin walked in with a smile while talking on the phone, “Chase, didn’t you have a crush on Celeste for many years? Now that Damien is divorced from her, you have a chance to pursue her,
“This is a rare opportunity. I’ve been working to set this up for you for ages. If you can’t make it happen this time, don’t come crying to me for help again. “Who knew being a bunch of players would actually pay off? Seriously, though, every solid marriage in our circle has a faithful husband.
“When you can’t keep it in your pants, you create nothing but drama. Sure, I sleep around, but I got snipped years ago and never planned to marry some poor woman and ruin her life.
“This is how I’ll be for the rest of my life–I have fun and that’s it. But Chase, if you don’t make a move soon, you’re going to miss your chance at happiness entirely.”
Despite Kevin’s casual, irreverent manner, his concern for his older brother Chase Tully was genuine. Chase hummed softly in response, “I won’t waste this chance. I’m already overseas.”
