Chapter 97
Rico let out a sharp, incredulous laugh and gave Dawson a thumbs–up. He was genuinely impressed by his unshakeable composure.
“You’ve certainly got a heart of stone, Dawson. I can’t compete with that. In any case, I see Autumn as a friend. With the way Damien forcefully dragged her off, who knows what he’ll do to her? I can’t stand watching that, nor can I stop worrying. So, I’m really in no mood to keep playing tennis with you.”
Rico gestured casually. “Why don’t you have Robin over there–who’s been standing around watching without saying a word–keep you company? In five minutes, I’m heading out to get
Autumn.”
Robin chuckled and actually took out his racket.
“Come on, Dawson,” he said as he tapped his racket on the ground.
Rico was speechless. Pah! Elegant, his ass! Robin was nothing but a total scoundrel! On the surface, he looked the most proper, but in truth, he was the most shameless of them all. Jamie, on the other hand, stayed silent and continued to play with his phone off to the side.
All of a sudden, Rico felt like he didn’t recognize these people anymore. How had they all become so cold and heartless? They weren’t like this before. In fact, they had all been pretty loyal and decent.
འཇམ༴ ཝར འྀ རྫ ཇ ཇ འཆ ཇ ཆ འ ཛ བ་ ཛ ཝཿ ན
Dawson had been abroad for a long time, so Robin rarely got the chance to play tennis with him. To his surprise, he was now having a bit of trouble keeping up.
But when Robin looked more closely, a faint smirk tugged at his lips. Dawson was putting extra force into every swing. Oh, he was rattled alright.
Jamie messaged Olivia, “Does Damien have a history of domestic violence?”
“Why are you asking this? Did he hit Autumn? Did you see it happen?” Olivia replied.
“I’m just asking ” “I’ve never heard Autumn mention anything like that. If Damien were really that trashy, do you think she could have put up with him for three years? She would’ve left him long ago!” Domestic violence was indeed a line that couldn’t be crossed. The moment a man hit a woman, she was bound to come to her senses.
But the most damaging thing was actually emotional abuse. Because Damien knew Autumn loved him, he kept her under his thumb and pulled her in deeper without her even realizing it. It wasn’t until she was bruised and broken that she finally managed to break free.
Jamie didn’t know any of this. But he was certain Damien wasn’t that vile, and that thought put his mind at ease.
Autumn was dragged by Damien into a lounge before he finally let go of her wrist. The short walk seemed to have calmed him somewhat, as his face now showed no expression. But his gaze was much colder than usual.
The door was left open, which made Autumn feel a bit more at ease. Even so, she stayed close to the doorway, as it gave her a greater sense of security.
Damien studied her for a moment, his gaze heavy and oppressive.
“Are you doing this on purpose?” he asked in a voice that carried no trace of anger.
He was always like this–standing above it all, quickly adjusting to any change in her, only to turn around and dismiss her again. Because no matter how much she changed, he simply didn’t
care,
“You warned me not to check up on your schedule. Even before the divorce, I’d already stopped pushing you. After the divorce, I’d have even less reason to-”
“It’s clever of you to use Dawson to get under my skin.”
“I told
you,
,it was a coincidence!” she said with a frown.
“You really think you can brush me off just by saying that?”
“What do you want to hear then?” Autumn asked expressionlessly.
Damien stepped closer, his imposing figure casting a heavy pressure over her. It was a purely physical, instinctive reaction.
Autumn backed toward the door, but Damien kept advancing. Along with his own cologne, she could smell traces of another woman’s perfume. She wanted to puke, but he had now pressed against the wall beside the door. If he moved any closer, she would bolt.
There were plenty of people outside, so she wasn’t afraid he would try anything.
Damien leaned in slightly. His narrow, deep eyes locked onto her, the intensity that of a lover’s gaze. But the emotion inside was ice–cold.
“I don’t like you looking at me like that,” he said softly. “I much prefer
you when you’re trying to please me.’
”
His tone was so dismissive and overbearing, so completely lacking in respect, that it made Autumn’s chest heave violently.
She looked at the man she had once loved so deeply and said coldly, “Mr. Caldwell, you’d better get used to it, because I’ll never try to please you again.”
It was a blunt challenge.
Damien wasn’t the slightest bit fazed. In fact, the corner of his mouth even lifted slightly into a smirk.
“I’ll give you one last chance to quit your job,” he said.
“Damian, we’re divorced. You have no right to interfere in any of my decisions, nor do I need your permission to do anything!” Autumn stood her ground Damien still didn’t get angry.
“It’s the first time you’ve come at me so aggressively. Who taught you that? I gotta say, it’s quite convincing.”
He was praising her with a straight face, but beneath it was pure, biting contempt.
Autumn was speechless. She had talked about the divorce with Scott and Britney before, but none of them had ever taken her seriously.
