Chapter 11
After Olivia ended the call with a casual “oh,” she hung up.
Autumn found her reaction odd. “Who was it?”
“He didn’t say. Just said he wants to introduce the senior to me in person.”
Olivia frowned, clearly puzzled—maybe even a little annoyed. “What, is she trying to be mysterious? She won’t even say her name?”
Autumn thought momentarily, then said, “Maybe she wants to surprise you.”
Olivia shrugged. “I’ll allow it. If she turns out to be Autumn 2.0, I’ll be thrilled. Otherwise? She’s just pretentious.”
Autumn was momentarily speechless.
Olivia restarted the car. “Don’t forget about our plans this Saturday.”
Autumn glanced at the steering wheel. Suddenly, her hands itched a little.
It had been a long time since she’d watched a race.
After that, Autumn contacted Chase daily to check on Allen’s condition.
According to Chase, Allen was a “terminally ill workaholic.”
The company unexpectedly secured a massive ten-million-dollar investment. Energized and full of enthusiasm, Allen dove straight into work the very next day.
Autumn worried that his body wouldn’t hold up and wanted to call him, only to realize she had already been blocked.
Autumn had hacking skills, so reaching Allen would take her less than a second. But doing that would only make their already fractured sibling relationship even worse.
So, Autumn gave up.
She decided to visit him in person when she had the time.
On Saturday, Autumn and Olivia had plans to attend a car race together. After packing up, Autumn got ready to leave.
Olivia had originally promised to pick her up, but a last-minute issue came up, so Autumn had to make her way there alone.
Before the divorce, Autumn had been driving a car registered under Damien’s name. So, just yesterday, she’d bought herself a white Land Rover as a new daily driver.
According to the map, the drive would take about an hour and a half.
Autumn adhered to all speed limits but managed to arrive at the destination in just one hour thanks to her exceptional driving skills.
She then made her way to the VIP suite Olivia had reserved.
Spectators were already streaming in. The VIP area wasn’t crowded, but there were still quite a few people around.
Autumn dodged a staff member who nearly bumped into her and kept walking forward.
Following the suite numbers, she was only a few doors away from the one they had booked.
Just ahead of Autumn, a VIP suite stood open, with people chatting inside.
It didn’t seem worth her attention, so she was about to walk past—until she suddenly caught a familiar name.
“Yeah, my gaming company is called Rune Code.”
Rune Code?
That was the gaming company directly competing with Allen’s.
What were the chances she’d run into them here?
Autumn stopped in her tracks.
“I know you only invested in Rune Code because of my sister. As much as I hate to admit it, this is the first time I’ve actually been glad Emilia’s my sister. Even the beatings I took as a kid feel worth it now!”
Autumn froze.
From those words alone, she could already tell who was speaking.
The voice belonged to Elliot Mason, Emilia’s younger brother—and also Christine’s stepson.
Christine had mentioned before that Elliot was the same age as Allen.
“If it weren’t for you, Mr. Caldwell, my company wouldn’t have been able to recruit so many top tech talents. By the way, Mr. Caldwell, can I call you Damien?” Elliot’s voice was full of flattery and gratitude.
At that moment, Autumn’s face turned pale.
Just as she expected, Damien’s voice came next. “You’re Emilia’s brother, which makes you my brother too. No need to be so formal with me.”
Elliot sounded thrilled. “Thanks, Damien!”
Damien’s tone was unusually warm. “Young man, keep up the good work.”
Autumn had rarely seen Damien encourage anyone like that—aside from his own sister, Britney.
There was only one reason Elliot was getting this kind of attention from Damien: he was Emilia’s brother.
It was that simple.
Damien had always known Autumn had a younger brother. But in the three years they were married, he never once asked about Allen, let alone made an effort to meet her family.
Even if Allen stood right before him now, Damien wouldn’t recognize him.
That was the difference between caring and not caring.
In the past, this would have deeply hurt Autumn for a long time.
But now that they were divorced and she had given up on Damien, she no longer had any expectations of him.
Without expectations, there was no real pain.
That said, the discomfort still lingered. Fortunately, Autumn had learned how to process these negative emotions quickly.
Elliot had finally gotten a chance to connect with Damien. To him, Damien was a rare figure at the very top of Havenmoor’s elite circles, so there was no way he’d let this opportunity slip away.
“Emilia’s about to start the race,” Elliot said. “Damien, why don’t you stay and watch it here? I picked this VIP suite myself—it has the best view of the racetrack.”
Over the past few years, Damien had never shown any interest in racing. Autumn found it odd that he was even here today.
Now, everything made sense.
What she hadn’t expected was that Emilia was actually competing in the race.
Damien replied, “Alright, I’m going to make a call first.”
Olivia’s reserved suite was just ahead, and Autumn planned to wait until their door was closed before heading over herself, so she wouldn’t be noticed.
But from the sound of it, Damien was about to step out to make the call.
There was only one hallway, so Autumn had no choice but to quickly retreat.
She turned a corner and waited there for a few minutes, guessing Damien would have finished his call by then and returned.
But unexpectedly, she ran right into him.
Autumn came to an abrupt stop.
They were barely three feet apart—her closest proximity to him since the divorce.
She caught the familiar, pleasant scent of his cologne.
Scents had a way of stirring memories, and Autumn’s heart instinctively tightened.
Damien was dressed casually today—not in a suit and tie—but it did nothing to diminish his commanding presence. He remained refined and elegant, yet the look he gave her was utterly cold.
If Autumn remembered correctly, the outfit he wore was one she had personally picked up from the store.
It was not a gift, but something she brought home at his request.
Autumn had once loved Damien deeply and naturally wanted to buy him gifts out of affection. She would carefully select clothes that matched his tastes, but he never wore anything she brought home.
Yet on the ring finger of his left hand, he still wore the matching couple’s ring he shared with Emilia.
Had he never taken it off?
When Damien saw Autumn, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes—but it quickly vanished.
Facing her, Damien showed little expression as usual, his voice equally indifferent. “Since when did you become interested in racing?”
He had ridden in a car she once drove.
He would have known she was a skilled driver if he had paid attention. But clearly, he never cared enough to notice.
Autumn replied, “I came with a friend.”
“That excuse… sounds reasonable,” Damien said flatly.
It was apparent he didn’t believe her. He assumed she had learned about Emilia’s race beforehand and came chasing after them, trying to disrupt their time together.
Autumn wanted to explain.
But as she opened her mouth, she realized it was pointless.
Even if she tried, Damien wouldn’t believe her. He’d only think she was desperately covering something up.
There was no need to waste her breath.
“Tomorrow at 6:00 pm, be back at the Caldwell residence,” Damien said.
He then glanced at the ring finger on Autumn’s left hand and noticed she wasn’t wearing her wedding ring.
In the three years they were married, Autumn had never taken it off.
She must be putting on a show right in front of him.
Had this one-sided farce still not come to an end?
Damien’s patience snapped, his expression turning cold as he turned and walked away.
