Chapter 324 Crying, Heartache

Ashley didn't want to admit it, but deep down, she was totally nodding along.

She was a hardcore materialist, but man, she was scared stiff of ghosts. Crime scenes? No way. Autopsies? Forget it. Cemeteries? Her imagination would go nuts.

Maybe it was a guilty conscience?

Seeing her all curled up in fear, looking like a tiny ball, Damian finished his beer and said, "Let's get outta here."

"Leave now?" Ashley asked, surprised.

He'd brought so much beer today, she figured he planned to stay at the cemetery past midnight to hang out with Faye.

She didn't want her fear to mess up his time mourning his sister. Honestly, from the moment she met him, she knew she was kinda out of place here. She shouldn't have crashed their sibling reunion.

Because she showed up uninvited, Damian probably had a lot he couldn't say.

Damian tossed the empty beer can on the ground and straightened his clothes with one hand. "It's getting late. You wanna spend the night in a cemetery?"

Ashley glanced at the remaining beer cans. Better to leave early; otherwise, he'd definitely finish them all, which wouldn't be great for his wound or his health. "But we've both been drinking. How are we gonna drive back?"

Then it hit her—she was overthinking. Damian brought beer, so he must've arranged for a driver. No way he'd walk home.

Damian didn't bother picking up the beer cans. He stood up and reached out to help her up. "Let's head out. I'll call Roy."

"Okay." Ashley had only had one beer, not enough to get drunk, but the wind made her a bit dizzy. She reached out to take his hand, planning to use it to stand up, but he gripped her fingers tightly.

Standing side by side in front of the tombstone, Ashley pulled her hand back, bent down, and said to the girl in the photo, "Faye, we're heading out. We'll come see you another day."

The smiling girl in the photo wouldn't lower her eyes to respond.

They walked out of the cemetery and down the high steps. Ashley always felt like someone was behind her, so she stuck close to Damian, scared that if she lagged, she'd be left in the cemetery and attacked by invisible ghosts and monsters.

A black figure walked slowly from the opposite direction, kicking away some flowers and placing a big bouquet of red roses in the center.

His gloved fingers slowly slid over the photo. "Faye, how's it going?"

After dropping Ashley off at home, Damian leaned back in the rear seat to rest.

Roy noticed he looked beat and closed all the windows. The car was super quiet, with soft classical music playing. Damian had trouble sleeping, and the light music might help him chill.

"Roy, do you think she's changed?" Damian asked.

Roy gripped the steering wheel. "Is the music too loud and bugging you?"

"No," Damian said.

Realizing it wasn't the music that woke Damian, Roy said, "Miss Astor used to be really lively. She loved to chat in the car, talking about almost every interesting thing she came across. Now she's quiet, hardly saying a word. Maybe she's grown up and become more composed."

Whether someone liked to talk had nothing to do with age; it depended on who they were with.

There was a mountain of time between them, a past they couldn't go back to. How could things be the same as before?

Closing his eyes again, Damian thought about recent events.

After flying back to Rochester City from Coastal City, Edward hit him up aggressively that night, saying the Dreamvale project needed a re-evaluation and that Emperial Avenue Group would pull out their investment and withdraw the funds already invested.

He said only one thing at the time, "If you wanna talk business, come to my office."

The next day, Edward showed up at the president's office at KM headquarters. Damian opened the contract and said casually, "If you wanna terminate the contract and pull out the investment, you should first look at our contract. If you accept the penalty, KM has no objections."

Maybe Edward had taken this project too lightly before, thinking it would be his first collaboration with his future son-in-law. Still, he had overlooked some important details in the contract. If one party wanted to back out and break the contract, they'd have to cough up five times the compensation.

Edward's face at that moment was a sight to behold—pure fury, twisted into a grotesque mask.

Damian, ever the gentleman, reminded Edward, "Since you don't want to work with KM, I won't force you. There's another option you might want to consider."

The next day, Edward showed up with a lawyer to hash out how to withdraw from the project.

Dante laid out the pros and cons in a clear, orderly manner and got into a heated debate with the opposing lawyer. Finally, he pulled out a project proposal for KM in Rochester City. "The funds Edward invested in KM won't be refunded according to the contract, but the valuation of this project far exceeds your investment in Eirondia. As a trade, I can give it to you."

Edward, being the meticulous guy he was, agreed to go back and think it over.

In the end, after some internal struggle, Edward agreed to the proposal.

After signing, Damian reminded Edward again, "Edward, you're sharp in business. I believe you can make this project big and successful, but let me remind you, if you really can't handle it, I'm willing to help."

KM's projects were always top-notch. As long as they followed the plan, they'd make a steady profit. Edward didn't take his reminder seriously.

As he left, he turned back and sneered, "Mr. Hearst, conduct yourself before doing business. KM is such a big company; it didn't grow through deceit. If you don't cherish your reputation and act recklessly, even a century-old foundation can be destroyed!"

After sending him off, Dante asked softly, "Mr. Hearst, should we proceed as planned?"

"Let him be happy for a month," Damian said.

"Yes," Dante replied.

After wrapping up these matters, it was Faye's death anniversary.

Since yesterday, the intense sadness of his parents had filled every corner of the house. His grandfather's doctor also called to say his blood pressure had been high these past few days.

In the morning, his mother was overwhelmed with grief and fainted from crying at home. The doctor gave her a sedative, and she slept for a few hours.

On this day, he also had a long talk with his father, whom he hadn't sat down with for a long time.

That conversation, from start to finish, lasted two hours. He only remembered a few sentences. 

"Your mother's heartache might only be cured if you remarry. She fears you're still thinking about Ashley because you haven't remarried. Ashley is doing well as a lawyer, always in the news. And you? Are you still hung up on her?"

"You don't like Trinity, which is fine. We've found a better girl for you. Your mother likes her very much. She's abroad and will be back in a few days." 

"Damian, I always felt there was more to Faye's death. Who did she see, and what happened on the day she left? Can't we find out anything? To uncover the truth, I'll mobilize some people to investigate everything that happened that day."

During the day, Damian accompanied his parents to the cemetery to mourn Faye, then went back to the office for half a day.

In the evening, he drove alone to the cemetery.

He thought he might see her today.

Time slipped away as he drank. He thought he wouldn't see her.

After finishing his fourth can of beer, he finally heard her footsteps.

When he got her call, the triumphant joy in her voice almost made him lose his temper, but hearing her cry at night, he couldn't get angry, only feeling a heart full of pain.

She talked about Faye's failed crush and drinking experience, her soft voice tinged with sobs, like a breeze awakening the dead in the cold cemetery.

At that moment, he realized his heart, dead for days, had finally come alive.

When he took her back, she sat quietly beside him, always looking at the night view outside the window. The neon lights flickered, and her pale face was reflected in the city's red and green lights, making her look heartbreakingly thin.

"Mr. Hearst?" Roy called softly. Damian opened his eyes. "What is it?"

Roy's car had stopped outside the villa. The bright headlights illuminated a figure blocking the car's path, using his arm to stop the vehicle from moving forward.
The Ex-Wife's Revenge: Love and Law in the Crossfire
Detail
Share
Font Size
40
Bgcolor