CHAPTER 27

"You guys carry on, I'm outta here." Damon said, barely suppressing his rage, to Jones. He quickly grabbed my hand and dragged me away. Jones just stared at me, emotionless, as if he could see right through me. Damon was pulling me along so fast, I could barely keep up. I was about to fall. "Damon, what's gotten into you? Can't you let me go to the restroom to change my skirt first?" I snapped at him. He finally remembered why I asked Jones to buy me these things and, with a stern face, took me to the restroom, "Go change!" I rubbed my wrist. He was so rough, almost bruised my wrist. Ariel is only a few pounds heavier than me, could she handle him? I couldn't help but imagine Damon and Ariel in bed, Damon being dominant at first, but Ariel gradually falling for him, their sex life becoming more tender. I was about to lose my mind. Why would I think of such filthy images? I quickly changed and threw those images out of my mind, then left the restroom. Damon gave me a look, "We're going home." He seemed less angry. I sent a message in my group chat with my girlfriends, then followed Damon home. I wanted to see what he had to say next. But he didn't utter a word the whole ride home, like a statue that could drive. Once we got home, Damon went straight to his study. I went to take a shower and get some rest. After drying my hair, Damon came in. There was something in his eyes that made me uneasy.

"Eliana, let's talk." Damon said calmly. I nodded. Ten minutes later, I understood what Damon was saying. He added another rule. I couldn't have any relations with his good friends, adding to the previous rules of not making our relationship public on social media and not telling our parents. Three rules in total. "Damon, why don't you just divorce me?" I asked, somewhat disappointed. "We have no reason to divorce." Damon replied calmly, then left. I had a hunch that his talk tonight might have something to do with Ariel. Maybe he wanted to make a deal with me so I wouldn't interfere with him pursuing Ariel. He probably didn't realize he would get caught in the whirlpool of love. From that day on, Damon seemed to have disappeared, not returning to Starlight Estates for more than half a month. I went back to my old life, except now I had a few more servants. "You're not kids anymore, handle your issues like adults, arguing and giving each other the silent treatment won't solve anything." In the afternoon, I heard Cherry on the phone, hiding under the staircase, her voice low. I stood on the stairs, listening carefully to her words. "Joshua is a good boy, he treats you well. Your father and I are at ease with you two together. No matter what happens, communicate with each other, get it?" Cherry had high praise for Joshua. Did Ariel and Joshua have a fight? I calculated the time in my head, Damon must have been trying really hard this past half month, otherwise, how could a loving couple have a fight so soon? I didn't want to deal with these things anymore. When Damon proposes a divorce, I will sign without hesitation. With that thought, I turned around to go upstairs. 'Cherry, may I take half a day off?" Cherry stopped me, looking a bit embarrassed, "Something came up at home, I need to deal with it. You can deduct my pay." I had to stop, turned around to look at Cherry, and asked with concern, "What happened? Cherry, let me give you a ride, I wanted to go out anyway." "Madam, you really don't have to, I can take a cab…" Cherry seemed taken aback. "It's hard to get a cab around Starlight Estates, don't worry, wait for me for ten minutes, I'll change my clothes and come down." I replied gently.

Ten minutes later, I drove Cherry away from Starlight Estates, pretended to ask about Cherry's home address, and headed straight there. On the way, Cherry shared some things about Ariel and Joshua with me, but she didn't know why they had a fight. Even though she didn't know, the reason for the fight must be complex. As we were about to reach the neighborhood, I saw Joshua's figure. He was sitting by the roadside flower bed, looking quite lonely. "Madam, thank you so much. If you don't mind, come to my house for a cup of coffee!" Cherry said gratefully. "Don't mention it, you have something to deal with, right? I won't bother you, go ahead!" I replied with a smile. Cherry thanked me a few more times, then hurried upstairs. I immediately drove to where I spotted Joshua. Luckily, he was still there, looking quite downcast. I straightened my clothes, rolled down the window and greeted, "Joshua, what are you doing here?" "Ms. Eliana?" Joshua looked surprised to see me. "The sun is scorching, get in the car, I'll give you a ride!" I said bluntly. "It's okay, I just want to be alone for a while." Joshua shook his head, looking weary, as if he hadn't slept well. I got out of the car, pulled him towards the car, "You don't have to be alone under the scorching sun, come, let's get a drink!" Joshua didn't refuse, obediently sat in the passenger seat, letting me lead the way. Half an hour later, I took Joshua to Cielo Nocturno. "Come on, sing out all your troubles!" I booked a private room, handed Joshua the microphone, and said loudly. Joshua held the microphone and suddenly burst into tears.

It was the first time I saw a man cry in front of me, I was a bit taken aback. "Ariel wants to break up with me, what should I do…" Joshua choked out. They broke up just like that? I was shocked. The moment I knew Ariel existed, Damon had been entangled with her for a year, and Joshua had indeed broken up with Ariel. But isn't this break-up a bit too early? "What exactly happened? You can tell me, I might be able to help." I tried to stay calm and spoke slowly. "Yesterday, I went out to eat with her, and I accidentally saw a message on her phone. Some random dude sent her a kinda flirty text. I was freaking mad and started arguing with her. I wanted her to give me that guy's number. But she wouldn't. She said I didn't trust her, and suggested we should take a break…" Joshua said, covering his eyes with his hands, his voice full of sorrow and pain. Trying to keep my cool, I asked, "What did the message say?" Joshua was silent for a moment, then he replied, "The message is 'I want to see you. Can you give me a chance?" That's the power of love. It can even make a co cky guy like Damon say stuff like that. If it was me, I bet I couldn't even squeeze a similar sentence out of him no matter how much pressure I put on him.