Chapter 3

After bidding her mother's grave goodbye, Cynthia went to a visa application center. She'd long prepared all the necessary documents, only her signature was left. Once her visa was ready, she took a deep breath. At least her way out of this place was clear now. It was late at night when she returned home. She began quietly packing all of her things. She hadn't brought over much personal belongings, and the amount of items packed into her luggage bags were fewer still. An old family photo was the only respite she had here. Damian hadn't returned home for three consecutive days, likely to console Alice down after she was 'frightened'. Cynthia ended up sleeping quite well at night due to this rare period of peace and quiet. This night, however, she was awoken by her phone's loud ringtone. Damian's cold voice rang out over the speaker, there wasn't an inch of emotion in his tone. "The doctor has come out with the results of the wound on Alice's forehead. It might end up scarring for life. You have to pay for your actions and make it up to her, Cynthia." Cynthia leaned against the head of her bed, snickering. "Make it up to her? Are you asking me to do so as my husband, or are you informing me of this as a prosecutor?" Damian was silent for a moment. Then, he said in a tone lower than before."Alice has the right to sue you for intentional assault." "I'd love for that to happen." A faint but alluring smile appeared on Cynthia's lips. "I await her lawyer's letter, then. It'd be amazing if you were the prosecutor for the case, just like how you were in my father's case before. I'd love to see just how Mr. Gray betrays his loved ones again." "Cynthia Stutton!" A hint of anger finally colored Damian's tone after he failed to hold it back. "Must you talk to me this way?" "An eye for an eye, Damian," Cynthia said lightly, though her words felt like the sharpest glass shards. "You were the one who taught me to be like this." Then, she hung up. Cynthia felt a rush of glee that was quickly replaced with a heavy sense of emptiness and exhaustion. She had never expected her relationship with Damian to turn out like this when she'd so happily married him back then. Sadly, fate played a cruel game on both of them. Damian's love for her crumbled and went to someone else in the end, while Cynthia was left battered and bloodied. Cynthia quickly shoved that sense of vulnerability in her heart down. She laid down in bed and fell back to sleep. However, she was jerked awake later that evening under a certain someone's dark and heavy gaze. She opened her eyes to see that Damian had returned home. He was seated on the couch beside their bed, his face unreadable as it stayed shrouded in the shadows. Only Damian's deep gaze stayed glued to her in the dark. He rarely ever got angry, yet he'd made exception after exception for Alice. "How can you still fall asleep so peacefully after doing what you did?" he asked Cynthia. Cynthia sat up in bed with the covers around her. She smiled lazily, though there wasn't any warmth in her eyes whatsoever. "Of course I'd sleep peacefully, seeing my enemies miserable." Damian's brows furrowed harder. He seemed to be trying his best to restrain himself from doing something. He passed Cynthia a phone. The cemetery's video footage from their visit the other day was onscreen, having been posted online. It depicted Cynthia forcing Alice to kneel before Rhea's headstone. The video had been edited just enough to show that part of the story, excluding what came before and after. The comments section was filled with hate comments. "Go to hell, bitch!” "I feel so bad for Alice, having to endure such bullying from this madwoman." "Mr. Gray should hurry up and divorce her!" "Everyone from the Stutton family is rotten to the core! I'm not surprised their daughter is just as terrible." Someone even doxxed Cynthia as the hate comments continued, wanting to 'cancel' her for good. Damian massaged his forehead and said tiredly, "Online comments can have a really big impact on your reputation. I've arranged for a press conference tomorrow so you can publicly apologize to Alice. This is the best and only way we can reduce the impact of the public's opinion." Cynthia calmly looked up at Damian. He'd expertly manipulated the court of public opinion and used his legal schemes against Cynthia all because of another woman. He had once sent Cynthia's father into prison with the same cold and cruel demeanor. When Cynthia had sobbed and asked Damian why he'd done it, he'd replied from the same moral high ground. Back then, he tried comforting her by saying, "Cynthia, Mr. Stutton has to bear the consequences of his mistakes. But don't worry—you still have me." However, Damian never ended up being there to support Cynthia as promised. "What if I don't?" she asked lightly. Damian rose to his feet, his tall figure giving off a strong oppressive air as he strode over to the bedside. "Will you only be satisfied once our home is in utter shambles, Cynthia Stutton?" Cynthia found what he said to be humorous. She looked up and met Damian's gaze without fear. "You were the one who started it, Damian Gray." Damian was the one who threw Cynthia's life into complete chaos. Damian's jaw was clenched tight, his eyes frightfully dark. They stared at one another for a moment before a cold smile suddenly appeared on Cynthia's lips. Her tone shifted as she said, "Alright. I'll apologize." Since the timeline for Cynthia and Marcus' agreement was drawing near, she couldn't let anything interfere with her plan of taking her father away from this place. "On one condition." Cynthia went to the desk and took out a long-drafted document before placing it before Damian. "Sign this." Damian was momentarily taken aback, but he still signed his name at the corner of the document without so much as a glance at the contents. "Will that do?" he asked. Cynthia held the agreement up and turned to look at Damian. It was a rare phenomenon for someone as meticulous as Damian to ignore the contents of a contract and sign it right away. He'd only done this because he wanted to make Cynthia apologize to Alice. Cynthia shoved away the pathetic sense of bitterness that welled up in her chest. Now wasn't the best time to be feeling this. She nodded gently. "I'll be at the press conference tomorrow." Then, she took the agreement and went upstairs. Damian was worried Cynthia would pull yet another trick on him. However, she actually arrived at the press conference on time the next day, much to Damian's relief. Countless news reporters waited patiently with their equipment in hand under the glare of bright spotlights. Cynthia walked onstage in a simple black dress. She took the mic, gaze calm as her eyes swept through the crowd below before finally stopping on Damian's face. He was gazing firmly at her as if waiting to relish in his long-expected victory—and her surrender. Cynthia slowly spoke into the mic. "I admit I did something bad to Ms. Alice Holland." Damian's tight-knit brows relaxed somewhat. However, what Cynthia said next made his expression change dramatically. Cynthia smiled coquettishly, like a thorny but beautiful rose that refused to bow down even while weathering the mightiest of storms. "But Ms. Holland had it coming," Cynthia continued.