Chapter 6

Damien remarked, "You really are exceptional." Emilia could see pure admiration in his eyes. Such a reaction was within her expectations. With Caldwell Group now working with Luther's laboratory, any success in Luther's project would inevitably translate into gains for Caldwell Group. Emilia had returned to the country with one goal, and that was to lead the breakthrough in core technology. She truly believed she had what it took. This was no longer an era where being a sweet, naive woman could win a man's heart with a few home-cooked meals and acting coy. Only capable women could catch a man's eye, and Emilia was determined to be that kind of woman. … Autumn had been busy all morning. During a quick coffee break in the break room, she grabbed an extra cup for her coworker. Suddenly, she received a call from Yvonne. Yvonne Dunn was Damien's secretary. Their only previous contact was when Autumn had asked her about Damien's schedule. Although Autumn didn't want to be involved with anyone connected to Damien, Yvonne was just such a kind-hearted young woman. After a moment's hesitation, she answered the call. "Autumn, are you doing okay?" Yvonne asked in a whisper. "I'm fine." Autumn wasn't sure why Yvonne was asking. In a worried voice, Yvonne said, "Mr. Caldwell just showed a woman around the company. It caused quite a stir, and the executives are already treating her like the future Mrs. Caldwell… I didn't know whether you were aware of this, so I just wanted to let you know. That woman's name is Emilia—" Yvonne's voice suddenly cut off. Then came a startled gasp. "M-Mr. Keller… I…" She had been hiding around a corner, not realizing Scott had walked up behind her. Scott snatched Yvonne's phone, glanced at the screen, and frowned. "Is she asking about Mr. Caldwell's schedule again?" Upon seeing Damien and the woman called Emilia behind Scott, Yvonne froze in fear, unable to utter a single word. Without waiting for an answer, Scott reported coldly, "Mr. Caldwell, it's Autumn. She's asking about your schedule again." Scott didn't hang up since he didn't care if Autumn heard. Autumn's brow furrowed. She didn't care about Scott's false accusations and was about to hang up when Damien's cold voice could be heard on her phone. "Just ignore her." That had always been Damien's attitude toward her, so she wasn't surprised, but she still didn't like that he would jump to conclusions without asking for the facts and misunderstand. The old Autumn would've explained herself immediately. She used to be terrified of Damien misunderstanding her and of the anger that might follow. But now that they were divorced, there was no need to worry about Damien's mood anymore, let alone care about what he was doing with Emilia. Yet the next second, she could hear Damien cruelly snap, "You don't need to come to work from tomorrow onward!" Autumn was stunned. Was he firing Yvonne? Right. After the first time Autumn contacted Yvonne, Damien had tried to fire her, too. Back then, Autumn had begged him to let Yvonne stay, and he did, but he had warned her that it could not happen again. And sure enough, there was no next time. Damien never made exceptions for her. "Damien, there's no need to get this upset over a secretary." That must be Emilia's voice. She had spoken in a gentle tone, her voice as nice as her name. Emilia said sweetly, "How about this—lunch is on me. Let's not be upset anymore, okay? Just this once, for me?" Two seconds later, Damien replied, "Alright." His tone was neutral, but compared to how cold he'd just sounded, it was already far gentler. Smiling, Emilia suggested, "Then let's go now." After that, Damien and Emilia's voices were no longer heard. Autumn curled her lips into a bitter smile. She had always thought Damien was hard to pacify. In the past, every time he got upset, she would need days of careful coaxing before he would act indifferent again. All of it was mentally exhausting—she would lose her appetite, lose sleep, and become unable to focus on anything until Damien had calmed down. Yet, for Emilia, one sentence was all it took—no extra effort needed. Scott looked at the phone. He knew Autumn had heard everything. He was well aware that Autumn hated troubling others. With Yvonne being fired because of her, she would surely feel guilty, which would then eat her up inside. The punishment might fall on Yvonne, but it would undoubtedly be a psychological blow to Autumn. Still, he believed this was the only way to keep her from snooping around for information. Autumn had only herself to blame for always trying to find out about Damien's schedule. If he were in Damien's shoes, being constantly monitored by a woman would make him feel stifled, too. Scott waved the head secretary, Amber Lowe, over, who said, "The termination will be processed today." Scott hummed a response before walking away. Wednesday was Emilia's birthday. As Damien had instructed, he needed to book out the Havern Restaurant at Bay Plaza and discuss birthday surprise arrangements with the owner. He was too busy to personally deal with a mere secretary's termination. Amber took the phone Scott handed to her and was about to return it to Yvonne when she accidentally saw the caller ID. "Autumn." Knitting her brows, she used a few seconds to place the name, before snapping in frustration, "How dumb can you be? She's just the housekeeper who brings Mr. Caldwell lunch! Was it worth upsetting Mr. Caldwell over her?" Yvonne, having just been caught red-handed by the CEO himself, had been too frightened to speak. Only now did she manage to stammer, "S-She's not a housekeeper… She's Mrs. Caldwell…" "Don't you have eyes? Did you not see Mr. Caldwell and Ms. Mason wearing matching rings? She is the future Mrs. Caldwell. That's not even up for debate." "But…" "Enough. Go complete your handover." Yvonne didn't dare say another word as she quietly took back her phone. Once Amber was gone, Yvonne looked down and realized the call was still connected. She jolted in panic. "A-Autumn, are you okay? You didn't hear all that, did you?" Yvonne hoped against hope that Autumn hadn't heard, but of course, that wasn't likely. She then quickly added, "Don't listen to them. You're not just some housekeeper… I'm sorry. Truly sorry…" Damien had kept the marriage secret and forbade Autumn from entering his office. Every time she brought him lunch, a secretary would come and take it instead. It was no surprise that people mistook her for a housekeeper. Autumn wasn't bothered by that. What she hadn't expected was that Damien, who almost never wore his wedding ring, now wore matching rings with Emilia. Damien's hands were beautiful. His fingers were long and fair, and his knuckles were defined. They look delicate yet strong, and a ring on his slender ring finger had a charm that was hard to describe. Whenever she got the chance, she would secretly admire them. Nonetheless, Damien had only worn his wedding ring a handful of times. She had always thought he disliked the restrictive feel of jewelry. But it turned out that she had overthought it—he just didn't want to wear his wedding ring, plain and simple. Autumn said, "Sorry. I can't help you keep your job this time." Though they had only interacted once, Yvonne could tell Autumn was a genuinely good person. She only wanted to warn Autumn after seeing Damien being so kind to another woman because she was genuinely worried and believed Autumn deserved to know. Yet, she had ruined everything in the end. Feeling extremely guilty, Yvonne said, "It's okay, really. I already told you—I was planning to go home and help my parents anyway. "Getting fired doesn't matter to me. Besides, I was already working on my resignation letter before this." Yvonne didn't sound like she had only said that to comfort her, and that allowed her to feel relieved. Then, Yvonne could be heard whispering again. "But why did this even happen? You're Mr. Caldwell's wife. Why is Damien treating you like this?" Damien wouldn't even let Autumn into his office, yet Emilia could come and go as she pleased! Why was that? Even if he wanted to keep his marriage a secret, he could've at least said Autumn was a family friend, and no one would've suspected anything. Besides, Autumn had gone to the trouble of making all those lunches and delivering them to him during her lunch breaks, only to be refused entry. Damien's actions were just cruel beyond belief!