As Damian gazed at the closed door of the operating room before him, he felt a sudden and unexpected ache in his heart.

He flagged down a passing doctor and, without even noticing the tension in his voice, asked, "Is it guaranteed that removing a tendon won't affect her in the future?"

The doctor replied confidently and professionally, "Don't worry, Mr. Stutton. It's just a small section of tendon that's being removed, so it'll have minimal impact on her motor functions. The patient will be more or less fine after recovery."

Damian's shoulders relaxed imperceptibly, and he hummed in acknowledgement.

Just then, his phone vibrated with a test message from Alice. "My injury hurts, Dami. I'm so scared… Can you come visit me?"

Damian lifted his eyes to the closed door once more. After a moment of silence, he turned and walked down the corridor, walking toward a ward on the other end.

Al

"Discharge procedures?" Damian repeated, greatly startled. "When did she do that?"

After a moment's thought, the doctor replied hesitantly, "At around 10:00 am today. Her paperwork was all in order…"

Damian immediately took out his phone and called Cynthia, but the cold female voice that emitted from the receiver made his brows crease. "Hello, the number you have dialed cannot be reached…"

He frowned and called again several times in succession, but he was notified that her phone was turned off every time.

The panic he'd deliberately suppressed before rose to the surface once more.

Then, he recalled Edward's imprisonment and Cynthia's current situation, which prompted him to put his phone away with a mocking smile.

He massaged his aching temples. When had he become so sentimental? Cynthia must have simply lost her temper and run home again, just like before.

It made sense. How cou

Damian's words were like a slap to Cynthia's face, snapping her out of the budding emotion that she'd just felt.

So, Damian had only spared Cynthia this bit of kindness for Alice's sake, not Cynthia's.

Cynthia found it ironic. Had she actually felt moved by Damian's so-called 'tenderness'?

She snickered out loud, then said in a hoarse but firm voice, "In your dreams, Damian Gray. I'd rather cut my hands off and feed them to the strays than give Alice a single finger!"'

Damian's brows furrowed slightly, though his movements were still gentle. 

"This isn't up for discussion, Cynthia. You hurt someone, so you have to pay the price. You have no choice. I'll arrange for the surgery to be done in three days' time. You won't be harmed in any way from this surgery," he said.

In three days' time, Cynthia would be eloping with Marcus.

Damian flipped the covers open and got into the bed with Cynthia. His arms wrapped around his neck as he pulled her into his arms, not giving her any leeway. They laid there just like how they always did when they were being intimate.

"Can you please stop throwing a fuss, Cynthia?" Damian asked quietly.

Cynthia stiffened instantly. She struggled in his grasp, though it was a futile attempt given how weak and injured she was.

Damian's arms used to be a safe, gentle haven for Cynthia to take shelter in. But now they felt more suffocating than any other torture method could.

"Let me go!" Cynthia cried.

But Damian only tightened his grip around her. He rested his chin on the crown of Cynthia's head. 

When he spoke, there was a rare hint of exhaustion in his voice. "This will be the last time, Cynthia. I'll stay out of Alice's affairs after this. We… We'll focus on our life together."

His low voice had a magnetic air to it, as if he really was describing a future they could look forward to.

Cynthia stopped struggling and froze in his arms. Was Damian trying to get their lives back to how it used to be?

She stopped the bitter smile that threatened to surface on her lips. "Do you still remember what you promised my Mom and Dad on the day we married, Damian?"

Damian stiffened slightly. He was silent for a moment before he said quietly, "Yes. 'I swear to devote my life to protecting the Stutton family. I'll keep Cynthia safe for the rest of our lives'."

Cynthia recalled the Damian she knew two years ago. Though he'd not been a man of many words, one could still easily see how his gaze softened whenever he looked at her.

However, Damian had gone back on his vow, destroying Cynthia's family and scarring her for life.

Damian's heart sank a little when he saw the mockery in Cynthia's eyes. Before he could speak, his phone began ringing in his pocket. It's not difficult to guess who the caller was.

The mocking smile on Cynthia's mouth deepened. "We can go back to how things were, provided you do something for me—I'll agree to resume life as normal with you as long as you stay with me here in the hospital the entire day. You're not allowed to see anyone else during this time."

A sliver of hesitation appeared on Damian's face right before he answered the phone call.

Cynthia gazed quietly at him. Neither of them moved, as if this was some verdict waiting to happen.

Cynthia knew Damian would fail this task.

The phone calls continued coming in over and over again. When Alice finally texted Damian telling him she was going to kill herself, he instantly let go of Cynthia and got out of the bed—just as Cynthia had predicted. 

"This is someone's life we're talking about, Cynthia. I can't just ignore her. We'll talk more after your surgery. I'll do whatever it is you ask of me then," Damian said, speaking just like he'd done countless times before turning to leave.

Cynthia chuckled as she gazed at his figure disappearing in the distance. She wasn't surprised in the slightest. "You can't give me what I want, Damian. We will never go back to how we were before, either. I'll… I'll be married to someone else soon."

"I've given you so many chances before, yet you never appreciated them," she added softly, as if mumbling to herself.

Cynthia recollected her thoughts. After a brief moment of hesitation, she decided to text Marcus, currently overseas.

"There's been a bit of a situation. I need you to come back and get me out of here ASAP." Cynthia wrote.

The reply came almost instantaneously. "Give me a time, date, and location."

Cynthia sent the hospital's address and a certain time to Marcus.

"Wait for me." Marcus' reply read.

After she received his affirmative reply, Cynthia allowed herself to recuperate in peace.

…

Sure enough, Damian didn't show up at all for the next two days. 

Then, it was the day of Cynthia's surgery, as well as her final day to leave this place. It was also the day that Damian finally hurried over.

"There's actually something I've been wanting to tell you, Damian," Cynthia said to him with a smile right before she entered the operating room.

"What is it?" Damian asked. 

Cynthia turned around and grinned. "I regret having ever married you."

Then, she walked into the operating room without giving him any time to react.

Damian's heart sank. He opened his mouth to say something as the door slowly closed, but only pressed his lips into a thin line in the end.

It was fine, he thought. He would stay with Cynthia, devoting all his love and attention to him just like before. Things would go back to the way they were.

But what Damian didn't know was that the emergency exit was swiftly opened after Cynthia entered the operating room. 

Cynthia had just walked past the heavy doors and got out into the blinding sunlight when a discreet white sports car came to a stop before her.

The car window rolled down to reveal Marcus' devilishly handsome and somewhat rebellious-looking face.

He cocked an eyebrow slightly when he saw how disheveled Cynthia was, though an amused smile appeared on his lips.

Marcus opened his arms and spoke in a lazy but firm tone that left no room for refusal. "Why'd you let them do this to you, you silly thing… C'mon, let's elope together!"

As Damian gazed at the closed door of the operating room before him, he felt a sudden and unexpected ache in his heart.

He flagged down a passing doctor and, without even noticing the tension in his voice, asked, "Is it guaranteed that removing a tendon won't affect her in the future?"

The doctor replied confidently and professionally, "Don't worry, Mr. Stutton. It's just a small section of tendon that's being removed, so it'll have minimal impact on her motor functions. The patient will be more or less fine after recovery."

Damian's shoulders relaxed imperceptibly, and he hummed in acknowledgement.

Just then, his phone vibrated with a test message from Alice. "My injury hurts, Dami. I'm so scared… Can you come visit me?"

Damian lifted his eyes to the closed door once more. After a moment of silence, he turned and walked down the corridor, walking toward a ward on the other end.

Alice was leaning against the head of the hospital bed inside with a pale face. When she saw him enter

Chapter 8