My Child and I Married a Billionaire

After dealing with President Miller and Lena, the crowd dispersed, and Wyatt Wynn finally remembered he had a score to settle with Cecelia Archer.

But one look at Damien Vaughn’s face, as grim and cold as the King of Hell’s, made him think better of it.

"How did you get here?" he asked, his tone shifting to concern for Cecelia Archer.

"I drove myself."

Though still dizzy and shaken, she felt much better than before. Cecelia Archer looked at Wyatt Wynn and said sincerely,

"Thank you. I’m truly, very grateful for tonight."

’At least you know how to be civil.’

’Ah, whatever. She’s a girl, after all.’ Wyatt Wynn had always been magnanimous with women, so he just waved his hand dismissively.

"Alright, you should thank Vaughn instead. I’m outta here."

In the blink of an eye, only the two of them were left in the room.

Damien Vaughn hadn’t expected they would meet again so soon.

Just this morning, he had sworn he would never see her again.

But Cecelia Archer always found some new way to grab his attention.

"I’m sorry, President Vaughn."

For some reason, once the fear from tonight’s events subsided, Cecelia Archer felt the person she had wronged the most was Damien Vaughn.

It was as if she had brought him shame, tarnishing his name.

She found it strange that she would feel this way, but the feeling was there nonetheless.

Damien Vaughn glanced at her fully exposed shoulders and her two bare arms, then snorted coldly.

"What do you have to be sorry to me for? If you like degrading yourself, that’s your business. I shouldn’t have meddled today."

Cecelia Archer: "..."

"Don’t get the wrong idea. I didn’t step in tonight for your sake. I would have helped any other woman in danger."

Cecelia Archer wouldn’t get the wrong idea. She was well aware he wasn’t short on women.

"I understand."

’Understand? What the hell do you understand?’

Damien Vaughn had spoken out of spite, and her simple reply only made him feel even more suffocated.

"You’re coming with me."

Cecelia Archer didn’t know where he was taking her. It was late; by all rights, she should be heading home.

But he had just helped her out. Leaving like this would make her seem incredibly ungrateful.

Cecelia Archer stood up, but her head was still spinning. That, combined with her high heels, caused her to stumble.

Although Damien Vaughn wasn’t looking at her, he still subconsciously reached out to steady her.

"I used to have Zeke Walton deliver these kinds of clothes to your door, and you acted so unwilling. Now you seem to have developed a taste for them."

Cecelia Archer was speechless.

Damien Vaughn impatiently lowered his gaze. "Take off the shoes."

Cecelia Archer didn’t know what he was planning.

’The heels are high, but they’re still shoes. If I take them off, I can’t just walk around barefoot, can I?’

"President Vaughn..."

"I said take them off, so take them off."

Cecelia Archer had no choice but to sit back down and take off her high heels.

His gaze fell on the sparkling high heels. After a two-second pause, Damien Vaughn grabbed them. With two loud CRACKS, he smashed the shoes violently against the floor, and the heels broke off.

In the next moment, Damien Vaughn handed them back to her—now a pair of sparkling flats.

Cecelia Archer hadn’t expected that was possible. She hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you, President Vaughn."

Damien Vaughn replied irritably, "Nothing to thank me for. Just don’t come out and embarrass yourself in the future if you can’t handle wearing them."

As he spoke, he saw her stand up, the long train of her dress trailing on the floor. Damien Vaughn commanded her again.

"Did I say you could get up?"

Not knowing what else he intended to do, Cecelia Archer sat back down with a look of bewilderment.

Damien Vaughn scanned the room. Aside from the sofa and the coffee table, it was empty.

He slowly and deliberately knelt in front of her, grabbing the hem of her dress and wrapping it twice around his hand.

Cecelia Archer knew what he was about to do. Before she could even cry out in alarm, there was a loud RIIIP as he tore a long strip from the bottom of her dress.

’The nanny said this was a custom piece from a famous designer, costing hundreds of thousands back in the day. Shane Grant always treasured these clothes. Now that it’s ruined, I wonder if he’ll hold it against me later.’

But to be honest, with the cumbersome fabric torn away, her calves were exposed, and walking was much easier.

Damien Vaughn tossed the fabric aside, unbuttoned his suit, and took off his jacket, flinging it over Cecelia Archer’s head with a WHOOSH.

"Put it on. Let’s go."

The two of them got into Damien Vaughn’s car.

They drove in silence for a moment. Just as Cecelia Archer was hesitatingly about to ask where they were going, her phone rang.

She picked it up and saw it was a call from Shane Grant’s assistant.

She wondered if something had happened to Shane Grant. Although it was inconvenient to answer with Damien right there, she still turned her head to the side and accepted the call.

"Hello?"

"President Grant’s pathology report is out. I figured you’d be worried, so I’m calling to let you know."

’So it was about this.’

Cecelia Archer’s heart leaped into her throat.

"Okay, go on."

"The results are mixed. They did find cancer cells, but it’s in the early stages and hasn’t spread much. The doctor said that as long as they operate to remove the cancerous cells and follow up with some radiation therapy, he should be fine."

In just a few seconds, Cecelia Archer’s emotions went on a roller coaster ride, soaring to the highest point before plummeting back down.

"Are you sure?"

"I’m sure. President Grant is good friends with the hospital director, who brought in several specialists to confirm the treatment plan. There shouldn’t be any issues."

’That’s good.’ Cecelia Archer clutched her chest. "Is he awake?"

"He woke up, but he’s asleep again. He’s not in great shape. I’d rather he didn’t wake up too often; as soon as he does, he starts asking about company matters."

At the mention of the company, Cecelia Archer felt she couldn’t face him. She had messed things up again tonight.

"Just let him rest. Tell him not to worry so much. I’ll visit him tomorrow."

"Okay. You should also take care. Maybe come a bit later in the day."

After the call ended, Damien Vaughn’s gaze involuntarily drifted to Cecelia Archer’s face.

Seeing the complex expression on her face and how deeply concerned she seemed for Shane Grant, he couldn’t help but let out another cold snort.

"What? Did Shane Grant call you? You’re still hiding things from me at this point? Cecelia Archer, do you take me for a fool?"

Cecelia Archer didn’t know how to respond. Feeling a pang of guilt, she chose to remain silent.

Damien Vaughn was suddenly furious.

’She can be so soft-spoken and gentle on the phone with him, talking for so long. I just did her a huge favor, and I’m sitting right here with her, yet she keeps ignoring what I say. Is the difference between me and Shane Grant really that huge?!’

With a SCREECH, he slammed the brakes in the middle of the road. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed Cecelia Archer’s wrist, forcing her to look at him.

"I’m talking to you, are you fucking deaf? How long are you going to hide this from me? What the hell is your relationship with Shane Grant? Did he put you up to approaching me back then? What was your real reason for getting close to me? Did you achieve it, or are you only halfway there? Answer me!"

Her wrist ached from his grip. Staring into his eyes, which seemed to glint with a cold light, and at his features, as grim as the King of Hell’s, Cecelia Archer felt no anger, nor fear—only a profound sense of sorrow.

’Is this what my life has come to? Am I always going to be someone’s subordinate, yelled at by this one, cursed out by that one, without any right to talk back?’

’The men of Veridia are fucking something else. Any one of them with a little power or money wants to bully me. Does picking on me really give them such a sense of accomplishment?’

A single, humiliating tear escaped the corner of her eye. Cecelia Archer looked at Damien Vaughn, her voice eerily calm.

"Do you have to force me to admit it? Fine. I admit it. I am Cecelia Archer. The same Cecelia Archer who recklessly escaped from right under your nose. Are you satisfied now?"

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