Damian Hawthorne's tone made it sound as if Hugo Grant had wronged him.
"And what would count as wronging you?" Hugo Grant retorted.
Damian: "..."
A moment later, Damian hung up.
Hugo Grant put down his phone and smiled at Cecilia Nathan. "He must have seen you getting into my car just now."
Cecilia said nothing.
'Damian's fury just now… it was as if he cared about me a great deal.'
'But he only cares about Serena Hughes.'
"I've sent you my cousin's contact information. By the way, where do you live? I'll give you a ride home." Hugo Grant, seemingly unfazed by Damian's words, insisted on taking her.
「Outside Korsyth Hospital.」
Damian hung up the phone, trying to suppress his frustration.
The image of Cecilia getting into Hugo Grant's car replayed in his mind.
The more Damian thought about it, the more something felt off.
'Hugo has been single his whole life. Could he have taken a liking to Cecilia?'
Recalling how protective Hugo had been of Cecilia, his heart suddenly clenched.
Cecilia had said she wanted to find someone good to settle down with.
Hugo Grant: heir to the Grant Group, open-minded parents, a total prime bachelor.
He was indeed a good match…
Damian closed his eyes, trying to tell himself to let it go.
But the more he thought about it, the more the fire in his heart raged.
At the thought of Cecilia marrying Hugo Grant, that fire finally grew so intense he couldn't sit still.
'Cecilia can marry anyone.'
'But it absolutely cannot be Hugo Grant.'
「Korsyth Gardens Community.」
After entering the building, Cecilia smiled gratefully at Hugo Grant. "Thank you for bringing me home."
Hugo Grant glanced at her apartment building. "Did you buy this place yourself?"
"Yes. When I decided to stay in Korsyth, I was worried I wouldn't have a place to live, so I took out a loan to buy this apartment. It's been sitting empty until now." Cecilia recalled the predicament she'd been in when she first arrived and found it a little amusing. "It's about dinnertime. Would you like to stay and eat?"
Just as Hugo was about to reply, a cold scoff suddenly sounded from nearby.
Damian stood there with his arms folded, coldly watching the two of them.
'Cecilia hasn't cooked for me in a month, and now she's offering to cook for someone else.'
'A man and a woman, all alone. Don't they have any sense of propriety?'
Cecilia's heart leaped when she saw him. "Damian, when did you get here? Were you following us?"
"What do you mean, 'following you'? I just happened to see you two turn into this community, so I got curious and came to have a look." Damian rubbed his nose awkwardly. "As it happens, I'm hungry too. Why don't you invite me in for a bite?"
'He really did miss her cooking.'
Now that he'd said as much, Cecilia couldn't exactly kick him out.
The corner of her mouth twitched into a tight smile as she reluctantly unlocked the door with her fingerprint.
Damian didn't miss the subtle expression on her face.
'Clearly, she didn't welcome him.'
Once Cecilia was inside, Damian stretched out an arm to block Hugo's path and lowered his voice. "Hugo, you haven't… taken a liking to Cecilia, have you?"
Hugo raised an eyebrow. "What if I have? You got a problem with that?"
The smile on Damian's face vanished. "Hugo, that's not a funny joke."
"A friend's wife…"
"Is she your wife?" Hugo stared at him intently. "Damian, do you hear what you're saying? The one you love is Serena Hughes. Don't tell me you're planning to have it both ways, collecting wives and concubines like some man from ancient times."
Damian's lips curved into a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes.
'He had to admit, Hugo was good at getting straight to the point, twisting the knife where it hurt most.'
"How long have you liked her?" Damian looked down, took a cigarette from its case, and lit it quickly. Smoke rings drifted into the air.
Hugo said nothing, his dark eyes as still as a deep pond.
"Anyone can be with her, except you." The cigarette dangled lazily from Damian's lips, his face filled with derision. "If you two get together, what will people say about her?"
"Does she care about that?" Hugo shot back. "When she was chasing you, did anyone in our circle ever respect her?"
"You never took her seriously, and those people took their cues from you. They didn't take her seriously either."
Damian fell silent.
He had to admit Hugo was right.
'The people in their circle were all pragmatic, masters of reading a room and acting accordingly.'
"Too bad Cecilia doesn't like you." Damian finished with a lazy, low chuckle.
'Cecilia was someone who trusted her feelings.'
'She wouldn't give anyone she didn't like a chance.'
'Just like how she loved him—throwing herself at him like a moth to a flame, knowing full well she would get burned.'
'In that, she was braver than anyone.'
"What are you two still standing out there for?" Cecilia placed the bowls of noodles she'd made on the table. "Come and eat!"
'Then leave as soon as you're done!'
She kept that last part to herself.
'She was genuinely grateful to Hugo Grant.'
'At least he had tried to help her.'
'But Damian's appearance was completely unexpected.'
'Worse, she had revealed where she lived.'
'Right now, all she wanted was to stay far away from Damian and have nothing more to do with him.'
'Looks like she'd have to find a way to move.'
Damian stubbed out his cigarette and strolled in as if he owned the place.
He stopped short when he saw the apartment's decor.
'Pink, blue… it was all so girly…'
'Cecilia actually liked this kind of style?'
Damian's gaze darkened. 'It seemed he really didn't know her well enough at all.'
Hugo sat down at the dining table. His eyes lit up slightly when he saw the noodles in front of him.
After Damian sat down, his eyes scanned both their bowls.
The noodles in the bowls were mostly the same: long, thin noodles topped with a sprinkle of green onion, their aroma filling the air.
But Hugo's bowl had something extra: a fried egg.
Damian's gaze fixed on the egg.
"Don't even think about it. You can't eat that," Cecilia said, heartlessly dashing his hopes.
Damian was allergic to eggs; he couldn't have anything containing them.
Looking like he'd just won a major battle, Hugo was the first to pick up the egg. "Nice," he praised.
Damian's eyes darkened. For the first time, he found Hugo's presence truly grating.
A single bowl of noodles was surprisingly filling.
Damian stood up lazily and said pointedly, "Time to go."
Hugo glanced at him and waved with a grin. "Okay, then. I won't see you out."
Damian: "You're not leaving?"
"I thought I'd rest for a bit, let my food digest." Hugo looked at Cecilia. "Is that alright?"
Cecilia, not understanding the subtext, didn't overthink it. "Of course."
Damian's hand, which had been hanging at his side, suddenly shot out and grabbed Hugo by the collar. His voice was practically squeezed from between his teeth. "Outside! I have something to say to you!"
Hugo, still smiling, waved to Cecilia. "We'll get going then. Don't forget our agreement."
The door closed with a SLAM.
Damian let go of Hugo, his face turning cold.
"Hugo, I told you. Anyone can be with her, but not you."
"Then let me give you a choice," Hugo said, his voice cold. "Serena Hughes or Cecilia Nathan. Who do you choose?"