"She applied for a job somewhere else." There was a pause before the words truly sank in. And then Theo burst out laughing, nearly spilling his drink. "What? Did she finally decide she was too good for your sour mood and arrogant nature?"
Lucas chuckled, leaning forward with that ever-smug smile. "I thought you said she couldn't go a day without being around you? I guess someone overestimated his charm."
The raven-haired girl giggled too loudly, mistaking the tension in the room for something lighter than it was. Damien didn't even blink but his cold eyes were enough to shrunk the girl at her place. She held Theo's arm tightly with the intention of protecting herself but the man ignored him. He was too busy paying attention to his friend's anger now.
He could not believe that Evelyn finally decided to stand against him. "I never thought that I would see this day."
The laughter started to die out, one by one. The other looked between Damien's unreadable expression and the untouched whiskey in his hand. "Wait... You're serious?"
Luke's brows slowly drew together. "She really applied for another job?"
The atmosphere shifted from amusement to quiet confusion. Lucas glanced at Theo, then at Damien, whose jaw ticked ever so slightly as he finally brought the drink to his lips but didn't drink. Just let the rim of the glass brush against his mouth before placing it back down.
Luke cleared his throat and leaned back, breaking the silence. "Damien, maybe she is not completely wrong."
Damien's eyes narrowed. The air around him fell in an instant.
Luke continued anyway. "You have been hurting her since the beginning. I am not saying you are the only one to blame, but come on. If you don't want her, let her go. Stay with the girl you actually like instead of tormenting the one who only ever wanted to belong."
Theo looked surprised, his drink halfway to his mouth. Lucas shifted in his seat, unsure now which side to take.
"You made her feel like a burden," Luke said calmly. "You don't speak, and when you do it, you only insult her and treat her like it was all her fault. And now you wouldn't let her go either?"
Damien's head turned slowly.The expression in his eyes was no longer tired.It was cold.
"I never said I didn't want her," he said through clenched teeth. "I said no job. That's different. And why did she need money anyway? I never refused to pay her bills. Everyone in the city knew that she owned the rarest jewellery. Her wardrobe is full of fancy dresses and latest collections. I have never mistreated her."
Luke held his gaze. "Is it? But that is all for decoration. You did not give her the rights of a wife. Not everyone wants your bank balance, Damine. Perhaps she wanted to stand on her own feet." The words made Damien snicker.
Everyone looked at Luke as if telling him to stop but the man was either drunk or suddenly filled with righteousness. He did not stop at all.
"You don't want her working. You don't want her to leave. But you also don't love her, not in the way she deserves. So what is it you want, Damien? To trap her and control her? Punish her for something she never did?"
A muscle in Damien's jaw jumped.
Lucas and Theo looked between the two men, tension hanging heavy in the air. Theo attempted a laugh to ease it. "Okay, okay, let's not turn this into a therapy session. They both are adults and could decide for themselves. Luke, you should let it go and Damien, you should too…"
"Evelyn belongs to me," Damien cut in, voice like ice cracking. "Either I want her or not, she could not belong anywhere else."
Silence returned on the table as everyone looked at him with a shocked gaze.
"She wanted to marry me," he continued. "She made vows, so she chose this life. And I don't care if she hates me now, she will stay loyal till the end."
"Even if you destroy her in the process?" Luke asked quietly.Damien's glare snapped to him like a whip. "Don't talk as if you understand."
"I do understand." Luke leaned forward now, voice dropping lower. "You are angry not because she left the job. You are angry because for the first time, she didn't come back. She didn't beg. She didn't cry. She moved on."
Damien stood abruptly, the chair scraping back. "Yes, she tried to go away and I would never let that happen. She is mine."
"Then treat her like someone worth having," Luke said, not flinching.
The air in the room turned brittle. Theo and Lucas stared down at their drinks, unsure what to say. Even the women across the room had gone still, sensing the sudden shift in atmosphere.
Damien looked at all of them, then at his untouched glass, and finally back at Luke.
"She can run all she wants. But she will always return to me. Just like she always has. I will never give her another choice."
And with that, he picked up his jacket and left the room, slamming the door behind him.
The chandelier above trembled slightly.
Luke exhaled slowly. "This won't end well."
Lucas nodded, still staring at the closed door. "Not for her. And definitely not for him."
"But I always said that he did not like her. What changed, why is he fighting for her suddenly?" Theo still could not understand why his friend was so agitated when he had only ignored Evelyn from the start. Luke looked at him with a grim face while Lucas shook his head.
"It is better that we stay away from their matters. They are not kids who could not decide for themselves. Luke, you should not press him too much. In the end, we are his friends not Evelyn's." Luke did not reply again, he stood up and left the room too.