THE HUSBAND THEY BULLIED, THE KING THEY FEARED

CHAPTER 2

A FEAST FOR ONE

The sound of whisk against glass echoed through the kitchen as Damien mixed the batter for his applied pie. His sleeves rolled neatly to his elbow, and his grip on the bowl tightening, Damien stirred harder as the rich aroma of butter sugar and cinnamon wafted through the air. 

He paused, cutting a piece of the batter with his finger and tasting it. “Yeah, that's nice," he said with a satisfied nod. 

Still whisking, he reached for his phone with his second hand and dialed Ryan's number. Placing the phone against his ear, he grabbed the bowl again. The phone buzzed once before Ryan's voice picked up. 

“Hello, sir," Ryan greeted, keyboard clicks audible in the background. 

“Yeah, Chen," Damien instructed as he grabbed a salt shaker. “I’d love for you to take good care of the men who helped Vanessa's firm go public, yeah? Make sure you provide them with whatever they ask for. They should be content. An appreciation for their efforts.”

“I will make sure of that, sir," Ryan answered. 

“And one more thing, Chen,” Damien added, his tone calm but deliberate. “I want you to prepare the transfer papers for one of the subsidiaries under my name.” He paused for a brief second. "Hale & Co. I’m giving it to Vanessa. Make sure it looks seamless.”

"Oh?” Chen muttered, surprise laced in his voice. “Are… are you sure it's time for that, sir? You know the company has—”

"No questions asked, Chen,” Damien cut his off quietly, his voice firm. "Just get the documents ready and prepare a meeting so I can meet with the board members to inform them." 

A short silence before Ryan's voice came again. "Of course, sir. I'll do that right away."

"Great,” Damien answered as he resumed his mixing again, shaking some salt into the mix as he turned. “Oh, and before you go,” he let out a small laugh, "tell me… what wine do you think goes well with apple pie." 

Ryan pauses for a moment before answering. "A chilled Chateau Ste Michelle Riesling, sir. The perfect mix of sweet and sour.”

“Thank you, Chen." Damien’s smile grew wider as he ended the call. 

Then, the sound of laughter flooded the kitchen as Margaret Reed and her friends came down the stairs. He looked up to see them heading towards the door. 

“Oh, mother," he called as he dropped the whisk and rushed to the doorway of the kitchen. “Where are you heading to?”

The laughter ceased and Margaret's brows furrowed in annoyance. “It’s an emergency that doesn't concern you, Damien,” she said, her voice filled with disdain. 

“Oh, uh…” Damien mumbled, taking a step back. “Will you be free for dinner tonight though? I was hoping we all could–”

“The bathroom upstairs needs some cleaning and you better be done with it before I return,” Margaret said, cutting Damien short. Before he could give her a reply, the other women laughed as they all walked out the open door. 

Damien chest tightened as he watched the door slowly close. His chest rose and fell as he sighed. Suddenly—

BEEP! BEEP!

The shrill sound shook Damien out of his thoughts and he rushed to the oven, cursing under his breath. 

_____________________________________

Damien sat at the head of the table, his sleeves unbuttoned and his hair neatly combed. His hands nervously tapped on the table as he stared at the grandmaster clock. 

Where was Vanessa?

The moonlight streaming in from the open window cascaded down the dining table in front of him, glinting off the silverware and giving the rose petals he had placed around the table a Disney-fied, dreamy quality. The soft jazz coming from the gramaphone added a delightful touch to the whole setting, but without Vanessa, it felt empty. 

Sighing, Damien pulled out his phone and dialed Vanessa's number. The first call went to voicemail and so did the second and third. On the fourth try, the line clicked and Damien breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Hey, Vanessa," he called, the smile on his face growing. "I've been trying to reach you but–" 

“Uh, who's this?" 

Damien froze. This wasn't Vanessa. The voice was deep and soft, like a man's. He pulled the phone from his ear, staring at the number as he wondered if he had dialed correctly. 

His smile fading, he placed the phone against his ear again. “Who's this? Isn't this Vanessa's phone?”

The man let out a soft chuckle as his voice slowly faded. Then Damien heard in the background, “hey, Vanessa, it's for you."

Damien's chest tightened as he licked his lips nervously. But before he could say anything, Vanessa's voice came on the line. 

“Damien?" she asked curtly, her voice filled with irritation and anger. “What is it?" 

Damien forced a smile as relief washed over him once more. "Oh, Vanessa,” he called, his voice warm. “Where… where are you? I heard the news and prepared a candlelit dinner for us to celebrate. Your mum left so I thought it'd be the best time to–”

“Just eat alone tonight, alright?" Vanessa cut him off sharply. "I'm at the celebration banquet and your call is throwing me off. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Damien stuttered, “O-okay, b-but who was–”

Before he could finish talking, the line clicked dead. Damien slowly lifted the phone from his ear as he stared at the untouched dinner spread before him. His hands trembles as he placed his phone on the table. 

“Okay," he muttered to himself, running his hands over his face. 

For a moment, the entire room was filled with silence, left for the gramaphone still playing it's smooth jazz in the background. Sighing, he cut a piece of the pie and placed it in his place. 

He grabbed the bottle of Riesling bottle and was about pouring himsekf a glass when his phone chimed. Curious, he dropped the bottle and picked up his phone, staring at the screen. 

It was a notification from TikTok: @VannessaReedOfficial was live. 

Damien smiles as he stroked the notification and places his phone against the candle stand. In between bites, he stared at the live. 

Vanessa appeared on the screen, smiling as different people walked up to her, congratulating her. The screen shook as cheers and scream rang out from the crowd in the hall. The knot in Damien's chest loosened as he watched his wife's smile grow with every pleasantry. 

But then his gaze drifted to the young man standing beside her. There was something… off with his stance and the way they both stared at each other. Different thoughts crossed his mind but he pushed them away. 

And then, in one sudden move, the man grabbed Vanessa by her cheeks and planted a soft kiss on her lips. 

Damien's fork slipped out of his hands, dropping onto the porcelain plate. He strained to hear what the man was saying to her but his voice was drowned by the screams and cheers. 

“No, no, no," he muttered as he grabbed his phone with trembling hands. 

The man dropped to one knee and slipped a box out of his pocket. It snapped open, revealing a ring, the diamon encrusted on it glinting under the lights. 

Vanessa nodded, stretching her hands as the man picked the ring off the box and slid it down her fingers. Damien, unable to watch anymore, closed off the live feed and dialed her number. 

But this time, there was no voicemail. Her phone was switched off. 

The phone fell from his hands, hitting the mahogany table with a soft thud. Cursing under his breath, Damien ran his hand through his hair. 

“No… this can't be true.”

___________________________________

Vanessa curled close to Sebastian, her fingers trailing down his chest as she chuckled. Their bodies were slick with sweat, their scent on each other's skin. 

Sebastian grabbed Vanessa's hands, chuckling as he entwined it with his. But his laughter slowly faded as he noticed her ring finger. 

Rubbing her hand softly, he brought his gaze to meet hers. “You're… not wearing your ring,” he asked, his voice soft. 

Vanessa inhaled, her breasts rising and falling against his chest. “I… I just thought it'd be inappropriate to wear it now, you know. Damien and I aren't divorced yet.”

The smile on Sebastian's face slowly faltered. “You… haven't told him yet?”

"No,” Vanessa answered, pushing her wet hair back from her face. "The documents are actually ready. I'm just… waiting for the right moment to tell him.” She looked into his eyes. "But consider it done before the weekend.”

Sebastian nodded slowly as he planted a kiss on her head. He knew she would come around—she always did. 

Ever since he came back from his time overseas, he knew he had her to himself. Even though she was already married, the love they both shared before Damien was still there. And when her company was approved for listing, she thought he had pulled the strings. Even though Sebastian knew it wasn't him, he never denied it. He chose to bask in her admiration and trust. 

His smile returned as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. She was his again–just like before.

Vanessa's hands reached under the sheets as she bit down on her lips. “Wanna go again?" she whispered, laughing softly.