Chapter 366: You Heartless Man
Cecelia Archer hurried forward two steps, standing on her tiptoes to peer into the shop.
Unfortunately, the voice was coming from the back kitchen, so she couldn’t see a thing.
She suddenly remembered Ryan and the legal team back at the hotel.
’I forgot I have company.’ "Please give me five cups."
Sherry turned and shouted back to Damien Vaughn, "Brother, another five cups!"
This time, Damien Vaughn didn’t understand her order.
He lifted the door curtain, revealing half his face.
"Sorry, let me just confirm. Is that first cup part of the same order as these five? So, is that five cups total, or six?"
Sherry was also a bit confused by what Cecelia Archer meant, so she quickly turned to ask her.
"Excuse me, is that five cups or six in total?"
Cecelia Archer’s attention wasn’t on the number of drinks at all. She had definitely heard Damien Vaughn’s voice!
She was certain—that was Damien Vaughn’s voice! She’d found him!
From this angle, she couldn’t see Damien Vaughn’s face. She broke into a run and dashed into the shop, leaving Sherry stunned for a moment.
In the blink of an eye, Cecelia Archer was inside the shop, heading straight for the area behind the counter.
Sherry tried to stop her, but Cecelia pushed her hand away and walked right up to Damien Vaughn, staring intently at his face.
It was him!
It was the Damien Vaughn she had been thinking about day and night for over two months!
He had abandoned her and their daughter, abandoned the entire company, and she had thought he’d run into some insurmountable problem, trapped in a foreign country and unable to return.
But here he was, perfectly fine. Not only was nothing wrong, but he had opened a shop here, and business was booming...
Cecelia Archer had hoped he was safe, had even prayed he was doing well. But seeing him and Sherry—one in the back kitchen, the other at the counter—working together so seamlessly, she was stunned. And then, a wave of jealousy washed over her.
She couldn’t believe Damien Vaughn had betrayed her again!
"So this is where you’ve been. No wonder no one could find you. You’ve been here all along!"
Damien Vaughn was taken aback by the woman who had appeared out of nowhere, and by her gaze and tone.
’This woman is young, very beautiful, and she seems to know me...’
"Do we know each other?"
’What? Doesn’t he know me? How could he not know me?’
His face, his voice—not a single thing had changed!
Oh, no. He was paler than before, and thinner.
’But how could he say he doesn’t know me?’
"What do you mean? Damien Vaughn, have you run out of tricks? Pretending you don’t know me? Did my sudden appearance interrupt something? Can’t explain me to her? Is that why you’re too scared to admit you know me?"
Cecelia Archer was on the verge of a breakdown.
She had been searching for him for so long, shouldering so much pressure at the company.
For his sake, she had dropped everything—the company, their daughter—and crossed an ocean to find him. And what was the result? He was pretending not to know her!
"Is it possible you’ve mistaken me for someone who just looks like me?"
The truth was, Damien Vaughn was filled with questions about his own identity every day. He desperately wanted to know who he was.
But life’s pressures forced him to focus on earning money first.
Now that someone had suddenly appeared claiming to know him, he was actually overjoyed. He was eager to solve the mystery of his past.
However, he couldn’t just accept it blindly. He asked Cecelia Archer cautiously.
"Or, to put it another way, do you have any concrete proof of who I am?"
"Do I fucking need proof to know who you are? I’d know you even if you were reduced to ashes!"
Cecelia Archer suddenly flew into a rage. The sight of Damien Vaughn wearing the same style of apron as Sherry was jarring, and she reached out to rip it off him.
"What is this thing you’re wearing? Take it off!"
"Stop pretending! Didn’t you swear you only loved me and would love me for a lifetime? Didn’t you swear you’d be a good father to Candy and make her happy forever? What the fuck do you think you’re doing now?"
She was so angry she lost all reason, so angry she couldn’t stop herself from cursing.
Seeing how furious she was, Damien Vaughn stood perfectly still, letting Cecelia Archer tear off his apron.
Then Cecelia Archer started trying to take off his shirt.
"Is there an inch of your skin I haven’t seen? A single spot I haven’t touched? And you’re still pretending with me! I don’t believe two people in this world can look so identical! Take it off and let me see!"
Sherry saw things were getting strange and that her "brother" seemed to be getting bullied, so she hurried over.
"What are you doing? If you want to talk, then talk! Why are you cursing? And why are you taking off his clothes?"
"This is none of your business! Get lost! I’ll deal with you later!"
Cecelia Archer shoved her aside.
Since Damien Vaughn didn’t try to stop her, she ripped his shirt off in a few swift motions, revealing his lean, muscular torso.
Even the mole was in the exact same spot! Identical! ’And he’s still pretending!’
But at the same time, Cecelia Archer noticed his body was covered in new scars.
From the look of them, the scars were still healing; the injuries were recent.
Cecelia Archer, who had been about to continue her interrogation, suddenly felt a pang in her heart, and her movements stopped.
"Why do you have so many scars? Where did they come from?"
Damien Vaughn paid no mind to Cecelia Archer’s accusations or her roughness. He stared at her face, observing her expression.
"So, you’re sure now? That I’m the person you know? That I’m your husband, and we have a daughter?"
Cecelia Archer’s nose tingled, and tears started to fall.
"What’s wrong with you? Damien Vaughn, do you really not recognize me? Are you really unable to remember me, or are you just pretending? What happened to you?"
Before Damien Vaughn could speak, Sherry, who had been pushed aside, spoke up coldly.
"He has amnesia. He was badly injured when I found him on the street. He spent over a month recovering in my basement before he got a little better. I didn’t have money to get him treated, so his wounds healed on their own. The fever might have damaged his brain. His leg injuries were even worse."
’What? Amnesia? She found him on the street? His leg injuries were even worse?’
Cecelia Archer’s heart ached even more.
"Take off your pants. Let me see!"
As she spoke, she reached for Damien Vaughn’s button. He quickly covered himself with his hands.
"Wait! Wait! This is a public place. Are you sure you want to see?"
"What does it matter if it’s a public place? I haven’t fucking divorced you yet!"
Suddenly remembering Sherry was behind them, Cecelia Archer pushed Damien Vaughn into the back kitchen.
"What are you covering? You used to love it when I did this to you! Hurry up and take them off!"
To him, she was still a stranger who had appeared out of nowhere, and being stared at like this was rather embarrassing.
But she was so fierce, and yet she was crying. For some reason, Damien Vaughn’s heart softened.
Cecelia Archer looked. From his thigh down to his calf, his entire leg looked as if it had been scalded by boiling water. The skin had peeled away, leaving it wrinkled and covered in scars.
"You... you really can’t remember anything? You don’t even know how you got these injuries?"
Cecelia Archer circled him, examining him from front to back, left to right, top to bottom, making Damien Vaughn’s face turn bright red.
"I really can’t remember."
Cecelia Archer felt a mix of heartache and resentment. She couldn’t stop herself from reaching out and pinching his waist hard.
"So you just felt free to get cozy with someone else, opening up a ’husband-and-wife’ shop with her? Don’t tell me you two have already..."
’She looks so gentle and delicate, like a fairy. Why is her temper so explosive? She even hits people?’
Damien Vaughn winced from the pinch.
"I’m not cozy with anyone else, and this isn’t a ’husband-and-wife’ shop. She’s my sister. Can you please just talk instead of hitting me? I’m dead tired every day, and my whole body aches."