Chapter 361: Friend of Women
The wealthy woman used her phone to set the navigation, and Damien Vaughn drove off smoothly.
The wealthy woman rested her head against the car window. As the warm, yellow streetlights swept across her face, it was clear she had no intention of sleeping. Her expression was utterly dejected.
He thought back to what she had just said.
Damien Vaughn said softly, "Ma’am, I don’t mean to pry, but I feel like you need to talk to someone right now. Would you like to tell me what’s troubling you?"
The wealthy woman shook her head, clearly unwilling to speak.
Damien Vaughn decided to venture a guess. "Had a fight with your husband?"
She was surprised he’d guessed it right away.
The wealthy woman turned her head to look at him with a strange expression.
"Do I look that old? Do I just scream ’old married woman’ to you? Why would you guess I have a husband?"
Damien Vaughn’s voice was captivating. "Because you’re stunningly beautiful. It’d be a crime against nature if men weren’t pursuing you. And any man chasing you wouldn’t just be looking for a fling. Leaving a girlfriend like you out in the world is too risky. Any man would want to marry you as soon as possible."
The woman had expected him to say something like, ’I saw the faint mark on your finger where you used to wear a ring,’ and that was how he knew.
Or perhaps, ’The necklace you’re wearing is part of a couple’s set, so I figured it out.’
’I never expected him to come at it from such a clever angle.’
Finding herself on the receiving end of another compliment, she couldn’t help but be pleased. The woman’s mood lifted significantly.
"You really have a way with words. How old are you? Do you have a girlfriend?"
Damien Vaughn shook his head.
"I don’t know how old I am. I don’t even know my own name. And I don’t have a girlfriend. But I have a sister, and a mother who is ill."
The wealthy woman replied, "You just said you have amnesia and lost everything. Now you say you have a sister and a mother? Don’t tell me they have amnesia, too. Can’t they tell you your name and where you live?"
Damien Vaughn turned and gave her a sincere smile.
"They’re my saviors. I don’t know how else to address them, so I refer to them as my sister and mother."
The wealthy woman said, "...Are you for real? Something this much like a movie, and it’s happening to me... I hope you’re telling the truth, because if not, you’re a fantastic storyteller."
"What reason would I have to lie to you, ma’am?" Damien Vaughn smiled again.
"But let’s get back to you. Why are you upset? It’s not about the fight itself, is it? It’s because you’ve been waiting all this time, and he hasn’t come to make up with you. Right?"
It seemed all those years of friendship with Brandon Jacobs and Wyatt Wynn hadn’t been in vain. Listening to them ramble on about women all day was finally, and discreetly, proving useful.
The woman was stunned by him once again.
"How are you so perceptive? Or is it that all men actually get it, but some just don’t care enough to pay attention and pretend they don’t understand? He’s just like that. He knows everything, he’s just too damn lazy to make it up to me!"
Damien Vaughn replied, "No, that’s not fair at all, ma’am. Sometimes, a woman’s anger comes out of nowhere, and a man genuinely can’t figure out what caused it. Plus, women have a tendency to block, delete, and go off the grid, so even if a man wants to find her, he can’t. Or, after getting blocked and deleted, the man’s temper flares up too. Both sides get stubborn, refusing to be the first to give in. The truth is, he’s hurting too."
The wealthy woman didn’t believe him at all.
"Men can feel bad? I thought they were all heartless."
Damien Vaughn said, "You have to look at it case by case. If he’s indifferent every single time, then he really doesn’t have you in his heart. But if it’s just a one-off thing... People have emotions. We have to let them be themselves now and then, don’t we?"
"Hmph!" The woman turned her head back toward the window.
"This is the second time this has happened... Do you think he’s tired of me? That he’ll never talk to me again, that this tactic of mine doesn’t work anymore?"
Damien Vaughn didn’t know her man, so it was hard for him to say for sure.
But as a man, he could analyze it for her from his own perspective.
"If it were me, I’m a busy guy. When I get home from work, I’d want to see a girlfriend who’s positive, cheerful, and optimistic—someone who brings me joy. Not someone who’s sullen, insecure, and constantly needing me to coddle her."
The wealthy woman replied, "...So you also like those types who put on a fake, innocent act, the ones who know how to sweet-talk a man?"
"That’s not about ’sweet-talking a man,’ it’s about nurturing a relationship. There’s no rule that says only men can appease women and that women can never do the same for men. Maybe if you admitted you were wrong once in a while, or were the first to give in, it would be a refreshing change for him. It might surprise him and make him realize how much you truly love him, you know?"
Listening to his analysis, the woman’s emotions gradually calmed, and she fell into deep thought.
Damien Vaughn drove a little further before she suddenly ordered him.
"Stop the car. Turn around. I’m going to find him."
"Are you going to give him a surprise?"
"Let’s just hope it’s a pleasant one."
Damien Vaughn smiled. He turned the car around as she instructed and said,
"Actually, ma’am, if you don’t mind, I’d like to offer a bit of advice. You’re so young and beautiful. Of course, I don’t know what you do for a living, but I just want to say, if you’re not busy enough, you should find ways to be busier. Whether it’s with hobbies, recreational activities, or a career—as long as you keep yourself occupied."
"Don’t spend all your time thinking about him and worrying about him. Men love the chase. The more of a challenge a woman is, the more distant and less needy she seems, the more he’ll want her. It’s the same even after getting married. You have to constantly keep him on his toes."
"And here’s a truth no one can escape: even the most beautiful flower will eventually wilt and be overlooked. Even if it’s not about keeping him, you should do it for yourself. You need to make your own life more colorful and fulfilling."
The wealthy woman leaned back against her seat and fell into thought again.
"I understand what you mean, but I grew up in a wealthy family. I’ve had a life of leisure. My family never needed me to earn money; I never had to do anything. I don’t know what I’d do, or even what I *could* do, other than think about him and be in love with him."
Damien Vaughn said, "Has your husband ever mentioned any business partners he admires, or a certain type of woman he looks up to? Have you ever thought about becoming the kind of person he describes?"
The wealthy woman looked at Damien Vaughn. "He has. But I don’t understand anything he talks about. It’s all entrepreneurs, new startup stars... I’ve thought about starting my own business, too, something to make him and my parents see me in a new light, but..."
"I’m afraid of the shame of failure, and I don’t even know how to take the first step. And I definitely don’t want to ask my ’friends’ for advice. They’re all fake, I’ve realized. Not one of them actually wants to see me succeed."
Which is why she was out drinking alone tonight.
At that moment, Damien Vaughn was sure of it. He had run into the perfect person.
"I think you’re in need of a driver. If you’re willing to hire me for a hundred a day, I can take you all around the city. We’re bound to find a good spot to plant some flowers."
"Business opportunities are hidden in every nook and cranny of our daily lives. You just have to look with an eye for them, and you’ll find them."
The wealthy woman understood his meaning.
Her drivers had always been silent, middle-aged men. She could know one for ten years and barely exchange a handful of words with him.
She was often bored and unhappy, and she really did need someone young, handsome, and who understood a woman’s heart like him to liven up her life.
"But, why a hundred a day?"
’He could have easily asked for more.’
"Does that number have some special meaning?"
Damien Vaughn answered her truthfully.
"Because I have my sister and my mother to support, and right now, we’re penniless. But a hundred a day will be enough."