Chapter 367: So Here You Are
When Sherry heard Damien say he’d been hit, she couldn’t help but lift the door curtain and follow him in.
"What are you doing—"
She hadn’t expected him to be so undressed, but it wasn’t as if she hadn’t seen it before. Sherry didn’t shy away, merely looking at Cecelia Archer and him with disapproval.
"It’s a good thing there are no customers, or what would this look like? Is she really your wife? Did you get a good look? Look all you want, but stop hitting him! He’s covered in injuries that were just starting to get better!"
Cecelia Archer had initially thought the girl was small, clever, and cute, and had quite liked her. Now, however, she found her irritating.
"I saw him clearly. He *is* my husband. And don’t think he stops being my husband just because he has amnesia. You may have saved him, but that doesn’t make him your man. He’s my man to hit or scold as I please. It’s none of your business."
Sherry said, "...Hey, have you remembered anything? Is she really your wife? She’s so mean."
Damien turned, picked up his pants, and put them on before speaking to Sherry.
"Alright, we’ve made enough for today. No need for overtime. You go on home and take care of your mom. I need to talk with her."
Their shop had only been open for a day. All of Sherry’s hopes were now pinned on Damien, and she was terrified he would abandon her.
"You’re not just going to leave with her, are you?"
"Of course not. I’ll come find you and your mom later tonight. I’ve never lied to you; don’t you trust me?"
Sherry gave Cecelia Archer another doubtful look, then took off her apron and left.
Just as she reached the door, she heard another miserable scream from Damien in the back kitchen.
"AHH—I told you my whole body hurts, why are you still hitting me? There’s nothing going on between her and me."
"Still saying there’s nothing? You never used to give other women a second glance! Look at the way you were just looking at her! Nothing in the past doesn’t mean nothing in the future! Damien Vaughn, don’t tell me you’ve started to fall for her!"
Sherry: "..."
Cecelia Archer was yanking hard on Damien’s ear, forcing him to turn his head to the side.
"Are you sure we’re married? I didn’t run off to Rivia just to get away from you, did I? Why are you so aggressive? Can you let go first? Let’s talk this out calmly."
Cecelia Archer irritably let him go.
Damien rubbed his ear, plopped down onto a chair, and unconsciously slipped into a familiar, commanding posture from his past.
"What’s your name?"
Cecelia Archer was so angry her chest hurt. "You don’t even remember my name? And you swore up and down you’d love me for a lifetime! You’re unbelievable!"
Fuming, she moved to hit him again, but Damien raised a hand and caught her wrist.
"I don’t want to be like this either. My brain’s broken, isn’t it? Still hitting me? If you keep hitting it, you’ll just make it worse."
"Stop showing off your English! Speak the Veridia dialect! Don’t you feel any sense of familiarity when you see me?"
Cecelia Archer switched back to the Veridia dialect, and as soon as Damien heard it, it did indeed sound very familiar.
Her appearance had been too sudden. When he first saw her, he had only registered that she was young and beautiful. But now, holding her hand as she looked down at him with those sad, aggrieved eyes, he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity in her expression.
Most importantly, his heart was racing.
Sherry was a woman, too, and he had spent over two months with her day and night. But she was just a kid. From head to toe, all she exuded was exhaustion and simplicity. No matter how openly they interacted, he never felt the slightest flutter of attraction.
But this woman was different.
She was brimming with femininity. Her small hands were soft, and she smelled wonderful.
Although she was fierce when she cursed and hit him, it was a kind of charming, coquettish fierceness that wasn’t unpleasant. He found he could accept it quite easily.
Realizing he had feelings for her, Damien felt a little awkward. He averted his gaze and let go of her hand.
But Cecelia Archer lunged forward and plopped right down onto his lap.
Perhaps it was the anger, the excitement, the overwhelming joy.
In the past, she couldn’t have brought herself to do or say these things, not even for a billion dollars. But now, it felt completely natural.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and forcefully turned Damien’s head to face her.
"Look at me when I’m talking to you. What are you hiding from? I’m only twenty-four and I already gave you an incredibly cute daughter. Am I not the best in the world?"
Damien Vaughn: "??"
’She’s only 24? And she already has a kid?’
"Then I..."
"You’re almost 30! Robbing the cradle!"
"...How old is our daughter?"
"Four."
Damien was stunned. "So, you’ve been with me since you were 20?"
’Was I really such a scumbag? To take such a young wife!’
Cecelia Archer gritted her teeth. "Yes! You took huge advantage of me, then abandoned me and our daughter to go play missing. You’re not even human!"
Damien Vaughn: "..."
They were so close, skin against skin, Cecelia Archer’s large, glistening eyes and ruby-red lips swam before him. Damien felt a growing discomfort. His whole body tensed up, and he was unbearably thirsty.
"Let me get a drink of water."
Cecelia Archer kept one arm hooked around his neck and used her other hand to grip his chin, observing his expression with perfect clarity.
She could feel that Damien was attracted to her.
"What’s wrong? You want to kiss me?"
Damien’s ears instantly turned red. "I said I want a drink of water."
"Stop lying. You just want to kiss me!"
Damien Vaughn: "..."
Seeing the determined look in Cecelia Archer’s eyes, a look that practically dared him, ’Come on and kiss me,’ he couldn’t help but want to tease her back.
"So, can I?"
Cecelia Archer bit down on his ear.
"Hmph! Your brain might have amnesia, but your body remembers just fine!"
’I can’t let this go on,’ he thought. ’Any more of this and I’m a goner.’
Damien turned his head away again.
"You should probably double-check if I’m really your husband. What if you’ve made a mistake..."
"Don’t worry, I’ll confirm it very carefully. You’re coming with me."
With that, Cecelia Archer stood up from his lap and started pulling him toward the door.
Damien was confused. "Where are we going?"
"To confirm your identity!"
"Hey, hey, wait a second, I haven’t pulled down the shutter on my shop yet."
While Damien was tidying the tables, closing the sun umbrella, and pulling the main power switch, Cecelia Archer called Ryan and ordered him to bring the car over within five minutes.
By the time Damien had finished tidying up and closed the door, Ryan had just arrived.
He pushed open the car door, walked up to Cecelia Archer, and before he could even ask why she had summoned him in such a hurry, he saw Damien turning around.
Ryan’s legs went weak, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.
"Am I seeing things, or is this a hallucination? President Archer, is that President Vaughn? This... this... this..."
The President Vaughn they had searched for so long and so hard, Cecelia Archer had found him as soon as she arrived, and he was so close to them all along...
He had lost more weight. Although his appearance and aura were unchanged, he was wearing a cheap, generic t-shirt and pants. It was clear he’d been living through hell.
Ryan felt a wave of guilt. Before he could finish his sentence, he threw himself at Damien and burst into tears.
"President Vaughn, you were so hard to find! WAAAH!"
"We turned all of Rivia upside down looking for you! Why were you hiding here?"
"I missed you so much, boo-hoo-hoo! Why are you so thin? Have you been suffering a lot? I’m sorry, it’s all my fault for being so useless, boo-hoo-hoo! I’ve failed you!"
He cried so hard that Damien was left speechless.
’Why is everyone I used to know so emotionally unstable?’