Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge
Chapter 81: The Crown

Chapter 81: The Crown

The guests stood stunned when Damien entered with Aveline beside him. His business suit made him look authoritative, but Aveline carried herself with grace like she owned the show.

It wasn’t the first event Damien had hosted, but it was Aveline’s first, with all the attention on her. Yet she walked elegantly as the trail of her dress swept the floor behind her, making her look all the more regal.

Even without looking sultry, the way she carried herself still made Cassandra’s chest burn with irritation. Though she wanted someone wealthy to marry Damien, she wanted her daughter-in-law to be subservient to her.

Definitely not someone who could get more attention than herself or her son.

Selene Ashford tasted nothing but bitterness from the sip of her drink when Aveline entered. She wanted that admiration from the crowd; she wanted that dress, she wanted that body. She chugged her drink and tried to look away, but eventually her entire attention returned to Aveline.

"I never get enough money to afford such good clothes," she bleated to her mother. She blamed Aveline’s evening gown instead of accepting Aveline’s charm.

The appearance of Damien with a woman indeed sparked everyone’s curiosity to learn who she was. A few of them who knew her began telling each other. By the time Damien and Aveline reached the dais, most of them knew she was a Laurent and exclaimed in admiration, calling Damien a lucky man.

Damien’s jaw clenched. What if the Laurents were loaded, and she was pampered like no other? Laurent Industries wasn’t even half the size of Ashford Holdings. He scoffed in his mind.

However, he didn’t realize that Laurent Industries wasn’t sprawling, but their reach, their power, and their impeccable taste were what made them the epitome of wealth and sophistication.

Though the numbing cream and pain relief medicine were working, Aveline still found it difficult to put weight on her injured foot, especially because of her high heels.

Thus, when they turned around to face the guests, she crossed her legs and shifted her weight to the uninjured leg. Her actions were buttery smooth.

Well, what she wasn’t expecting was men’s eyes trained on her body.

Damien resisted his urge to crack his neck out of irritation when he could feel the eyes focused not on him but on the woman next to him.

Yes, he did want a woman who could complement him while standing beside him. But this was too much. Whether it was family, business, or her presence, she was outstanding.

And physically? He could already guess the thoughts of men, irrespective of their ages.

He took a glance at his wife. Then it struck him. Though the dress she was wearing before had been sultry, this dress covered her enough, yet her curves sent imaginations wild.

XS was supposed to mean no curves but flat, right?

He changed his plans. He wasn’t going to introduce her or have her beside him. "I’ll join you after introducing the project."

Aveline: "..."

Then he didn’t have to bring her onto the dais just to send her away. She wasn’t a trophy he could lift once and set aside. Anyway, she nodded with complete composure. She moved towards the stairs, and a hand appeared before her.

Damien’s eyes burned watching Alaric extend his hand for Aveline. And she was speechless.

Was he declaring war against Damien?

If he were anyone else, she would have refused, but she didn’t have to save face for Damien. So she slid her hand into the warmth of Alaric’s palm and descended the stairs elegantly without tripping on the trail of her dress.

She looked at him to thank him, but he asked, "How’s the pain?" His only focus and worry was her foot. "Can you stand?"

He didn’t look at her like Damien did. There was no lust. Rather, pure concern behind his indifference.

’Stop comparing them, Aveline.’ She reminded herself.

"Manageable, thank you." Her soft voice was barely a whisper. Then both walked in different directions.

Alaric went to the table where his ’friends’ were standing, and Aveline reached the Ashford family table.

Undoubtedly, it caused a light stir, but Damien quickly took control. "Hello, everyone, welcome to the black-tie Investor Gala."

A brief, not-so-loud applause sounded in the hall.

Damien continued, "More than finding an investor for the project, we, the directors and stakeholders, wanted to celebrate with you the beginning of a new era at Ashford Globals."

Lawrence drowned whiskey down his throat. He had given up the position of CEO. With the twin tower project, Crown, he had no chance against Damien.

Cassandra focused more on Aveline, her lips twitching at how Aveline merely offered a nod as a greeting. She wanted to berate her for her outfit, but restrained herself due to the crowd and watched Aveline whisper something to the waiter.

Damien pointed at the ceiling where a box was hanging by a string. "Let me introduce our new project, Twin Tower, CROWN."

The model descended, like it were being offered up to be destroyed.

The screen behind him lit up with computer-generated imagery of the twin towers that kept playing.

The crowd turned towards the model of the twin towers and was stunned into silence.

Nobody except Damien noticed a manager from the Emerald approaching Aveline with a waiter who was carrying a chair. Without caring that his parents were standing, she sat down as if standing for even five minutes was a hassle for her.

Alaric breathed a sigh of relief once she sat down. He wanted to leave, but Damien’s glare towards Aveline kept him rooted in place.

He wasn’t even sure if he was becoming unhealthily possessive or obsessive over Aveline, or if it was just his worry.

Cassandra and Maxwell’s expressions turned ugly when Aveline sat like she ruled the place. What was so special about her? Why did she have to get special treatment?

They gritted their teeth but returned their attention to the dais when Damien spoke.

About the plan, where it would be built, how long the duration would be, and the budget of the project.

Everything earned amazement and disbelief from the guests.

The lights dimmed slowly as Damien shifted to the last part of the introduction. "Our team has prepared a visual representation of Crown. Watch it to know more."

He walked off the dais and reached Aveline while everyone’s eyes were on the screen.

Damien grabbed her hand and tugged her out of the hall to the green room under the dim light.

Alaric took a step without thinking. But someone grabbed his hand. He shot a glare at the owner of the hand.

...

Meanwhile, inside the green room,

Damien snapped at Aveline, "Aveline Laurent, is that how you behave at an event?"

Aveline took a deep breath. What was wrong with sitting? Anyway, she moved towards the couch and sat down, infuriating Damien.

"Ave..."

"Shhh..." Aveline shushed him. "Damien, you should be asking why I was sitting, no?"

Without waiting for his response, she pulled up her dress and grimaced, looking at her swollen foot in the pumps. She was even scared to remove the heel; it looked awful.

Damien froze. Then he slowly started to realize he was showing his true emotions to Aveline. He wasn’t the same henpecked husband who was making her melt and smile even when he was doing something wrong.

His voice softened, "How did that happen?" Then it struck him. Aveline wasn’t holding her wet dress, but her leg, when the vase fell. He recalled the first aid box in the living hall of his suite. "Why didn’t you tell me? I’ll take you to the doctor."

Aveline blocked his hand from touching her. "It’s your big day." She sounded encouraging, "I’ve taken a painkiller and applied numbing cream. I’ll go to rest after some time." She assured him.

Then Aveline flatly refused his fake efforts of worry and brushed off his apology before they went back into the hall.

The video was completed. The two followed the line of sight of the crowd and spotted Eleanor Ashford looking at the Crown Tower model.

"Go and sit," he instructed as if commanding his subordinate, and rushed to his grandmother.

Aveline smirked behind him. His excitement, the attention, and the glow of success were going to burn to ashes.

Aveline began the countdown.

"Ten..."

"Nine..."

"Eight..."

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