Chapter 3 Who's Most Important to Him

As the call connected, Whitney said, "Sophie, there's an important document that Mr. Howard needs to sign. Can you send me the address for his work engagement tonight?" She called Damian's primary secretary, Sophie Tucker. She knew all of Damian's work schedules. "Work engagement? He doesn't have any engagements tonight. He left the office early," Sophie replied. "Really? No last-minute arrangements?" "Even if there were, he would've called me to make restaurant reservations." Right, Whitney had forgotten about that. If anyone wanted to dine with Damian, they had to make arrangements in advance. There would be no last-minute arrangements. So, when Billy mentioned that Damian had something to do, it definitely wasn't work-related. After hanging up, Whitney sat in silence for a moment, then ate her meal alone. A work message from a colleague popped up. After she read it, she accidentally tapped into Instagram while exiting the screen. The first post caught her eye. It was a photo Rachel had just posted. Rachel, dressed in a hospital gown, was leaning against a man's chest with a blissful smile. The photo was captioned, "Love is knowing that you'll be right here by my side with just one call." Although the man's face wasn't visible, Whitney immediately recognized the man as Damian. The dark blue tie with a subtle pattern was the same one she had picked out for him two weeks ago, and it was the one he wore today. Her heart seemed to be pierced by sharp needles. She barely managed to steady herself with her hands on the table. A voice inside her whispered, "Are you still going to lie to yourself?" Whitney didn't fall asleep until the early hours. When she finally woke up and went downstairs, she heard sounds coming from the kitchen. "Morning." Damian appeared with a cup of warm milk and placed it on the dining table, where a full spread had already been prepared. He smiled gently as he approached her and leaned in to give her a morning kiss. But as his lips neared her cheek, Whitney tilted her head. Damian paused for a moment, then seemed to understand. "Are you upset because I didn't have dinner with you last night?" Whitney didn't respond and refused to meet his gaze. "A friend suddenly came back from overseas. We had dinner and played poker. By the time I got back, it was already midnight. I'll introduce him to you sometime. I'll tell him that if he wants to meet with me in the future, he'll need to ask Mrs. Howard first," Damian said in a joking tone. Whitney swiped at her phone for a moment before turning it to face him. "Is your friend Rachel?" As Damian glanced down at her phone, his lowered eyelids concealed his emotions. A long silence followed. Whitney gave a disappointed smile. "So, you were with her last night." Damian looked up, seemingly apologetic. "Rachel got into a car accident. She didn't want to worry her family, but she couldn't handle things on her own, so she called me." That was such a reasonable explanation. Whitney scoffed. "I'm not blind, Damian." In the photo, Rachel was hugging him. It was anything but innocent. Damian glanced at the photo again and sighed. "She's been Grandpa's great-granddaughter for over ten years. She calls me Uncle Damian. How could I possibly disregard ethical boundaries? Rachel is the only surviving child of the Yanes family. Grandpa told us to take good care of her." Rachel's great-grandfather was a wartime comrade of Elijah's. With the Yanes family passing away early, Rachel was the only one left. Out of respect for his friend, Elijah adopted her when she was just eight years old. "We're getting married, Whitney. If I didn't love you, why would I marry you?" Damian asked sincerely. Whitney wanted an answer for that as well. "Yeah, I've been wondering that too." "Don't you trust me?" Damian's tone grew colder as she persisted with her questioning. "I'm 24, not 14!" Whitney's eyes turned red-rimmed. She took a deep breath. "Let's end this, Damian." With those words, she turned away, but Damian suddenly grabbed her arm. "You said you're 24, so stop acting like a child. You can be mad, but only for half a day." Damian pushed the cup of milk into her hands. "Even if you're not hungry, at least drink this. We'll go to the Howard residence for lunch. Grandpa called." He brushed it off with no further explanations. In his eyes, her emotions were nothing more than a childish tantrum. In truth, he probably didn't care whether she believed him or not. "I'm not feeling well. I'm not going." Whitney turned her back to him. "Rest well. I'll pick you up at noon." With that, Damian walked out the door without giving her a chance to argue. This was her first time seeing his domineering side. … In the end, Whitney went with Damian to the Howard residence. Elijah treated her like his own granddaughter. Since it had been over two weeks since she last visited, she figured she could join him for a meal. As they arrived, Damian reached for her hand to guide her down the car, but she pulled away, only for him to grab it again. In the living room, Damian's parents and Elijah's third son, Derek Howard, along with his family, were all gathered. Whitney greeted each of them in turn. At the same time, Elijah was helped downstairs by Rachel. "Grandpa," Whitney greeted him with a smile. "Whitney, you haven't visited in so long. Did you and Damian have a fight? Tell me. I'll put that rascal in his place," Elijah teased. His gray hair contrasted with the spark in his eyes as he gave Whitney a playful, serious look. Before she could answer, Damian quickly defended himself, "Why would I fight with Whitney? Don't accuse me, Grandpa." Whitney scoffed inwardly, then responded with a smile, "I'm sorry for not coming to visit you sooner, Grandpa. But thankfully, Rachel has been keeping you company." Her gaze shifted toward Rachel. She wore a white Chanel dress, her delicate face framed by a ponytail. Her gaze, however, lingered on Whitney's and Damian's interlocked hands. A momentary daze crossed her features. Elijah tilted his head and smiled. "Once you marry Damian, I'll have two happy faces around me. Rachel, why didn't you greet your uncle and aunt?" At Elijah's comment, Rachel finally came to her senses. "Uncle Damian, Whitney." "Whitney?" Elijah corrected her. "It should be Aunt Whitney." Rachel opened her mouth but struggled to speak, as if it were hard for her to change the way she addressed Whitney. Damian wrapped his arm around Whitney's shoulders, a smile in his eyes. "They're about the same age, so calling her 'Aunt' might feel a bit strange. Whitney probably isn't used to it and might even think it makes Whitney sound older." Whitney looked at Damian. His features remained calm as usual, with a hint of teasing in his expression. The family lunch was still a while from starting, so Elijah asked Damian to join him in the study to discuss company matters. Whitney took a walk in the backyard and was nearing the pool when she saw Rachel walking toward her. "I didn't expect you to be so unbothered that you even came here with Damian." Rachel, who had been soft and timid earlier, now stood before Whitney without hiding her true colors. She called Damian's name directly while lifting her chin in a mocking manner. "What should I be bothered about?" Whitney smiled, seemingly clueless about what Rachel was implying. Rachel sneered, "I know you saw my post. I made it visible only to you, and there's no way you can't recognize who's in the photo." "Oh, that post." Whitney seemed unfazed. "It's just a photo. Damian is popular with women. What matters is that he knows who's most important to him." Even if Whitney and Damian had their disagreements, she wasn't going to let Rachel get the upper hand in front of her. Rachel's expression darkened, but a thought seemed to cross her mind. She suddenly stepped forward and whispered in Whitney's ear, "Let's see who's truly the most important to him." Before Whitney could react, Rachel pulled her, and both women fell into the pool.