Do You Still Love Me When We Meet Again? (Aubrey and Damon) novel Chapter 71

Chapter 71

As evening fell, a warm glow blanketed the entire landscape.

Damon had just left work when his grandpa Blackwood called, asking him to return to the ancestral home.

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His car pulled through the gates of the ancestral home and stopped in the courtyard. As he unbuckled his seatbelt, his phone rang.

He pulled out his phone and glanced at it. It was a message on his messaging app from Vincent.

Vincent: “Mr. Blackwood, Lawyer Hayes has joined my firm. Thanks for the heads–up. I’ll treat you to dinner as a thank you.”

Damon typed quickly: “No need to thank me. And no need for dinner. Please don’t tell her I said anything.”

Vincent: “Understood.”

Damon pushed open the car door, then closed it behind him as he walked towards the house.

Suddenly, his phone rang.

He stopped short, answered, and lifted it to his ear.

A man’s voice came through,“Boss, the property management at that complex tracked me down with the police. They said I destroyed the surveillance cameras and demanded compensation. I paid three thousand, and you need to cover it.”

Damon’s voice was tight with worry.“You didn’t give me up as the one behind it, did you?”

The man said, “Destroying public property won’t land me in jail, but I had to pay for it. For such a small thing, there’s no need for me to give you up.” Damon let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.“Alright, I’ll transfer you five thousand later. Consider the extra two thousand your hush money.”

The man’s voice was laced with excitement.“Thanks, Boss! You’re the best!”

Damon hung up, finishing the transfer on his phone as he pushed open the front door.

He finished the transfer just as he looked up, his gaze slamming into the dense crowd that filled the living room. He froze on the spot.

Every pair of eyes in the room swiveled to focus on him.

His grandpa Blackwood sat ramrod straight on the main mahogany sofa, exuding an authority that needed no anger.

To his left sat his parents and his aunt, while Veronica and her parents occupied the seats to his right.

Damon’s face darkened instantly, a wave of foreboding washing over him.

The engagement had been called off, made perfectly clear, yet Veronica had actually brought her parents. This was a blatant move to leverage their elders‘ authority and force his hand.

He didn’t even have to think about it; his dear aunt must have been pulling the strings.

“This must be Damon,” Veronica’s mother said, offering a warm, maternal smile.“He truly is as handsome and charismatic as they say. No wonder our Veronica is so fond of him.”

Grandpa Blackwood spoke in a deep voice, his authority undeniable. “Damon, come in and sit.”

Damon stepped inside, giving a slight nod to everyone before taking a seat beside his parents.

Seeing him for the first time, Veronica’s parents scrutinized Damon with piercing gazes, their eyes shining with undisguised approval

Veronica’s gaze, however, remained glued to him the entire time, a raw heat simmering beneath her shy demeanor.

Hannah, with a poised demeanor, spoke gently, “Veronica’s background check was approved yesterday, and I’m sure Damon has received the news as well. I’d like to take this opportunity for the elders of both families to…”

“Miss Pierce and I have already settled the annulment,” Damon cut her off, his voice a glacial slice. His gaze, sharp and cold as a blade, swept over Veronica.“Didn’t she inform you all?”

The Pierce parents exchanged bewildered glances, their smiles freezing solid on their faces.

Veronica’s knuckles went white as she hurriedly dropped her gaze, avoiding his piercing stare.

“Damon, about this engagement…” Hannah began again.

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“Aunt Hannah.” A chilling, sardonic smile twisted Damon’s lips. “When did my marriage become yours to dictate?”

Hannah’s face darkened, and she slammed her fist on the armrest.“Damon! Have you really abandoned all basic respect for your elders? You don’t care about me, but do you dare to disregard your grandpa and your own parents?”

Damon leaned back, his eyes sharp with ice.“Bringing the Pierce parents here uninvited and dragging my grandpa and parents into this to pressure me–is this how you try to force my hand?”

Hannah shot to her feet, looking down at him.“What makes Veronica inferior to that Aubrey? A murderer’s daughter, who manipulated her way into your affections!”

“Aunt Hannah!” Damon’s eyes flashed dangerously, and the air around him suddenly turned frigid.“Watch your words.”

Chase, who had been silent, looked up sharply, stunned. “A murderer?”

Grandpa Blackwood froze as well, his eyes wide with shock.“Aubrey, that child… what happened?”

Victoria closed her eyes and sighed silently.

Hannah straightened her collar, with a feigned sigh of regret.“Father, Chase, it’s Damon’s ex–girlfriend, Aubrey. Six years ago, her father beat someone into a vegetative state, and I heard the family recently pulled the plug… he’s gone.”

Victoria’s expression was tense.“Damon, is this true?”

Damon scoffed.“Since she’s an ex–girlfriend, what difference does it make to me whether it’s true or not?”

“How is it unrelated?” Hannah pressed on, her voice sharp.“You clearly agreed to marry Veronica. If Aubrey hadn’t interfered, would you suddenly go back on your word? For someone of that background, you’d throw away your future?”

Damon’s knuckles whitened as his gaze swept over his grandpa’s and parents‘ grave, uneasy expressions. Hannah’s move was indeed shrewd and

ruthless.

Against the backdrop of Aubrey’s less–than–pristine family background, Veronica’s ‘perfect qualifications‘ weren’t just suitable–they made her seem undeniably destined to marry him. This was a classic tactic, designed to make any refusal seem irrational, even scandalous.

Under the relentless pressure surrounding him, Damon shot to his feet.“Aubrey has nothing to do with my decision to call off this engagement. This is my final statement. The engagement is off, Veronica. I am not marrying you. Call me a jerk, call me heartless, I don’t care–that is my unwavering stance. And from this moment forward, Veronica, don’t ever let me see you again.”

His words hung in the air, heavy with finality, and he turned, walking away with resolute steps.

Hannah turned to Chase Blackwood and Victoria, her voice laced with sarcasm.“Chase, Victoria, as his parents, are you truly so indifferent to Damon’s

marriage?”

Chase Blackwood’s face was grim, and he remained silent.

Victoria met her gaze calmly. “With you overstepping your bounds like this, Sister–in–law, anyone who didn’t know better would think you were Damon’s mother.”

Hannah’s face turned livid, and she looked to Grandpa Blackwood again.“Grandpa, you see…”

Before she could finish, Grandpa Blackwood had already risen shakily, his aged voice heavy with fatigue.“I’m old… Can’t keep up with these young folks anymore. Aubrey, that girl… she was a good one. Such a shame, really…”

He shook his head, ambled towards the inner rooms.

Chase Blackwood and Victoria rose with him, not sparing a glance for the Pierce family, and exited directly.

The living room was instantly vast and empty, leaving only Hannah and the two other members of her family, their faces grim, the room filled with a suffocating silence.

The night deepened.

Alive with neon, the city pulsed with dazzling energy.

On the quier main street of the complex, Damon’s car was parked on the side of the road. He stood outside, one hand tucked into his pocket, leaning back against the car door, his gaze fixed on the third–floor balcony, lit by a warm white glow.

His shoulders slumped, heavy as lead. His face was drawn, a profound, unyielding gloom settling between his brows.

T–122กง

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An invisible, crushing weight settled over him, sealing him off from all surrounding sounds, leaving only a profound weariness and utter despondency.

He’d stood for hours, watched for hours, when suddenly a slender figure appeared on the balcony.

The woman wore a long white dress, her dark hair cascading down her back. She held a hanger, meticulously hanging the freshly washed clothes.

Holding the long pole, she propped up the clothes she’d hung to dry, her head tilted back, her arm outstretched as she pushed them higher.

Suddenly!

The clothes dropped to the ground.

She quickly bent down to pick them up.

Downstairs, Damon’s body went rigid. He stood ramrod straight, his hands sliding from his pockets to land with nervous energy on the car roof. He craned his neck, straining to see higher, wishing he could just run up there right now and help her hang the laundry.

He watched her shake out the retrieved garment, then prop it back up on the line.

Warmth pooled in his eyes, a bitter smile playing on his lips as he let out a soft sigh.

So clumsy.

She couldn’t even hang clothes without a mishap. All these years living alone… was she even taking care of herself?

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