Echoes of Vengeance: The Sweet Wife's Perfect Revenge-Chapter 80: Dressed to Destroy

Fifth Floor, at Emerald’s

Aveline wasn’t naive enough to assume the fall of the decorative table was an accident.

The table was in the middle of the hallway, right outside the elevator, whereas the rest of the decorative tables were at the corners. Damien, who was right beside her, had moved to block her.

It was an easily curated accident to spoil her dress. Maybe even to hurt her.

If Damien didn’t want her at the event, he didn’t have to invite her. She would have gladly stayed home.

What was he planning?

Resisting her urge to slap the woman, she said, "It’s alright," to send the kneeling woman away so that the judgmental people would disperse too.

Damien wrapped his arm around Aveline and hissed at the lady, "Get lost."

Aveline almost rolled her eyes. He should have said, ’Well done,’ instead.

Damien guided her back to the elevator, his expression transforming to one of worry. "It’s a pity your dress is ruined. The event is in just twenty minutes." He looked at the water droplet rolling down her slender leg and immediately looked away.

She had turned into a walking temptation.

He was taking her towards his suite when he caught sight of his grandmother entering a suite to rest. For the first time, his grandmother had insisted on attending the Ashford event.

Thinking about it, there were a lot of first times happening these days.

He quickly dropped Aveline off in his suite and said, "Try to see if you can dry it. I’ll check with the hotel if they have something that fits."

Aveline merely nodded to send him away and sat down, unable to stand any longer. She quickly removed her pumps and grimaced at the pain.

As she expected, her forefoot had turned dark red, and the pain was nearly making her dizzy. She tried to breathe slowly to calm herself, but tears still trickled down due to the pain.

There was a knock on the door before it unlocked. She glanced at the hotel staff bringing a neatly wrapped evening gown.

She watched as the female attendant unwrapped the dress for her, displayed it, and laid it on the bed inside the bedroom.

Aveline: "..."

Did she look like a fool?

It took less than three minutes for the dress to arrive. How was it possible for Damien to check with the hotel so soon?

Unless the dress had been prepared beforehand.

Why?

Why did Damien ruin her dress?

If he had arranged a dress for her, he could have simply sent her the dress to get brownie points, instead of giving the credit to the hotel.

"Miss, shall I help you change?" the staff asked.

Aveline snapped out of her thoughts as she shook her head. "No, thank you."

As the staff left, Aveline grimaced when the door unlocked again. She was expecting Damien, but her eyes widened when Alaric entered.

Wearing a sleek, tailored black suit with a crisp white shirt and a pocket square to match, he looked like he’d walked straight off a high-end fashion magazine cover. His hair was neatly styled, his jaw sharp, his green eyes focused.

He latched the door and went to her quietly, holding the first aid kit as if he was carrying a billion-dollar project file.

He frowned with concern at the sight of her foot. The bruise was already turning into sickening green on her delicate foot.

When Ezra informed him that Aveline had arrived, the sight of her, even on security footage, had caught his breath.

He wasn’t expecting to find her in such a state shortly after. Her nose tip and the rims of her eyes had turned red due to pain. Her eyes were sparkling due to moisture. A faint trail of a tear was still fresh on her cheeks.

Before he could cover the distance, she asked, "What are you doing here? Damien will be back any second."

She tried to stand to send him away, but he pressed his hand on her covered shoulder, making her sit back. Their eyes met. There wasn’t embarrassment. She could see his worry, and he could see her nervousness.

"Five minutes," he assured her.

He placed the first aid kit on the center table and took the cold gel pack from it. Smoothly unbuttoning his blazer, he knelt in front of her to apply cold pressure.

Aveline: "..."

Was he serious?

She immediately stopped him from reaching her foot. His kneeling before her was already hard for her to accept; now he was ready to help her with her feet.

She couldn’t believe his pride and ego dissolved in the face of her pain.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and spoke. "Maybe numbing cream." She didn’t have time to sit there.

Alaric didn’t agree immediately. She was thinking of walking back to the event with that foot. Even the thought of her smiling through the pain made something dark ripple in his chest.

He wanted to ruin the whole damn event just so she could rest. But she had a plan.

He could only say, "Your foot will swell."

"That’s the price I have to pay." She said quietly

She was stubborn, and he had to give in.

He looked through the kit and found the cream. Against her resistance, he carefully applied the cream without applying pressure. Yet she squirmed due to pain.

He clenched his jaw, finding it hard to watch her hurt.

Yet his actions remained gentle when he gave her pain relief medicine with a glass of water. "Leave the event before I lose it," he said and left without waiting for her response.

Aveline: "..."

She was the one injured, but why did he seem to be in pain?

She leaned on the couch and failed to hold on any longer. She let out a loud groan of pain.

A husband who was next to her didn’t know she was hurt, but another man was treating her the way a woman should be treated—with care, caution, and attentiveness.

"Snap out of it, Aveline," she reminded herself and went to the bedroom. She quickly changed, got rid of the tear stains, and applied lipstick. She was good to go.

The moment she put on her pump, pain coursed through her body, but she breathed out slowly. The door opened without a knock.

Damien entered, his frown deeper as if somebody had displeased him. However, as soon as his eyes fell on Aveline, his pace slowed down.

She was draped in midnight silk that kissed every curve like it had been hand-stitched just for her. The gown sculpted her hourglass frame with ruthless precision. One shoulder left bare, the other wrapped in that regal sweep of fabric that flowed into a cape.

She looked regal yet commanding.

Her arms glowed against the deep black, and her posture, her chin slightly lifted, back arched just enough, made him question his sanity.

Her hair was slicked back into a loose bun, revealing vintage deep emerald teardrop earrings that could buy out a lot of the investors who were in the hall.

Damien, who had forgotten how to breathe for a second, realized too late that he was staring. He rubbed his neck. Why was he... attracted to her?

He blamed the five days of no sex.

He blamed the slit of her previous dress.

He blamed her for looking like something forbidden.

All he could think was, maybe after the event, ’I’ll finally feast on her.’

Wearing her wrist watch and adjusting the cuff bracelet, Aveline carefully walked. "Let’s go..." She said flatly.

’And start the countdown of your fall,’ she didn’t say aloud.

Damien reached out to grab her waist, but she walked past him, leaving his hand in the air. He rubbed his fingers, watching her back.

’Let’s see how you’ll escape tonight,’ he began fantasizing.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m