Chapter 3

I carefully enunciated each word, making it crystal clear to him: "I'm already married, Mr. Winters."

Damien's expression instantly froze. After several seconds, it morphed into a dismissive sneer.

"Melody, you don't actually think I'd be jealous just because you said that, do you?" He strode towards me. "What's the matter? Has Genevieve's return to the country affected you so much that you've started spouting nonsense?"

I grew somewhat angry, glaring at him in annoyance. "I'm not talking nonsense. I really am married. We just got the certificate."

Damien burst into laughter, not believing a word of it. He teased me, "Oh really? Who did you marry? Show me the marriage certificate then."

I fell silent.

It wasn't until we got the certificate that I realized Grandma Stone's grandson was actually Damien's uncle by marriage.

That man was polite and gentlemanly, but quiet. After we got the certificate, he had to leave urgently for a business trip. I didn't know if he'd want to make our marriage public right now.

Seeing my silence, Damien let out a mocking laugh.

"If you're going to lie, at least make it believable. Otherwise, it's just a joke." With that, Damien continued to instruct me, "I'm hungry. Go make dinner."I am walking up the stairs: "If you want to eat, order takeout yourself."

Damien watches my retreating figure in disbelief: "Has Genevieve affected you that much? Making you challenge me like this."

I really want to slam our marriage certificate in Damien's face, telling him that my current behavior isn't due to any emotional impact, and I certainly don't care about him one bit anymore.

Luckily, I held back.

Before I start packing, I take out the wedding ring from my bag and place it on the bedside table.

As I open the wardrobe, about to pull out my suitcase, Damien's voice suddenly comes from the doorway: "Go clean up the guest room quickly, Genevieve is coming to stay here for a few days."

I don't want to clean any room, but refusing would lead to an argument. Not wanting to fight, I remain silent, playing dead.

Surprisingly, Damien isn't angry at my response. He says with a smile: "Don't want to, huh? That's fine..."

He walks into the bedroom, speaking leisurely: "Then you can give up your room for her to stay in."

Although Damien and I are living together, we mostly sleep in separate rooms. Damien says he needs his own space, and I'm more than happy with this arrangement because catering to Damien is truly exhausting.Damien stared at me, waiting for me to get angry or upset.

But I disappointed him. I showed no emotional reaction at all and cooperatively said, "Okay, I'll pack up my room now."

This actually gave me a legitimate reason to move out.

Damien was very dissatisfied with my reaction. He flew into a rage and slammed the door as he left.

I didn't care. I focused on packing my things.

After all, I had lived in this mansion for four or five years. Everything in the room was my own. I had initially planned to take away everything related to me, but after packing, I realized there was so much.

So I gave up on that idea and only packed the most frequently used and important items.

This made packing much faster, taking less than two hours.

Finally, I looked at the bookshelf, hesitating for a long time. In the end, I just couldn't bear to part with my books, so I found a box to pack them in. If I had the chance, I'd come back for them later.

The sound of high heels clicked in the hallway. Genevieve had arrived.

"I'm so sorry, little sister Melody," Genevieve said. Her outfit and makeup were impeccably put together, like a peacocking mean girl, arrogant and showy. "I'm going to need to borrow your room for a while."I stood on tiptoe to reach for a book on the top shelf, coldly replying, "No need to be embarrassed. Your skin is thick enough anyway."

Genevieve's expression changed. "Are you insulting me? Who do you think you are to dare insult me?"

She stormed into the room, threatening me, "Do you believe that with one word from me, I could have you thrown out of here?"

I cautiously took two steps back. "What are you trying to do?"