The color drained from Seraphina Quinn's face, and panic flickered in her eyes.
'The cold, heartless man before her,' she told herself, 'is no longer the man I loved five years ago.'
He was married now, with a woman worthy of him by his side.
'And back then... I was the one who wronged him. He hates me so much; I can never tell him we truly have a son.'
The moment he found out, he would stop at nothing to take her son from her.
At that thought, Seraphina Quinn turned her face away and declared in a voice only he could hear, "Bear your child? You aren't worthy!"
The words had barely left her mouth when the man's fingers dug cruelly into her chin again, the pain forcing her to face him.
He was even more handsome than he had been five years ago. The aura of his immense power made him seem flawless, impossibly perfect.
Seraphina Quinn saw a deep-seated desire for destruction in his eyes.
She heard him say, his voice dripping with sarcasm:
"That's true. I begged you not to get rid of our child, but he still ended up as nothing but a pool of blood. Still, he's long dead. There's no point in bringing it up now."
Tears streamed down Seraphina Quinn's face again. "Then why… why are you being so cruel to me?"
Her furious crying, the redness of her eyes, the way she looked both wronged and yet restrained—it all just irritated Damian Fairchild.
He finally released her, then unhurriedly pulled out an antiseptic wipe and began to clean his fingers.
"Seraphina, that's a heartless thing to say. I swooped in and paid off the Quinn family's five hundred million in debt and even bought back Quinn Manor for you. Is that so cruel?"
Seraphina Quinn: "You're not that kind-hearted…"
"That's not important."
"What's important is that I'm your creditor now, so you have to be like a dog for my amusement. Understand?"
Damian Fairchild's patience had finally run out. He called for his assistant, Seth Thorne. "This is no place for her. Get her out of here."
With that, he crumpled the used antiseptic wipe into a ball and beckoned to Ivy Sharp, who was still slapping herself across the face. "You. Come here."
Ivy Sharp was trembling with fear, but the thought of her father, Harold Sharp, and his crippled right hand made her dare not refuse.
She shuffled timidly before Damian Fairchild. "Mr. Fair—"
She had barely opened her mouth when he shoved the balled-up antiseptic wipe into it. His face was devoid of expression as he said,
"Since you have a foul mouth and don't know how to speak, you should disinfect it properly." He paused. "Swallow it. If you spit it out, I'll rip your tongue out."
With tears in her eyes, Ivy Sharp swallowed.
Next, Damian Fairchild picked up a glass of red wine and flung its contents in Rosalind Grant's face.
"Oops, my hand slipped." He paused, a smirk playing on his lips. "But still… congratulations to Miss Grant and Mr. Morgan on your engagement."
If Landon Morgan hadn't held her back, a furious Rosalind Grant would have lunged at him.
"Calm down. He's not someone we can afford to cross."
By the time Damian Fairchild got back to the car, Seraphina Quinn had just hung up with her friend, Zella Buckley.
Zella Buckley had been apologizing over the phone. "Seraphina, I'm so sorry. I… I forgot you had a history with Rosalind Grant and the others…"
Seraphina Quinn: "It's fine. You meant well…"
Zella Buckley had been backstage changing her dress when the incident occurred.
"Seraphina, are… are you okay?" Zella Buckley asked, hesitating. "Damian Fairchild clearly has it in for you. Don't you think you should tell him the truth about what happened…"
Seraphina Quinn was exhausted. "There's no point. He's… married now. So just… let the past stay in the past."
Zella Buckley was stunned. "He's… married? Seraphina, does that mean all you've suffered through these years was for nothing? How is it fair that he gets to become this untouchable, powerful figure, while you're stuck…"
Seraphina Quinn: "Buckley, there's no point talking about this anymore, is there?"
Just as Seraphina Quinn ended the call with Zella Buckley, Damian Fairchild opened the car door and got in.
'At this point, I'm in his clutches, with no hope of escape.'
'Instead of struggling fruitlessly, I might as well try to get the best deal for myself.'
With that thought, Seraphina Quinn decided to strike first. "Damian Fairchild."
"Hm?"
"Does it give you pleasure to humiliate me like a dog?"
Damian Fairchild raised his gaze to her, waiting for her to continue.
"Wasn't it enough to force me to be your mistress? Did you have to humiliate me in public too? You must be thrilled, getting your revenge in a way that hurts more than a knife to the gut."
"You resent me for doing whatever it took to divorce you, and you hate me for getting rid of our… child. Everything you're doing now—it's all just revenge because you can't let go of your hatred, isn't it?"
"Will you only let me go if I'm dead?"
Damian Fairchild's eyes narrowed. He glanced at the wet tear tracks on her face and sneered,
"Death would be letting you off too easy. Besides, you can't afford to die." He paused, adding pointedly, "Your uncle rotting in prison, your grandfather paralyzed in bed… do you dare die before they do?"
A sharp pain pierced Seraphina Quinn's heart. She took a deep breath.
"Fine. Since I can't escape your revenge no matter what, let's negotiate."
Damian Fairchild stared at her, his face impassive. "What leverage do you think you have to negotiate with me?"
Seraphina Quinn lowered her head, her voice hoarse. "Didn't you say that Mrs… Fairchild has liver failure? That my liver could save her life? Isn't that my leverage?"
"It is."
Seraphina Quinn's throat tightened as she spoke.
"I can give a part of my liver to save your wife. I can even work as a nanny in your home until she recovers. But you need to pay me for my work." She took a breath. "Beyond that, there will be no other relationship between us."
Damian Fairchild let out a cold laugh. "Other relationship? You mean a physical one?"
"Yes. I'd rather die than be your mistress!"
Damian Fairchild laughed again. "But you've already climbed into my bed. You seduced me, a married man."
The color drained from Seraphina Quinn's face. "All the more reason to draw a line between us!"
Damian Fairchild: "Five hundred million for the Quinn family's debt plus Quinn Manor. That's not enough for you? You still want to ask me for wages? You've got some nerve."
"Your wife's life is more valuable than mine. You paid off the Quinn family's debt and bought back Quinn Manor, but not for my sake. You did it to get my liver and to humiliate me. All I'm doing now is asking for payment on top of that transaction. Is that so wrong?"
"Fine. How much?"
Seraphina Quinn: "Three hundred thousand a month!"
'My son's medical treatments cost at least a hundred-something thousand a month.'
'Plus, my grandfather, paralyzed and in a nursing home, also needed… money.'
'Three hundred thousand was the bare minimum.'
"Miss Quinn, my money doesn't grow on trees. Even the top models at the nightclubs don't cost as much as you."
"Still, for you to ask, you must be desperate for cash. Why don't I run it by my wife?"
As he spoke, Damian Fairchild actually made a call.
Seeing this, Seraphina Quinn scrambled to stop him.
'A nanny asking for three hundred thousand? Anyone would assume there was something improper going on between her and the man of the house.'
'I don't want to confirm our sordid affair. I don't want to hurt the innocent Mrs. Fairchild.'
She said frantically, "Don't."
But the call had already connected, and the voice of a little girl came through the phone's speaker.
"Daddy, when are you tumming home? Mommy made dinner in the kitchen, and we're waiting for you to tum home and eat!"
Seraphina Quinn's eyes widened in disbelief. She stared at Damian Fairchild, her voice trembling so hard she could barely speak. "You… you have a daughter?"