Chapter 26

Dawson's original plan for the afternoon was to return to the office, but he changed it at the last minute and went to a restaurant instead. Autumn found this strange, but then she remembered that although the buffet earlier had been filled with delicacies, almost everyone was drinking, and barely anyone had touched their food. Dawson hadn't picked up his food at all. Of course, she herself had been so tense she hadn't eaten a single bite either.

The driver was behind the wheel. Autumn sat in the front passenger seat, while Dawson and Jamie were in the back. Once things quieted down, Autumn began to feel a stinging pain in her hand. She opened her left palm. The skin below her thumb had been scraped badly. Some areas had already scabbed over, but a few wounds had cracked open again, and blood was seeping out.

She had thought she was only delivering a document and would head straight back to the office, so she hadn't brought her bag. She had no tissues or alcohol wipes. She considered getting out to find a nearby pharmacy to disinfect the wound, but the car had already started moving. It didn't seem right to delay everyone for such a small injury.

Suddenly, Dawson's voice came from behind. "Stop the car."

The car halted at once. Autumn tensed and turned back. Dawson was looking right at her. "Get out and take care of that wound."

She hadn't expected him to notice. Quickly, she got out of the car and ran to the pharmacy to save time.

A message popped up on her work WhatsApp.

Jamie: “Take care of your wound. Don't worry about the time. We'll wait for you.”

Autumn knew Jamie was looking out for her because of Olivia.

Autumn: “I'll be quick.”

The pharmacist carefully disinfected her injuries. The deeper scrapes were covered with bandages, while the smaller ones didn't need anything.

“It's not serious,” the pharmacist said, “but try to keep it dry. It'll heal faster.”

Autumn nodded, paid, and left—only to come face-to-face with Damien and Emilia. While she had been getting her hand treated, Damien had picked up a box of bandages and iodine swabs. Clearly, they were for Emilia.

So, she had been right. Damien had rushed off last night just because of a minor scrape on Emilia's finger. Such a small cut had been enough to throw the usually composed Damien into a panic.

Damien always had help with everything. He hardly lifted a finger for anything mundane. Yet here he was in a pharmacy, buying medicine. Seeing it with her own eyes, Autumn found herself no longer emotional about it. Strangely, she felt nothing.

Damien's eyes paused on her injured hand for a second, then lifted to meet her gaze. “You’re injured too?”

That word—too—made Autumn press her lips together. He thought she had copied Emilia, that she'd injured herself just to get his attention, like some petty competition.

Since the divorce, Damien's constant misunderstandings no longer felt worth explaining. But this time, she wanted to respond. So, she did. Her voice was cool. “No one wants to get hurt on purpose.”

Damien's brows knit together.

“I have things to do,” Autumn said and walked past them.

Emilia watched her back as she left. Suddenly, she didn't think Autumn was the clever, well-mannered woman her step-mother, Christine, had described, nor the gentle, quiet woman Barry had painted her to be. This clumsy attempt at playing hard to get felt stiff and awkward. Autumn must've been exhausted from keeping up the act. But none of that had much to do with her.

Barry and Jayden also happened to arrive at the pharmacy, just in time to see Autumn leaving. Barry noticed the bandage on her hand and was about to ask what had happened, but she was already gone. He stood still for a second, then stepped inside. “Did she get that injury from the fall at the venue?”

He hadn't put it together earlier.

Emilia frowned slightly. “Barry, are you really that concerned about her?”

Barry immediately caught the subtle shift in Emilia's tone. “I just made a connection, that's all. You guys didn't?”

Maybe it really was just a reflexive thought, but Emilia still didn't like how much attention Barry gave to Autumn. She was an irrelevant person, and for people of their status, there was no need to bother.

Emilia didn't respond.

Boyden, however, said coldly, “What a performance. A minor injury, and she just had to parade it in front of us.”