[Phoenix's Point-of-View]
Phoenix sat down with a cup of tea. She breathed out a heavy sigh as Jinhai went to Evelyn's room. She hadn't had the chance to really talk to Evelyn since but she knew that they would be okay. Evelyn has always been the strongest person she knew and she admired her greatly. The most recent discovery had to have been a heavy blow to her and she was trying her best to keep it together. It made Phoenix's problems pale in comparison.
Well she didn't really have any problems, the man she loved finally said he wanted to be with her. But she was still reluctant to listen to him. The pain and his rejection still stung. It kept her from reaching out to him and further losing any dignity she had left. She wasn't ready to let go yet.
She brought the tea to her lips and sipped at it gingerly. The water was still scalding hot. It was while she was lost in her thoughts that Jinhai slipped into a seat across from her.
"Is she okay?" Phoenix asked him. "No," he answered. He grabbed a glass and poured himself some Hennessy. Phoenix knew it couldn't be good by the look on his face. It was equal parts worry and anger. She scrunched her eyebrows up in worry. Jinhai took a sip of his drink before he took the seat across from her.
"What she found out about Shawn yesterday is really bothering her," he said in a barely constrained voice. "I don't know what I can do to help her," he answered truthfully.
"Kill him," Phoenix suggested. It wasn't quite a joke, the idea popped into her mind at least once in the past week and a half. "Tempting," he said with a wry smile. "But that won't make her feel better."
Phoenix sighed. "No, it won't. Did Zain tell you about it?" Jinhai shook his head.
"She went to sleep and woke up with blood all over the sheets. She's terrified of pools of blood now," Phoenix said. "But what's worse is that the doctors at the time couldn't do anything and had to tell her she lost her second child. It nearly destroyed her." Phoenix remembered seeing Evelyn after. She wouldn't talk to anyone and she looked life she was severely malnourished. She had been pale and lifeless. Shawn had been caring, but she knew now that it was a ruse. He was just bidding his time.
She noticed Jinhai's hands were holding the glass tightly, threatening to break the glass. She placed her hand on top of his and he eyed it but didn't release his grip or look at her.
"I can't believe I wasn't there," he said. "I can't believe I let her marry that piece of trash." Phoenix felt herself soften. He was blaming himself and he had no reason to.
"You thought she was happy, we all did," she said gently. "You thought you were doing the right thing by letting her go."
"I didn't have to stay away from her. I didn't want to see her with him," his voice was barely above a whisper. "I don't think there is a single person that would judge you for that," Phoenix tried to reason with him.
His lips lifted on one corner in an almost sinister way. "You mean no one brave enough to say it out loud." Phoenix gave a soft laugh.
"Why didn't you try to stay in her life? You didn't have to spend time with him." Phoenix asked.
"I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to be mine. I stayed away so I wouldn't be tempted to do anything that I would regret," he answered.
"Why didn't you tell her how you felt sooner?" She asked. "The timing was never right. By the time she was old enough I was learning starting to learn management of the company. By the I had a handle on things, she was learning the same thing. Then she met Shawn. She was so in love with him, that I couldn't ruin that for her." he answered, taking another sip of his drink.
"If I thought he was capable of anything that he's done, I wouldn't have let her marry him," he said.
"Jinhai, no one can change what happened. And the only person who needs to be held responsible is Shawn," Phoenix said.
"You're right," Evelyn said from her doorway. Jinhai spun around and Phoenix looked up. She took the seat next to Jinhai and grabbed his glass. She tipped the glass back before Jinhai could grab it from her.
"He tried to take everything from me. He took everything I held near and dear to my heart and tore it to shreds. I'm going to take everything he cares about," Evelyn said. Phoenix and Jinhai exchanged a look with each other.
Phoenix approved of the idea but the calmness and conviction in Evelyn's voice made her worry. It was an eerie kind of calm.
"I'm starting with the project. The shareholder elections will be soon. I'm making a play for the CEO position. Then I will destroy it. I will dismantle CGC piece by piece. As for Amy, I haven't figured how far I wanted to go with that." Evelyn said.
"She's not innocent. She wanted to hurt you. Don't let her off easy," Phoenix said. Jinhai remained quiet his eyes on Evelyn.
"She knew you were pregnant and still made a move on Shawn. I'm willing to bet that she knew about the pill," Phoenix continued. At the mention of that Evelyn's eyes turned cold. 'Shit!' Phoenix thought. 'I went too far.'
Phoenix sipped her tea. She was worried about Evelyn. She'd known her for so long but she had never seen the look of determination and ferocity that was on Evelyn's face.
Phoenix still had a hard time believing that Shawn could be so cruel. She remembered when Evelyn and him had first started dating. They seemed to be the perfect couple. For the first time Evelyn wasn't thinking of Jinhai.
After the loss of their first child, Shawn had been devastated. But he never blamed Evelyn. He was supportive. Then he began to work long hours. It was fine because Evelyn threw herself into her work too.
"Then I'll wait. She'll go down with Shawn, once they become more public," Evelyn said. "Are you ready for the presentation?" Jinhai asked.
"For the most part. You know you can't help me more than you already have. You know CGC is going to sue me for pitching the idea and when I get it," Evelyn said.
Jinhai nodded. He played with Coffee in the living room. Garfield jumped onto Phoenix's lap. She petted him, running her fingers through his fur.
"But your dad came to you with that idea. It was yours before it was CGC's," Phoenix said. "But my contract said the work I did was under their company," Evelyn said.
"You didn't use CGC's resources, orginially. Only when you began to gain traction," Phoenix reasoned. She remembered when Evelyn first told her about it. It was what brought purpose to Evelyn again.
Evelyn's eyes turned brighter. "You're right. I didn't. When I first reached out to experts and researched locations, I didn't do it in the name of VP of CGC."
Phoenix smiled, finally some good news. At least Evelyn was going to be preparred for the shit Shawn was going to pull.