He gave a playful shrug. "That was my first time. Do you really think 'thanks' is enough?" Damian's eyes were filled with mock melancholy, as though blocking her from making any more excuses.
"What first time?" Elena asked, confused.
Damian smirked as he spoke. "The first time I got involved in someone else's business."
Elena let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Then she regained her composure and explained, "My stepmother tried to marry me off to a dying, disabled man. I would rather die than be with him. But thank you, truly, for saving me."
"You'd rather die than marry him?" Damian asked, amusement flickering in his eyes.
Seeing her nervous expression, Damian's smile grew wider. "Last night was supposed to be my wedding night. But with you running off, it looks like I'm not getting married anytime soon. You'll have to make it up to me."
"Wait, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were supposed to get married last night," Elena said, genuinely sorry. But compensating him seemed like too much to ask.
"Forget it. You're beautiful enough. Look at that dress you're wearing—it's worth a fortune. I'm just a poor man, after all." Damian sighed, disappointment clouding his face.
When Elena saw the way he looked, her heart softened. "It's not what you think."
Damian's smile returned as he grabbed her hand playfully. "Then, how about you come with me to meet my parents?"
"What? No, not now…" Elena quickly pulled her hand back. "I have something I need to take care of first. I'll leave my phone number with you, and we can get in touch later."
First, she had to confront her stepmother.
"I'll be waiting," Damian said, his teasing tone softening.
Elena scribbled down her number and hurriedly left. Little did she know, she had written down one wrong digit in her haste.
Damian watched her retreating form with intrigue, then glanced down at the necklace she had left behind on the bed. He chuckled quietly.
At that moment, his phone rang.
"Boss, the bride ran away. We haven't heard a word from you all night. Where were you last night? Was there something more important than your wedding?"
Damian replied, his voice unusually tender. "I was with my bride."
Waldo Hale, who was on the other end of the line, was stunned. "Boss, are you serious? The bride ran away? By the way, the Smith family has some nerve. You were supposed to marry Selena Cross, but the one who showed up last night was the lesser-known Miss Cross. Selena was married off to the Caldwell family instead."
A quick-witted man like Waldo pieced things together immediately. "Boss, the old man said you should handle it."
"Send someone to the Cross family to break the engagement," Damian instructed, his tone sharp.
Then, after a pause, he added, "No, wait. Don't bother."
Waldo sounded even more confused. "Boss, the Cross family is playing tricks. Your supposed wife is already married to the Caldwell family. How can you just let it go?"
Damian's usual demeanor, cold and calculating, faltered. "I don't let things go that easily."
Waldo hesitated before speaking again. "Boss, you've only been left at the altar, not divorced or had a broken engagement before. If you go to break the engagement now, the Cross family will suspect something's off, and everything we've done so far will go to waste."
Damian thought for a moment before replying. "This one won't be 'dead'."
"Boss, you have a new plan?" Waldo was baffled.
Damian shifted the subject. "Get me a cheap car."
"For what?"
"To chase my wife."
When Elena arrived at the entrance of the Cross house, she saw Henry Cross and Vivian Cross courteously escorting a middle-aged man out the door.
This man had been sent by the Blackwell family to break off the engagement.
At first, the Blackwell family had forced the Cross family to marry their daughter off, but now, they had sent someone to annul the engagement. The bride had fled the wedding, yet the Blackwell family hadn't made a scene, leaving Henry puzzled.
As the man got into his car and drove away, Henry wiped the sweat off his brow, then turned to Elena, his voice full of frustration. "Elena, look at what you've done! How dare you come back here? If it weren't for the Blackwell family's generosity, the Cross family would have been finished."
Elena stared at her father coldly. "Dad, do you know what happened last night?"