Her words fell, and the atmosphere around the table became noticeably heavier, as though an invisible weight had suddenly settled over everyone present.
The tension was palpable.
Several members of the Evercrest family had their expressions twitch slightly as they silently glared at Sylvia.
Others tightened their fingers around their cutlery, their knuckles turning pale from the pressure, while Mark drew in a deep, sharp breath.
He couldn’t help but wonder whether this woman was deliberately trying to get herself killed or she simply had no idea what kind of people she had just married.
Old man Valen only glanced at her and said nothing.
Kyle, on the other hand, shot her a deadly look that made it clear just how much disgust he felt toward such an uncultured woman.
However, there was little he could do to her at that moment.
At least not while everyone was still seated around the dinner table.Besides, he believed this marriage was only a sham, a ploy to control Damian.
The Evercrests have been far more powerful than the Quinns.
And surely, with their status and experience, they were expected to be more capable of handling an unpleasant truth without allowing their emotions to get the better of them.
And that was exactly what happened.
No matter how unreconciled they felt by Sylvia’s words…everyone forced their expressions to remain composed, refusing to allow their anger to completely surface.
But then, when had the Evercrests ever been spoken to like this?
When had anyone ever dared to sit at their dinner table and question their family’s conduct so openly, without the slightest fear of the consequences?
Yet Sylvia paid little attention to whatever thoughts were running through their minds.
There was only one thing she was certain of.
She couldn’t bring herself to stomach such injustice.
They had all seen Damian deliberately provoking and bullying her, yet none of them had made any effort to stop him.
But the moment she retaliated, they immediately began lecturing her about his condition and his difficulties.
‘Who doesn’t have difficulties?’ Though she lowered her head to the food before her.
She carefully captured every expression around the table, memorizing the subtle changes in their faces and the restrained anger hidden behind their polite exteriors.
And just as Amara had warned her, these people were certainly not simple.
Judging from their expressions alone, Sylvia could tell that there was far more beneath the surface than they were willing to show.
She could only click her tongue inwardly.
Everyone at the table swallowed hard before casting a quick glance toward the old man, who had remained silent throughout the entire exchange.
“Sister-in-law, you have to be more understanding and accommodating of my brother.
It’s really not his fault.” Drake’s voice carried a faint trace of amusement as he spoke, and a subtle smirk appeared on his lips.
Listening to the tone of his voice and noticing the amusement he was making no effort to hide, Sylvia scoffed inwardly.
‘Two-headed Viper.’ She slowly turned toward him, and their gazes locked for a brief moment.
For that brief instant, a strange coldness flickered in Drake’s eyes before disappearing so quickly that anyone else might have believed they had imagined it.
But Sylvia caught it.
She was certain she had seen it.
Her lips curled into a faint smile.
“Neither is it mine,” she countered calmly, her voice carrying a quiet defiance.
Drake’s lips curled into a subtle smile as he carefully lifted his glass to his lips and took a leisurely sip.
‘Interesting.’ Sylvia’s brows furrowed slightly as she continued watching him.
‘Why does it seem like he is actually enjoying this?’ She thought to herself .
‘What medicine is he selling in his gourd?’ No matter how she thought about it, everything about Drake seemed strange.
From the moment Sylvia had stepped into the Evercrest mansion, he had barely spared her a glance.
He had behaved as though her presence meant absolutely nothing to him.
And yet, whenever he did look at her, there was something in his eyes that immediately made her wary.
Now, after everything that had happened, he still didn’t appear the least bit offended on Damian’s behalf.
If anything, he seemed entertained by the entire situation.
Sylvia swiftly advised herself to be cautious of him.
Valen eventually sighed, his voice carrying the exhaustion of a man who simply wanted the tension around the table to disappear.
“It was such a good day.
Must we make it so unpleasant?” His gaze settled on Sylvia, and the sternness in his expression softened slightly.
“Leslie… Damian might have gone out of line.
I apologize on his behalf.” Listening to the old man’s words, Sylvia gritted her teeth and glared at Damian.
Several sharp retorts were already sitting at the tip of her tongue, demanding to be released, but she forced every single one of them back.
She couldn’t be unreasonable and disrespectful toward the old man.
If anything, she still wanted his support.
Besides, she had already said enough.
There was no reason to turn the entire dinner into an even bigger confrontation when she could simply walk away and allow the matter to end there.
Unfortunately, Damian clearly had no intention of letting things end so easily.
He coughed lightly before speaking, his voice calm enough to make his words even more irritating.
“Apologizing on my behalf when I was the one she hurt?
Isn’t it fitting that she apologize to me?” Mark swallowed hard before glancing in Damian’s direction.
‘Boss, can’t you let this go…just for this moment?’ But he dared not say those words aloud especially not at this table.
Sylvia slowly turned her eyes toward Damian.
For several seconds, she simply stared at him as though trying to determine whether he was genuinely serious .
Then she scoffed.
“You want me to apologize?” “Why not?” Damian snickered.
“Shouldn’t that be decent of you?” The amusement in his voice immediately made Sylvia’s blood boil.
She stared at him for several more seconds, her expression calm.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, she said, “In your dreams… Damian Evercrest, I owe you no apology.” Her words fell heavily across the dining table and held their breath almost expecting her to say more.
Instead, she slowly placed her cutlery down.
Every movement she made was calm, controlled, and deliberate.
Looking at her it…it was as though she had already decided that the argument was beneath her and had no intention of wasting another moment on it.
She pushed her chair back slightly before rising from her seat.
“Enjoy your family dinner.” With those words, Sylvia turned away and walked off, leaving the entire table staring after her.
For a brief moment, nobody spoke.
Damian’s lips curled slightly and beneath the glasses on his face, there was a strange glimmer of amusement hidden behind it…one that was practically difficult for anyone to notice.
“You all continue.” With that, he pushed his wheelchair backward.
Mark immediately stood up, rounded the table, and walked behind him before carefully taking hold of the wheelchair handles.
Without another word, he helped Damian toward his room.
The moment the two of them disappeared from sight, Kyle set down the spoon in his hand with a frustrated expression.
“Dad…did you see what just happened?” Valen glanced at him calmly.
“What happened?” Kyle stared at him in disbelief.
“Are you really asking me that?
Can’t you see that Quinn’s girl is uncultured and rude?” “That doesn’t erase the fact that Damian provoked her first.
We all saw it.
He was practically throwing a tantrum, and she was the one at the receiving end of it,” Valen countered calmly.
Kyle’s expression darkened.
“But that shouldn’t be a reason for her to insult everyone.” “Where was the insult?” Valen asked, his brow furrowing slightly.
Kyle immediately answered, “She was questioning the Evercrest family’s teachings.” A faint smile appeared on Valen’s lips.
Unlike Kyle, he seemed completely unaffected by Sylvia’s behavior.
“The Evercrest family has always been worshipped and respected.
Everyone is accustomed to agreeing with us and praising everything we do.” He leaned back slightly in his chair, his expression thoughtful rather than angry.
“So, perhaps it is actually quite good to finally have someone who is willing to say otherwise.” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Lilyheart Don’t forget to support this work with GT and PS