Listening to the old man defend Sylvia was already unbelievable.
But hearing him say that the Evercrest family needed someone to remind them of their place was completely unexpected.
The expressions of everyone around the table morphed into complete disbelief.
Kyle stared at his father, clearly unable to understand his reasoning.
He had expected his father to reprimand Sylvia for her audacity, not defend her in front of everyone.
Yet Valen’s smile only deepened slightly.
For some reason, Sylvia’s boldness did not anger him.
Instead, it made him curious.
It had been a long time since anyone had dared to challenge the Evercrests so openly.
Most people either feared them or went out of their way to please them.
Sylvia, however, had done neither.
She had spoken her mind without hesitation, even when she knew exactly who was sitting around that table.
Perhaps that was precisely why Valen found her behavior so interesting.
Or maybe it was the memory of his late wife…Dora was never the type to give anyone face whenever she was pissed.
The memory of her still lingered heavily in his mind.
And having this granddaughter–in–law might be more relieving than the daughters of several elite families.
Meanwhile, Sylvia returned to her room with anger simmering inside her and absolutely nowhere to vent it.
The moment she entered, she kicked off her slippers and walked toward the bed before throwing herself onto it.
‘Damn you, crippled man!’ She buried her face in the pillow for a moment before lifting her head again.
‘What was the use of going to dinner when I wasn’t even going to be allowed to eat?’ She grumbled under her breath, still unable to get over what had happened.
Sylvia had always preferred eating a light meal at night, and there were even times when she went to bed without eating anything at all.
Therefore, missing dinner itself wasn’t what had truly upset her.
But the fact that she had wasted her time going downstairs simply to give the Evercrest family a face.
She had gone there intending to behave like a proper wife and make a good impression on Damian’s family.
Instead, she had been treated like an intruder and even ended up being humiliated.
‘What an injustice?’ For a moment, Sylvia couldn’t help but wonder why Damian would go to such lengths to humiliate her in front of his family.
‘Had he ever considered that I was also a victim?’ She clenched her fingers against the sheets.
‘Otherwise, why would I willingly choose to marry a crippled, visually impaired heir at such an age?’ ‘Wouldn’t it have been much easier for him to stay in his lane while I stayed in mine?’ The more she thought about it, the more grievances burned through her mind.
Unfortunately, none of them could answer the question that bothered her the most or even made her calm down.
Rather they flooded her mind in torrents.
Why was Damian so hostile toward her?
She had never asked for this marriage.
She had never wanted to replace Leslie.
And she had been forced into this marriage just as much as he had.
So why did he act as though she was the person who had ruined his life?
Then, suddenly, something occurred to her.
Sylvia sat upright.
Her eyes immediately fell on the thick manila envelope sitting on the table.
The file.
The old man had given it to her on the ride back and had told her that it contained information about Damian.
He had even suggested that it might be of tremendous help to her.
At the time, she had casually dropped it on the table after entering her room and completely forgotten about it.
She quickly scrambled out of the and headed to the table.
Then she reached for it but the moment she lifted the envelope, she frowned.
It felt strangely heavy in her hand.
She wasn’t sure whether it was because of the amount of information inside or simply because of the weight of everything about Damian.
Still, she hoped she could find at least one useful answer inside, she needed to understand him better.
So she could figure out the best way to avoid him in the future.
At least for the period their sham marriage would last.
Sylvia slowly returned to her bed and sat down.
She turned the envelope over several times, studying it carefully before finally opening it.
The old man had said it was about Damian and sure enough, every information on it had been about him.
Sylvia didn’t know why, but she suddenly found herself reading every detail with unusual seriousness.
The information inside was surprisingly comprehensive in a way she didn’t expect.
It contained details about Damian’s childhood, education, personality, achievements and even his behavior before the accident and after the accident.
But the more Sylvia read, the more certain she became that there had to be some kind of mix-up.
Either the old man didn’t know his grandson as well as he believed he did, or perhaps this was simply the image of Damian he had carried in his heart all these years.
Otherwise, it was impossible to explain what she was reading.
The Damian described in the file seemed completely different from the man she had met these past few hours.
Though it might be wrong to judge him outrightly after the first two interactions but first impression still matters.
According to the report, Damian was calm, stable, considerate, protective, disciplined, and well-mannered.
Sylvia stared at the page for several seconds.
She couldn’t bring herself to believe it.
From everything she had seen from Damian so far, he was the very definition of an arrogant jerk.
A bully.
A narcissist.
And, if the public’s description was anything to go by, a genuine ‘Devil.’ She continued reading for a while, hoping that something would eventually make sense.
But nothing did.
Finally, she lost patience and slapped the file against the mattress.
“It’s no use reading this,” she muttered.
“I will judge his character myself as the days go by and then make decisions.” She stared at the file for another moment before adding, “Besides, I still have my own sense of judgment.” She placed the file beside her and slowly lay back down, her eyes fixed on the ceiling.
But her mind refused to rest.
Instead, it began replaying every scene from dinner.
From a distance, the Evercrest family had appeared almost harmonious.
They had eaten together, spoken to one another, and behaved like an ordinary family.
But for the whole time she sat at the table Sylvia noticed the subtle tension and undercurrent beneath those facade of harmony.
There were too many unspoken things.
Too many carefully controlled expressions and too many glances that seemed to carry meanings she didn’t understand.
Suddenly, one thought struck her.
The woman sitting beside Kyle should have been…
Sylvia’s eyes widened.
“Damian’s mother?” she whispered in surprise.
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