Chapter 4

"Beatrice's life in the Rayne family isn't easy. No matter how hard she tries to prove herself, she always gets the short end of the stick. Without the Calloway family's support, she can't hold her own against her siblings.

"I asked her for a divorce ages ago, but because of some complicated issues, it kept getting postponed," Tristan said.

"That's also why our wedding keeps getting pushed back. You don't get it. The business ties between our families run too deep. It's not as simple as just walking away..." he added.

"Beatrice and I already have a son, but he's still just a kid. She needs the official status of Mrs. Calloway. We've been going back and forth about this for a while. I was going to tell you everything after the cruise was over, but I didn't expect to run into you here," Tristan explained.

"I can promise you, we'll get married overseas, but back home, she'll still have the official title as my wife," he said.

Tristan went down on one knee in front of Calista, holding her hands tightly.

"Calista, I swear I'll always be there for you. You and Beatrice will be worlds apart. Neither of you will ever get in each other's way.

"Beatrice has already agreed, and she's sworn to me again and again she'll never do anything to hurt you. Will you promise me too?" he said, looking at her earnestly.

Calista felt her heart turn cold. 'Men really are all the same,' she thought.

'There's always that one woman he can't get out of his heart, and another he can't bear to leave his bed,' she thought bitterly.

Calista pulled her hands back and responded with indifference.

"Fine," she said.

Tristan jumped up, his excitement barely contained. He hadn't expected her to agree so fast.

'Guess love really does conquer all,' he thought.

Tristan cupped her face in his hands and gave her a big kiss on each cheek.

"Wait here for a bit. I'll go let Beatrice know and have her get you the penthouse suite," Tristan said.

But Tristan didn't see Calista scrubbing at her face and hands like she couldn't get rid of the feeling, her expression full of distaste.

As Tristan turned around, he saw his son Lucas standing outside the door, clutching his toy dinosaur and looking stunned.

"Lucas? What are you doing here? It's bedtime for you!" Tristan said.

Lucas pressed his lips together, then his eyes lit up with a big smile.

"Dad, I was playing hide-and-seek with Mom, but she got hurt. I couldn't find any tape to stop the bleeding..." Lucas said.

Tristan dashed upstairs, while Lucas grabbed Calista by the hand and headed for the balcony.

"Pretty lady, can you help me see if my big toy fell down there? I dropped it by accident," Lucas said.

Just as Calista leaned over to check, someone suddenly grabbed her leg and hoisted her up, throwing her off balance. She tumbled straight down toward the deck.

The dizzying rush of falling and the wind howling past her ears left her throat too tight for any scream to escape.

"He's my dad! No one's allowed to take him from me!" Lucas shouted.

Calista looked at the cold, cruel look on Lucas's face and slowly closed her eyes.

'Maybe this is for the best. At least I'll finally be free,' she thought.

She crashed down onto the deck, everything instantly going black. The screams of a child and the frantic pounding of footsteps echoed in her ears.

"Stop! No!" someone shouted.

"Hey, are you alright? Wake up! Please, wake up!" another voice called out.

Calista barely managed to open her eyes, an agonizing pain stabbing deep into her leg. The floor was slick and wet beneath her. She couldn't even tell if it was blood or rain. 'Am I even still alive?' she wondered, her mind hazy with pain.

Beatrice looked pale as a ghost, slowly drifting awake in Tristan's arms.

"My hand... it hurts so bad..." she whispered.

She turned to glance at Calista lying nearby and gave her a comforting smile.

"I'm just glad you're okay..." she said softly.

Tristan frowned, gave Calista a quick glance, then scooped Beatrice up in his arms and started to leave.

"Calista, just hang in there. It's just a few scrapes for you, but Beatrice's arm is broken. Just wrap it up with your clothes for now," he said.

Lucas was crying, wiping his tears as he hurried after Tristan.

Calista lay in the rain, giving a wry, self-deprecating laugh.

It wasn't long before a stretcher arrived, and Calista was taken to the medical room.

Benjamin trailed after her, shielding her from the rain with his umbrella. As he waited outside the medical room, he punched the wall in anger.

Before long, Calista was wheeled back to her room.

Tristan showed up at the door with Beatrice, who had insisted on coming to apologize. Benjamin shot them both a cold look and let out a snort.

"At least you're self-aware. Is this what you call parenting? He's just a kid, and he already knows how to kill someone!" Benjamin snapped.

Benjamin's assistant handed Tristan a tablet, and caught on video was the exact moment Lucas grabbed Calista's leg from behind.

Beatrice covered her mouth, her face full of disbelief.

Her eyes were rimmed with tears as she kept shaking her head.

"No, this has to be a misunderstanding. Lucas kept telling us he just wanted to grab Calista's leg, but it was too slippery and he couldn't hold on to her... He's been crying, feeling guilty, blaming himself for being too weak," Beatrice said.

"Tristan, Lucas isn't even tall enough to reach the railing. How could he possibly have pushed Calista off? Calista, Lucas was just trying to find his toy with you, wasn't he? You slipped on your own, didn't you?" Beatrice pleaded.

Calista glanced at Beatrice, and for a split second, Beatrice's worried eyes overlapped with the ruthless glare Lucas had given her.