Chapter 20

He looked down at the sweet little woman clinging to his neck,obedient and soft.

That coy expression of hers was seriously messing with his head.

He leaned in, gently kissing her flushed lips, lingering a bit longer than necessary.

"Knock knock knock!"

The untimely knock on the door immediately killed the mood.

Tristan let out a low sigh and buried his face into the crook of her neck, breathing in the light floral scent clinging to her skin.

Desire still lingered in his eyes as he walked to open the door with a darkened expression.

The cold air from the opened door made Lina and Rachel,who stood outside,shiver a bit.

"You need something?"

Rachel raised the deck of cards in her hand."Hehe,we wanna play cards."

Tristan shot them a rather annoyed glare before striding out of the room. The two sisters grinned and closed the door behind them, happily rushing in.

Megan was standing by the tall window, gazing out at the view.

They instinctively glanced at the bed-neatly made,not a wrinkle in sight.

Lina breathed a quiet sigh of relief and raised her brows at Rachel, as if saying: nice,we didn't ruin their alone time.

Megan walked up and grabbed their hands. "Come sit."

Rachel's eyes casually roamed over Megan-until they landed on her neck. The smile on her face froze mid -curve.

"Hold up. is that a hickey?" she gasped, practically choking on her own words. "Right there on your neck -girl,my brain just short-circuited!"

Lina followed her gaze and let out a soft groan. "Oh no. Rae,your Meridian University is in danger."

Megan instantly realized what they were staring at.

That devil Tristan had definitely done it on purpose-like leaving a signature.

She suppressed the urge to groan, quickly reaching up to brush her hair over the mark, fingers grazing the sore spot.

Yep. That was gonna bruise.

Trying to play it off, she gave an awkward laugh. "Oh -uh,I burned myself with the curling iron this morning. Total fail."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "On your neck?"

Megan doubled down. "I was in a hurry. Wrong angle.It happens."

Lina and Rachel both gave her looks like yeah-right Who would buy that excuse?

"Didn't you wanna play cards?" Megan asked, breaking the awkward silence.

Rachel patted her chest proudly. "I'm actually really good at cards! Lina taught me Uno once, and boom-l became a legend. Come on, Megan, let's go."

And she wasn't bluffing-Rachel was ruthless.

She slammed down a Draw Four, followed by a Skip,then flashed her last card with a smug grin.

"Uno,baby."

Megan blinked. "Did she just reverse, skip, and nuke me in one turn?"

Lina shrugged, trying not to laugh. "We usually bet cocktails. Rae's luck is ridiculous."

Translation? If Lina didn't cheat once in a while,Rachel would have a personal bartender by now.

Megan gave Lina an amused side-eye. "Didn't peg you for the sneaky type."

She smiled. "Rae, promise me you won't play like this at school."

"Why not?" Megan leaned in, all sincere and big-sisterly. "Think about it. You're lucky and good at the game-if you win too much, no one's gonna want to play with you anymore." Basically, keep it up and people will think you're clueless.

Rachel flashed a sweet grin. "Got it, Megan.""Just thinking about going to school with you tomorrow has me all excited," Rachel said with a grin. "Hey,how about me and Mom just move into Dreamscape?Makes things easier."

Lina cleared her throat. "Rachel, come on-they just got married. Don't go playing the third wheel."

Rachel's gaze shifted awkwardly to the faint mark on Megan's neck, then she chuckled. "Fair point."

Megan smiled softly. "It's really fine, if you two want to-"

Before she could finish, the door swung open.

Tristan stood there, expression unreadable. His voice was calm but firm. "'I've got a villa in Emerald Cove near the university. You and Auntie can stay there.I'll have someone prepare it now."

All three of themn turned to stare at him.

Had he been eavesdropping outside? That timing was just way too on-point.

Tristan glanced at his diamond-studded Rolex. "It's almost six. Let's head out. Kevin and Kai should be there already." Hearing Kai's name, Rachel shot up. "I'm coming too!"

Without waiting for permission, she bolted out the door and practically flew downstairs.

Lina, looking mildly stressed, murmured, "L...uh, still got homework. You two have fun." Then she quickly made her exit.

At the doorway, she turned back with a grin. "Best wishes on your marriage!"

Tristan pulled Megan close by the waist, fingers gently brushing the faint hickey on her neck. "Huh. I thought I only kissed it once. Why's it darker now?"

Megan gave his chest a light punch. "Ugh, you troublemaker! Now they're gonna get the wrong idea."

Tristan's laugh rumbled low and smooth."Oh come on -trouble looks good on you. Can't get enough of it."

She shot him a mock glare, cheeks burning. "How are you still laughing? I'm dying of secondhand embarrassment! You totally did that on purpose."

"Well,now they'll think twice before barging in.Maybe next time they'll remember what we might be 'busy'doing."

Megan felt her face practically boiling. "Let's just go.Rachel's already downstairs waiting."

Tristan chuckled lowly. "Someone's about to get a big headache."

Megan blinked up at him."Who?"

He leaned in and landed a quick, firm kiss on her lips. "Kai."

After saying a quick goodbye to Mr. Reid, the two headed out.

Just then, Nathan and Sophia were getting out of their car nearby.

Nathan approached. "Heading out now, Tristan?Megan?"

Tristan nodded coolly. "Yeah, got something to take care of."

Nathan smiled kindly at Megan. "Megan, make sure you two visit more often."

Megan returned the smile softly. "Of couse."

Tristan kept her hand firmly in his as they walked toward the car.

Rachel waved from the sidewalk. "Hi, Uncle! Auntie !"

As soon as the car unlocked, she darted into the backseat like she was afraid they'd ditch her.

Tristan walked around and opened the passenger side door, being the gentleman as usual for Megan.

But from the backseat came Rachel's voice in a whiny tone. "Megan, sit in the back with me!"

Tristan let out a quiet scoff. "Nope. She's with me."Tristan gently eased the little woman into the passenger seat and buckled her in like it was second nature.

Then he casually strolled around to the driver's side and hopped in.

With a smooth turn of the wheel, the car sped off,vanishing around the corner, leaving behind nothing but a faint whiff of exhaust and frustration.

Sophia stomped her foot angrily. "Honey, did you see that? They don't even look at us like we exist!"

Nathan threw her a sideways glance, voice cold."Pretty sure you meant they don't respect you. Don't drag me into it."

Saying that, he turned and walked off toward the house.

Watching his back without a hint of warmth, Sophia's teeth clenched so tightly they almost cracked.

If it hadn't been for the drug she slipped him after they got married, he wouldn't have even touched her.

But that one night messed everything up-Wyatt happened.

She thought giving Nathan a son would at least make him change a bit, soften him up.

But no, he was like a damned freezer. Cold as ever.

Same went for Wyatt-never got a second of warmth.

She felt like a widow who never even got a wedding night out of her deal.

She couldn't help but wonder: what was the point of all that scheming, threatening her life just to land this lousy marriage? She hated how he acted like she was invisible-and hated that woman, Hanjie, even more.

Thinking about how fast that woman died made her bitter-if she could do it over, she would've dragged it out longer.

Sophia caught up to Nathan and grabbed his arm. "Did you not see the brooch on her dress?”

Nathan's expression darkened. He yanked his arm back."So what?"

Sophia frowned. "That's the matriarch's brooch! lt means your father passed the position of head to Tristan! It should've gone to you-or at least to Wyatt!"

Nathan let out a short laugh. "Since Tristan took over,the company's profits have tripled here and overseas.

Reid Corp is now the biggest powerhouse in the country. All of that-his doing. He earned the title.You need to stop your delusional daydreaming. You're just a parasite-stick to that and quit stirring up trouble."

As his silhouette faded into the house, her fists clenched so hard her nails dug into her palms without her even noticing.

Moments later, Evelyn hurried over, brows furrowed with concern. "Sophia, how's Wyatt doing?"

Sophia let out a heavy sigh. "Soft tissue damage,ruptured spleen, fractured shoulder blade.

Tristan really wasn't pulling punches."

Evelyn's nostrils flared as she exhaled hard. "You've no idea, they actually gave the family heir title to that illegitimate son."

Hearing it out loud again made Sophia grit her teeth like she was going to bite something in half. "That brooch's already on that little tramp's dress. Like hell I didn't see it coming."

Evelyn looked like she'd just seen a bird crash into a window. "I tried speaking up for Wyatt to the old man,but he just snapped at me in front of everyone."

Sophia sneered, voice laced with venom. "I sent that bitch to her grave once-l can do it again!"

Evelyn glanced around quickly, clearly spooked."For the love of God, keep your voice down. That woman died of cancer, remember? We had nothing to do with it."

Sophia stared blankly into the distance, her gaze hollow but burning.

In her heart, she swore-whoever dared stand in her way,or her son's path, would not make it out unscathed.