"Well…" Lucian sounded upbeat. He was beaming with pride, but Calista's dark expression had him swallowing his words. He stiffly changed the subject. "I missed you, Callie."Calista didn't buy his act at all. She repeated her question. "How did you get up here?""I… climbed up here," he said softly.She knew that, but she wanted to hear him admit it. They were on the second floor. There was nothing for him to hold onto on the outer wall of the villa except for the guard rails. It required him to run up, wall hop, and grab onto the railing to get up. Not only did he need to accurately calculate the distance, there could be no slip-ups.If he fell, he would have a twisted ankle at best, or break a leg at worst. It could even be fatal if luck was not on his side.But rather than fearing the consequences, Lucian was demanding praise. She was angry. But considering how he climbed up here and risked danger just to see her, she swallowed her anger. "Don't do that again.""I won't." Wi
Yara was beyond inebriated after the wedding reception. She held Calista's hand as she babbled. "Please be happy, Calista. Come to me if that jerk Lucian tries anything funny. I'll give him a piece of my mind."Calista patiently replied, "Okay.""I thought you learned from your mistakes and moved on. So why are you right back where you started?" The thought of the hardship Calista had to suffer had Yara constantly whining. Yara wouldn't stop talking and seemed to want to rehash old scores. Timothy sprang into action by gathering her into his arms. "I'm sorry, but she's drunk. I'll take her home and make sure she gets some rest."Yara's emotions were still in full swing. When she heard someone claiming that she was drunk, it directed her attention to him. Noticing that it was Timothy who had called her out, she blew up at him."I'm not drunk! Which part of me looks drunk to you? I can still have another wine. Try me."Timothy knew he couldn't reason with a drunkard, so he playe
Timothy lifted Yara and set her down on the vanity for convenience. He smeared makeup remover all over her face as if he were plastering a wall. Despite her discomfort, she didn't dare to say a word. She was afraid that if she opened her mouth, he was going to put the makeup remover into her mouth. When he turned to fetch a towel to wipe her face, Yara finally took the opportunity to speak up. "Do you even know how to remove makeup, Timothy? You need to emulsify it with warm water before thoroughly washing it off."Timothy snorted and expressed his gripes. "It's just one thing after another. How do you emulsify it?""Just use some warm water…" Yara guided him on how to remove her makeup. Her words were also interspersed with gibberish. "You need to learn this. Otherwise, no woman is going to want to marry you.""Hah…" He had never heard that he had to learn how to remove someone's makeup to get married. The requirements usually ended at gold bars, wedding gifts, a house, and a c
It was already noon by the time Calista awoke the next day. It was bright outside, and the sunlight stung her eyes. Her body felt sore, which made her reluctant to move from where she lay beneath the covers.She didn't know when Lucian had woken up, but he was no longer in the room. She stretched and rolled around on the massive bed.Suddenly, the sound of knocking on the door, accompanied by a servant's quiet voice, could be heard. "Ms. Quinn is here to see you, Madam Calista. She's waiting in the living room downstairs."Selena had sent the servant to assist with getting the honeymoon suite in order as she was worried they'd be too busy to do so. The servant had yet to leave.Calista immediately got out of bed and got dressed once she heard that Yara was there. "Where is Lucian?""Mr. Northwood is downstairs."Calista headed downstairs after she freshened up to see Yara seated on the couch. When the former approached the latter, she noticed how exhausted Yara looked. Her eyes w
"Did Lucian call to tell you that I'm here?" Yara asked.Timothy wouldn't have known she was here unless someone tipped him off. Calista wouldn't sell her out, which left Lucian the only possible suspect."Yes," Timothy said. Yara could barely believe how quickly he resorted to betrayal."He was the one who tipped you off. Did he know that you would sell him out in return?""To each their own. I don't think I'm selling him out."One of them didn't want Yara sticking around as their third wheel, while the other wanted to whisk her away. They were so in sync that they were practically one person.Yara rolled her eyes. She sat motionless on the bed as the sky outside darkened. The room was barely lit by the glow of the street lamps that filtered in. The dim lighting made their expressions unreadable.Timothy raised a brow. "Do you want me to help you put on your pants?"His expression reminded Yara of how unabashed he was when he wheedled her into doing "that" last night. She grit
Calista participated in a show back in May. When it aired, Selena was meeting with her friends for afternoon tea at her home. Someone was flipping through the channels with the remote out of boredom when it coincidentally stopped on the program Calista was on."Look, Selena. Isn't that your daughter-in-law? She's on TV!"Selena was chatting with someone at the time. But upon hearing that, she turned her gaze to the television to see Calista focused on restoring cultural relics on screen. She beamed with pride."Callie is amazing. This program isn't just any old show that anyone can get featured on."Even though she had no idea what program it was given that Calista hadn't mentioned, it didn't stop her from raining praises on her daughter-in-law.Everyone was already accustomed to this, and someone even jokingly asked, "Calista and Lucian have been married for a while now. When are they planning to have a kid?"Selena was no less antsy about the matter. However, she kept her anx
Even though that was where the topic came to an end with neither of them furthering the conversation, Lucian's worries about his reproductive health did not abate. He would stare blankly at Calista's stomach from time to time.Calista seemed to have caught on after some time. "Do you want a child so badly?"Lucian nodded and then shook his head. For him, it wasn't about having a child, but rather whether or not he had any issues. The inherent inferiority complex embedded into his bones coupled with what happened in the past left him volatile when his "impotence" was brought up. He was afraid that Calista would resent him for it.Lucian's anxiety lasted for two months before he privately scheduled an appointment with the andrology department. He wore a duckbill cap and a mask and went to the hospital for an examination.Once the sample had been collected, he took it to the lab. The doctor, busy with work, didn't even bother to look up."Put the sample down on the counter. You can
"Dude, I'm also here for a checkup. I'm still waiting for the results. It's nerve-wracking." He motioned for Lucian to look at his trembling hands."It's better to gain some experience beforehand. I thought that if I read a few reports, I'd be less nervous when it's my turn. We're both men. You understand how it is."He reached out to pat Lucian on the shoulder as a friendly gesture, but Lucian avoided it. Rather than feel embarrassed, the man leaned close to whisper, "Women will just mock you about this kind of thing. Only men understand. We don't know each other. The moment we step out of this building, we'll be strangers. If anything goes wrong, I can be a punching bag for you to vent your anger."He calmly glanced at Calista. Her clothes, bag, and shoes weren't simply high-end goods. There were exclusive models that only VIPs of the highest rank could get their hands on. When his gaze finally landed on her face, his eyes lit up.If his wife had one-tenth of her looks and figu