Chapter 4

"The living will never win against the dead, Calista. Nina is the one Seb will always love. You're nothing but a toy for him to vent his sexual frustrations."

I couldn't even be bothered to argue with Jenna. I just shot back, "So what if Sebastian still loves your sister? She's dead. And even if he's just using me to vent his desires, I'm still Mrs. Holt."

My words set Jenna off. She raised her hand to slap me, but I was done dealing with her. I just swatted her hand away and turned to leave.

I didn't expect that tiny movement to send her stumbling backward. She lurched, smacked her head against the sharp edge of the table, and yelped in pain.

Her cry had barely faded when Sebastian burst into the kitchen. He rushed straight to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he checked her over.

A huge bump was already forming on her forehead. She curled up pitifully in his arms, sniffling. "Seb, I was just chatting with Calista and happened to mention Nina. She instantly flipped on me and said she was Mrs. Holt now, and that Nina was dead. She even hit me. Nina would be devastated if she knew what I was put through."

Sebastian looked at me. His dark eyes were like a bottomless, frozen lake. There was nothing but icy contempt in them.

I opened my mouth to explain, but he didn't give me the chance. His voice was low and vicious. "Somebody get in here. I want her slapped a hundred times. Don't skip a single one."

His men had seen how much he'd been spoiling me these days, so they hesitated. One of them spoke up, unsure. "Mr. Holt, there's probably some misunderstanding here. Maybe we should hear Mrs. Holt out first."

Sebastian barked, "Is this my house or yours? Who calls the shots here?"

The men stopped hesitating and grabbed me. Slap after slap landed across my face. Each one stung like fire, but it felt even more like they were landing on my heart.

By the time they finished all hundred, my face was so swollen I barely looked human. But the pain in my cheeks didn't come close to even a fraction of the ache in my chest.

Sebastian carefully scooped Jenna up in his arms. He looked down at where I was crumpled on the floor and said coldly, "Calista, remember this lesson. Don't forget how you became Mrs. Holt in the first place. You'll never wash away what you owe Nina. Try to use her death to your advantage again, and I'll have you beaten again."

With that, he walked off with Jenna in his arms. He didn't look back once.

I couldn't hold back my tears anymore. I sat curled up in a corner of the kitchen, cupping my burning, swollen cheeks, sobbing so hard I could barely breathe.

That desperate urge to get away from Sebastian surged up in me all over again.

I wanted to tell Dad that I didn't think I could wait a year. I wanted a divorce right then and there.

…

After that day, I moved out of the master bedroom on my own. Sebastian didn't try to stop me. Things between us became even worse than they were at the start.

I was just working up the nerve to bring up divorce when I found out I was pregnant. The baby's unexpected arrival shook my resolve.

I decided to sit down and talk things through properly with Sebastian.

Before I could, he invited me to a formal event—he was hosting a memorial banquet for Nina. It was a lavish affair.

Everyone was abuzz about how deep and enduring Sebastian's love for Nina was.

I had no interest in joining in, so I slipped away from the crowd and wandered out into the garden alone to clear my head.