Chapter 2

"You two been holding hands long enough?" Callum's eyes burned with murderous rage as he glared at them.

No matter how hard he tried, there was no way he could stay calm after seeing the woman he had loved for seven years sitting across from another man, sharing an intimate dinner with their hands intertwined.

The flirtatious atmosphere instantly turned ice cold.

Inside the restaurant, aside from the waitstaff, only the three of them remained. Even the romantic background music came to an abrupt halt.

Callum's gaze locked tightly onto Victoria, but he said nothing.

Victoria quickly pulled her hand back, her eyes wide with panic and shock. She couldn't understand why Callum had suddenly shown up. She had been so careful to keep everything under wraps.

The woman known for being an untouchable, cold-as-ice CEO was now visibly shaken.

Still, Victoria was someone who had weathered plenty of storms. She quickly composed herself.

"Honey, let me introduce you. This is the childhood friend I've mentioned before…"

Callum had heard Julian's name from Victoria countless times.

He smirked.

"So this is what you call working late? You worked your way all the way into a restaurant? What's next, a hotel? Want me to book you two a room while I'm at it?"

Victoria's face went stiff.

"What are you talking about? Julian and I haven't done anything wrong. I came here to discuss a business deal with the Hayes Group! We were just catching up. It's not as dirty as you're making it sound."

Julian looked just as uncomfortable, but he still forced himself to speak.

"Really, it's not what you think, bro. Victoria and I just haven't seen each other in years, so we wanted to catch up. I've always thought of her as a real sister."

When he stressed the word "real," Callum caught the deliberate weight behind it.

Right. What a sneaky little snake.

Innocent?

Business?

Did they really think he was that dumb?

Since when did business meetings require hand-holding?

And of all nights to "catch up," they picked his wedding night?

Callum didn't say a word. He just fixed Victoria with a cold stare, then grabbed a nearby chair, pulled it over, and sat down.

Victoria quickly called out, "Waiter, bring a menu over…"

The waiter handed the menu to Callum, but he didn't even glance at it. Crossing one leg over the other, he looked at them with a mocking smirk.

"So business deals require hand-holding now," Callum said sarcastically. "What's next? Sign a contract and spend the night together? Hell, why not go ahead and have a kid too? Having a baby with your business partner sounds totally reasonable, right?"

He handed the menu back.

"I'm not ordering anything."

Feeling the suffocating tension, the waiter grabbed the menu and hurried off.

Victoria's face went dark as she frowned.

"What exactly are you trying to say, Callum? I've already shown you enough respect here. I explained everything to you. What more do you want?"

Callum let out a cold laugh.

"What do I want? Shouldn't I be asking you that? What do you want? Are you trying to cheat on me behind my back?"

That one sentence set Victoria off completely.

"What did you just say?! I was just catching up with Julian over dinner! Why do you have to make it sound so dirty? Can't you talk like a normal person? Callum, you're being unbelievably childish!"

Julian immediately put on a pitiful look.

"Victoria, I'm sure your husband didn't mean it. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have asked you out after seven years apart… I promise I'll never bother you again. Please don't be too hard on him."

Callum shot to his feet and pointed at him.

"Screw your 'don't be too hard on him'! Can you stop talking like some pathetic, manipulative jerk? Don't make me slap you right now!"

Hearing that, Julian instinctively shrank back. He had been raised like a spoiled little prince his whole life; there was no way he could take on someone like Callum, who worked out regularly and kept himself in top shape.

Seeing Callum treat her childhood friend so disrespectfully instantly infuriated Victoria.

"Callum! What exactly are you trying to do?! Just apologize to Julian and go home immediately, or I swear I'm going to lose it!"

In the past, whenever Victoria spoke like that, Callum would immediately soften and apologize to her.

And this time, she figured things would go the same way.

After all, Callum loved her too much. He would never want to see her upset.

But to her surprise, Callum didn't give in this time. There wasn't a trace of fear in his eyes. Instead, there was mockery.

"Apologize? You want me to apologize to him? You want your husband to apologize to some other guy?"

Victoria frowned.

"He's not some other guy! What's wrong with you today? Aren't you afraid of making me mad?"

When she said those words, Callum clearly caught the hint of smugness in Julian's eyes.

Callum let out a bitter laugh.

"Right. I'm the other guy. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

A flicker of unease crossed Victoria's face.

"You're not…"

Something felt off. The Callum standing in front of her today was completely different than before.

In the past, even when he got upset, he always seemed easy to calm down. Sometimes, if she got angry first, he'd even turn around and comfort her instead.

But not today. It was like he had lost all faith in her.

No way. He loved her too much. There's no way he'd leave her. He had to be putting on an act.

Sure enough, people never value what comes too easily. He was probably just trying to pressure her.

But she wasn't going to fall for it.

Disappointment filled Victoria's eyes.

"Callum, what's happened to you? You've really let me down."

Callum laughed bitterly.

"I let you down? So let me get this straight—you secretly go out to meet your childhood friend on our wedding night, lie to me about working late, get caught red-handed, and somehow, I'm the one who let you down? So whose wedding night is this exactly? Mine and yours… or yours and his?"

Victoria shouted angrily, "What do you want from me?! It was hard enough for me to finally get to see Julian again today. Can you just stop causing drama? You're twenty-seven years old! This is so immature!"

She genuinely couldn't understand why Callum was coming at her so hard.

All she did was meet up with a childhood friend she used to have feelings for and share a meal. It wasn't some unforgivable crime.

Besides, she was still planning to go home afterward.

He was acting like she had actually cheated on him.

And Victoria never had much patience to begin with. In her eyes, she had already shown Callum more than enough respect.

Suddenly, Callum stood up and casually undid a few buttons at his collar.

"You're right," he said calmly. "Today is such an important reunion for the two of you. No need to ruin everyone's mood."

Seeing his reaction, Victoria thought he had finally backed down. A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"Honey, that's more like it. There's really nothing going on between Julian and me. Just go home and wait for me—"

Before she could finish, Callum cut her off coldly.

"There's no need to ruin everyone's mood. As long as the two of you are the only ones who end up miserable, that's good enough."

The next second, Callum grabbed the chair beside him with one hand and smashed it right into their dining table.