Chapter 4

When I returned to the hospital room, Emilio was gone. All that remained was a payment receipt with his signature, which had been left on the bed.

The nurse explained, "He paid the bill and left in a hurry. He probably had something urgent to handle."

I stared at the receipt. After a long pause, I asked softly, "What was he like when he left?"

The nurse thought for a moment before saying, "He didn't seem okay. His eyes were red, like he'd been crying."

Crying?

I gripped the paper tighter. I'd underestimated how much Emilio cared for Amber.

"Are you okay, miss? Are you feeling unwell again?"

I shook my head and turned to the nurse. "Please process my discharge."

She looked surprised. "But you're still—"

"I don't want to stay here anymore." I didn't want to stay in a place that still carried the faint scent of Amber's perfume.

Instead of going back to the villa I shared with Emilio, I went to my own home.

Christopher was shocked to see me. "Calista, weren't you in the hospital? Why are you back so suddenly?"

I welled up and threw myself into his arms, allowing my tears to soak his shirt.

"Oh, my. What's wrong, Calista?" Amber's voice rang out.

I pulled away from Christopher and turned to her. "Why are you here?"

Christopher explained, "We're having a welcome-back party for Amber here. She's the star of the show today."

My eyes met Amber's. Hers were filled with clear provocation and mockery.

Christopher ruffled my hair. "Calista, what's wrong? Why were you crying? Did someone upset you?"

I shook my head and wiped my tears haphazardly. "It's nothing."

Then, I headed toward the door.

"Hey, where are you going? Calista, what's wrong?" Christopher started to follow, but Amber grabbed his hand.

She said softly, "Let me talk to her. You don't understand how women feel."

The sound of high heels followed me. Amber leaned close and whispered, "Calista, shall we have a chat?"

I shook off her hand and said coldly, "We have nothing to talk about."

Instead of getting angry, she laughed. "Oh, really?"

She leaned in further, her voice low enough for only me to hear. "After all, we've both slept with the same man."

I jolted.

Amber led me back to the living room, where her friends were gathered. Their eyes brimmed with malice. She must've already told them who I was.

Still, she put on an act and introduced me to the crowd. "This is the piece of trash Emilio hasn't gotten around to throwing out."

Her offensive words made me turn to her coldly. "And what are you? A manipulator who wants to trick Emilio into falling for her by playing hard to get?"

Amber faltered, clearly not expecting me to fire back. Her expression darkened instantly, but her friends jumped in to attack me.

"A manipulator?"

"Ha! At least Amber genuinely won Emilio over, unlike you!"

"Yeah. Didn't she come in crying earlier? She's pathetic."

"Wanna bet how long it takes for Emilio to dump her?"

"I say one day!"

"I say one hour!"

I hurled a glass onto the floor, the sound echoing sharply.

The room fell silent, but Christopher rushed out from the kitchen. Amber immediately picked up the glass shards, gently holding my hand and asking if I'd been burned.

In that moment, I wasn't repulsed. I merely felt relieved.

So, this was the scheming woman Emilio had been unable to forget all these years. I suddenly wondered how he would react if he knew that all his pain and hysteria over Amber were just part of her game.

Of course, that had nothing to do with me anymore. I turned and headed to Christopher, saying, "I heard from Mr. Slater that you wanted to set me up with someone."

He blinked, then chuckled. "Yeah. He even told you about that? Since when did you two get so close?"

For a moment, I was tempted to tell him that Emilio and I weren't just close. We kissed every day, touched each other, and called each other pet names.

But all I did was smile bitterly and say, "We're not close. As for that guy you wanted to introduce me to—I'm game."

I kept my head lowered as I walked out, adding the guy's contact on my phone. His profile picture was a seascape, old-fashioned and quaint.

Soon, he responded to my message with one of his own. "I'm Rowan Sterling."

The name felt familiar, like I'd seen it somewhere before.

Suddenly, my phone was snatched away. Emilio had shown up at some point, looking displeased. "Why didn't you tell me that you got discharged?"

His gaze flicked to my phone, and he frowned. "Rowan Sterling? That's a guy's name. Who is he? Why haven't you mentioned him before?"

I grabbed my phone back, ignoring his barrage of questions. I said coldly, "You left without a word, too, didn't you?"

He stiffened. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, Christopher waved him over. "Perfect timing! Today's Amber's welcome-back party. Come have a drink."

Emilio looked at Amber, who stood in the center of the crowd. He growled, "A welcome-back party I wasn't told about?"

Sensing the tension, someone chimed in, "Oh, Amber only invited close friends. Don't take it personally."

"Yeah, and her crush, Jon Clarke, is here. It'd be awkward to invite you."

"Crush? Jon Clarke?" Emilio's expression darkened completely at that. I knew he was on the verge of losing it.

If I weren't there, he might've already stormed over to Amber to confront her.

I smiled bitterly at the sight of his furious, trembling figure and turned to Christopher. "I'm heading home."

My steps were unsteady because my fever hadn't fully subsided. Emilio instinctively reached out to steady me but stopped when he glanced at Amber. His hand dropped silently.

"Calista, you don't look well. Why don't you let Emilio take you home? He's got nothing better to do here, and I'm busy entertaining other guests, anyway." Amber brushed past Emilio and grabbed my hand.

He turned to look at her, the sorrow in his eyes piercing my heart like a sword.

I shook my head. "There's no need to trouble Mr. Slater."

Emilio froze. He stepped forward to follow me but ultimately stopped himself. In the end, Christopher was the one to take me home. I leaned against the car window without saying a word.

My phone pinged with a message from a number I didn't recognize. The sender revealed that she was Amber, and she sent a photo of Emilio's profile as he sat in the driver's seat.

"Oh, he's so petty. The moment you left, he punched Jon and dragged me away. Poor guy—he was just playing along with my act. I'll have to make it up to him later.

"You still don't know how to handle men, Calista. You need to be hot and cold; be nasty one moment and nice the next. Keep them on a leash, and they'll never forget you."

I zoomed in on the photo, noticing blood at the corner of Emilio's mouth. It was probably from his fight with Jon.

"Calista, what's going on with you?" Christopher pulled over and turned to look into my red-rimmed eyes. "You've been off all day. Tell me what happened, and I'll take care of it for you!"

I pursed my lips. Just as I wanted to speak, a Porsche pulled up in front of us. Emilio and Amber got out.

He yanked her out of the car, and they started arguing again. But this time, it didn't end with them parting ways. He suddenly pinned her against the car door and kissed her fiercely. He gripped her waist and deepened the kiss.

I started trembling as I watched them quietly.

Christopher noticed me staring and chuckled, thinking I was curious. "Don't be so surprised. That's just how they are. One second, they're fighting. The next second, they're getting a room. I'm used to it by now. After all this time apart, Amber still has Emilio wrapped around her finger."

He glanced at me, panicking when he saw me sweating profusely. "Calista, what's wrong?"

I clutched my abdomen and said weakly, "Take me… to the hospital…"