Chapter 3

Tristan's POV

After I laid bare Megan's broken promises, her expression darkened. She was visibly stung by the sheer contempt in my eyes.

Almost on instinct, she snatched the fruit knife from the counter and held it to her throat. Her hand shook violently, as if she couldn't believe that I didn't trust her at all.

"We've been together all these years, Tristan. Can't you even give me this much trust?

"Fine. Just kill me if I break my promise!"

Before I could even say a word, she dragged the knife across her forearm twice. Blood trickled down and dripped onto the floor.

Her face was pale as she held up the fresh cuts in my face. "I'm sorry that I killed our son. I'm sorry that I failed to spend your birthday with you today and made you upset. If I break my promise to you this time, give me the third cut and kill me yourself."

She laid down a brutal, grim vow to prove her devotion and stared at me with the same intense stubbornness she had three years ago.

The throbbing pain in my chest radiated throughout my body.

It was a shame that this time, I wouldn't give in anymore.

…

After making her promise, Megan stopped answering Ian's calls and never replied to any of his texts.

During this time, he showed up at our doorstep twice with Aiden, but Megan turned them away both times.

He called her again after being kicked out and sobbed through the receiver, "Megan, I don't know what Tristan told you, but please… I'm begging you to come over just this once.

"Aiden is in really bad shape. He's—"

I expressionlessly listened to his voice coming through the speaker.

Megan struggled with herself for a long, painful moment before she gritted her teeth and said, "You have his custody, Ian, and I have a new family now. You should learn to look after him, too."

With that, she immediately hung up, as if she were severing her ties with them for good.

I turned around, noticed the heavy exhaustion written all over her face, and let out a mocking laugh.

"Now you've somehow made me the villain."

…

I thought Ian would finally take the hint and leave after being turned away so many times. But on the next day, he stormed into my office building and caused a huge scene.

Ignoring the security guards trying to stop him, he charged in the moment he saw me.

"Tristan, you murderer! You killed my son!"

My heart skipped a beat.

Before I could process what was happening, he dropped to his knees, sobbing like a madman as he pounded his fists against the floor.

"You murderer! I hope you die a horrible death! You're the reason Megan never got to see Aiden one last time…"

Seeing a massive scene break out, my colleagues poked their heads out of their offices for gossip. Judgmental glances and pointing fingers were immediately thrown in my way.

I take a deep breath and rub my temples. Just as I was to have security haul him out, I saw Megan arrive at the office, carrying a packed lunchbox.

I pressed my lips together and immediately understood.

The timing was perfect. Ian had staged his pathetic performance at the right time, knowing she would be here at this hour.

The color completely drained from Megan's face when she heard Ian's cries. Her voice shook as she demanded, "What are you talking about? What happened to Aiden? What happened to my baby?"

Ian stopped crying and turned to her with accusing eyes. "Aiden's dead! He accidentally ate peanuts! You know he's allergic to peanuts, and by the time I got him to the ER, it was too late.

"I called you, but why didn't you let me finish talking?"

My expression soured. I knew that Ian wouldn't joke about the death of his son.

Megan stumbled. The lunchbox slipped from her hands and crashed onto the floor.

She whipped her head around to look at me, grabbed my collar, and poured all her hatred on me.

"You're selfish, Tristan. This is all your fault. If I hadn't hung up, Aiden… Aiden wouldn't have died."

I sighed wearily. "What does his death have to do with me? Was I the one who forced him to eat peanuts?"