Chapter 4

Hallie tightened her grip around my wrist, her sharp nails digging into my skin.

I forced myself to remain calm as I explained, "I was in this room all day. I never left. If you don't believe me, ask William. He can confirm it."

The corner of Hallie's mouth curled into a cold, cruel smile, disgust filling her eyes.

"I don't need to ask anyone for confirmation. Sebastian, I know what you've done over the years.

"You installed spyware on my phone to listen in on my conversations. You even hired men to approach me just to test whether I'd cheat on you. If you're willing to spend enough money, is there anyone in this world who wouldn't do whatever you asked?"

I stared at the undisguised disgust in her eyes, my heart clenching painfully.

All I could feel was the bitter irony of it.

Everything I'd done over the years—obsessively searching for proof and driving myself to the brink of madness—had been because she really had been cheating on me all along.

I stared at her coldly. "Since you have no shred of trust in me, what else is there for me to say? What do you want from me?"

Hallie stared at my pale face for a long moment before suddenly letting out a soft laugh.

She leaned closer, a dazzling smile spreading across her lips.

"Honey, do you really think that because of everything we went through back then—and because I love you—I could never truly hurt you?"

Her smile remained beautiful, but there was nothing warm in her eyes.

"Is that why you've dared to take things this far this time?"

The coldness in her gaze was almost unbearable, and I froze.

"What exactly do you want?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she simply waved a hand.

The bodyguards immediately pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"You humiliated Wyatt. It's only fair that you experience the same pain."

I gripped the edge of my shirt tightly and glared up at her.

"I didn't do it! I told you, I don't care anymore whether you're cheating on me!"

"Still lying." Hallie cut me off, disappointment clear in her voice.

She sighed. Then, almost tenderly, she reached out and brushed her pale fingers against my cheek.

"Sebastian, I don't want things to end up like this either. But you're always so possessive of me, and honestly, it makes me uncomfortable. I'm a woman, but I still have to socialize and entertain clients for work. That's part of my job.

"No matter how angry you get, you can't take it out on every man around me. And Wyatt is your own future son, for God's sake."

I stared at her face, so close to mine, and suddenly found the whole situation unbearably ridiculous.

"Hallie, you actually believe what other people say about me instead of believing me? You're an idiot."

Her expression hardened instantly.

"You'll regret this," I added.

She let out a cold laugh. "There's no point talking to you."

Almost immediately, a bodyguard grabbed me by the shoulders and slammed me onto the floor. He dragged me away from the bed as if I were nothing more than a piece of trash.

Hallie looked down at me sprawled across the floor.

Her voice was soft when she spoke, almost gentle.

"When we found Wyatt, his wrist was dislocated, and two of his fingers were broken."

She paused, watching me.

"Sebastian, I thought that once you found out he was our future son—and realized that your suspicions would eventually lead to something terrible happening to me—you would change.

"But you're more narrow-minded than anyone I've ever met. You can't stand the thought of anyone getting close to me."

Her expression remained cold. "If you apologize to Wyatt and promise me you'll never accuse me of cheating again, we can go back to the way things were."

She paused.

"And I won't punish you."

I lay half-curled on the floor, finding her words almost laughable. How could something that had already been poisoned ever go back to the way it was?

I planted a hand against the floor and struggled to lift my head.

"I. Won't. Apologize."

The last trace of warmth vanished from Hallie's eyes.

She closed them for a moment, her lashes trembling slightly.

"Sebastian, I'm trying to give you a chance."

She opened her eyes and looked down at me. "You deserve this."

With that, she turned and walked away.

The bodyguard stepped toward me, his expression unreadable. He raised the baseball bat in his hands.

"Sorry, Mr. Castro."

I closed my eyes, despair settling over me.

When Hallie and I had first gotten together, a stranger once groped her on a crowded bus.

She swallowed her tears and tried to stop me from going after him. "It's okay. Just let it go…"

But I lost my temper the moment I found out.

I rushed over and attacked the man without thinking. I kept hitting him until the police arrived, and I was arrested for assault.

I ended up spending time in jail, where I was harassed and beaten by other inmates.

By the time I was released, I was covered in bruises and injuries.

The moment Hallie saw me, she threw herself into my arms, sobbing so hard that her makeup ran down her face.

But all I did was smile, reach up, and gently pat her on the head.

"Sebastian, someday I'm going to hire an entire army of bodyguards for you. No one will ever lay a finger on you again."

But now, the person ordering someone to hurt me was the very same woman who had once made that promise.

The unmistakable sound of a bone breaking rang out, followed by a blinding surge of pain through my left arm.

The pain was overwhelming, and soon the world went black.

When I woke, my left arm felt impossibly heavy, encased in a cast and strapped across my chest.

A young nurse noticed I was awake and let out a quiet sigh of relief.

But when she looked at me, I caught a flicker of pity in her eyes.

She spoke softly. "Mr. Castro, you're awake. Several of your internal organs were injured. You need complete bed rest."

I froze.

Then the corner of my mouth curled into a faint, bitter smile.

Just to vent her anger over that fake "future son," Hallie had actually ordered someone to beat me badly enough to injure my internal organs.

I closed my eyes, unwilling to let the nurse see the humiliation reflected in them.

But then the nurse seemed to remember something and quickly added, "Oh, there's one more thing. Your wife, Ms. Larsen, is pregnant. She's about five weeks along."

She smiled faintly. "We just checked the baby's heartbeat. Everything looks stable. The baby is healthy."