Chapter 3

Callum's POV

Delia's face darkened, and she slammed her glass down so hard it shattered. Shards flew everywhere, and a few of them cut into my fingers. I didn't feel any pain, though. I just stared silently at Delia, whose face had gone livid.

After that video went viral, the whole Internet called me a rapist. Delia said she believed me, but I often caught her drinking alone on the balcony late at night. We fought constantly during that time, and after I got out of prison, a wall went up between us.

Delia's cold voice pulled me back to the present. "Callum, I'm going to ask you one more time. Back then, did you or did you not rape that woman?"

She didn't raise her voice, but every word cut through me like a knife.

"Delia, you never believed me, did you?"

Her eyes locked on mine. "I just want the truth. That's the only way I can feel okay about remarrying you."

I gave a bitter little laugh, my voice quiet. "I'm not remarrying you. Since you trust Jensen so much, why don't you just be with him?"

Delia scoffed, her voice gentle and cruel at the same time. "Stop being ridiculous. You don't have a job or any income, and you're a useless deadbeat who lives off me. What makes you think you're in any position to leave me?"

After all these years, she'd finally said what she really thought.

"Enough!" Rosalind cut in, clearly displeased, and patted my hand to comfort me. "We finally get to sit down together as a family. Let's not talk about things that'll upset everyone."

She lowered her head and took a bite, and suddenly, her face flushed red as she started coughing nonstop.

"Mom!"

Delia hurried over, then froze and glared at me with pure hatred. "You know perfectly well Mom's allergic to celery! She's too forgetful to keep track, so you put it on her plate on purpose! I call you out once, and you take it out on Mom? How did I never see how vicious you are?"

I was about to tell her it wasn't me, but she'd already lost her patience and shoved me to the floor. Caught off guard, I knocked over the dishes, and a jagged edge sliced into my palm, blood welling up at once.

Delia paused, then coldly looked away and turned to help Rosalind up. "Mom, don't worry. Jensen and I will take you to the hospital."

I was too worried to stay behind, so I followed them.

At the hospital, Rosalind's allergic reaction eased, and after the doctors gave her medication, she stayed in a room for observation. Through the wall, I heard Jensen apologizing.

"This is all my fault. I didn't know your mom was allergic to celery."

"It's fine. It's not your fault," Delia said gently. "Callum was there anyway, so we'll just say he did it. Mom's always had a soft spot for him, so she won't give him a hard time."

So that was it. To protect the man she loved, I was the fall guy she could push forward whenever she needed one.

I stood there in a daze as blood trickled down my palm and dripped onto the floor, and I went cold all over.

Over the following days, Delia and Jensen were all over TV. They went on reality shows together and flaunted their romance for the cameras, and when they visited a children's home together, the photo they took with one of the little kids made them look just like a family of three.

Late one night, Jensen posted a photo from a hotel. Delia was fast asleep, curled up against his chest, and both of them were covered in red marks.

Even though he deleted it within seconds, sharp-eyed fans still caught it. The comments were full of sweet well-wishes, and some people even asked when they were planning to have kids.

I smiled as the pain slowly faded, and what it left behind was mostly relief.

On the last day of the month, Delia called me, her voice hoarse and strained. "Come to the city hall. I'm divorcing Jensen today and remarrying you. Callum, isn't this what you wanted?"

I hung up and didn't go.

A little while later, someone kicked my door open. Delia charged in with red-rimmed eyes and grabbed my arm.

"I already said I'd remarry you! And just to get back at Jensen, you had him dragged off to an underground fight club? How could you be so vicious? If anything happens to him, I swear I'll never let you off the hook!"