Chapter 3

Once they sat down, Tristan showered Nina with attention while Margot, his girlfriend, might as well have been invisible. He pulled out her chair, laid out her napkin, and walked her through the menu with meticulous care.

Nina smiled warmly, calling him "Tristie" as she shared stories from his childhood.

"He was so clingy when he was little. One time, I tried to leave the house, and he threw his arms around my legs, crying his eyes out because he didn't want me to go. He was only this tall," she said, holding her hand at knee height. "But he'd follow me around everywhere, calling out 'Nina! Nina!' He was just too adorable."

Tristan listened quietly, a tender smile playing on his lips as he looked at her.

Watching them interact made Margot's heart twist painfully. She remembered calling him "Tris" once in an intimate moment. His expression had darkened, and he'd told her he didn't like pet names.

But when it came to the woman he loved, he was perfectly happy to be called Tristie.

Suddenly, Nina's knife slipped while she was cutting her steak and nicked her fingertip. A tiny bead of blood welled up, and she hissed softly in pain.

Almost instantly, Tristan's expression shifted. He leaned across the table and put her injured finger straight into his mouth.

Margot's breath caught in her throat as she stared at them in disbelief.

To make matters worse, she caught sight of something that cut her to the core. With Nina's finger in his mouth, his body had reacted so strongly that the bulge in his trousers was impossible to miss. He was so obviously aroused by another woman!

A wave of shame and heartbreak crashed over Margot. She gripped her fork so tightly that her knuckles turned white, fighting with everything she had to keep from breaking down right there.

Tristan, however, seemed completely oblivious to her distress. After carefully stopping Nina's bleeding, he took out a sleek velvet box and handed it to her.

"Nina, I heard you've been collecting gemstones lately, so I went to an auction to pick out a rare white sapphire for you," he said, his voice tender with affection.

Nina let out a soft, amused sigh. "Tristan, you shouldn't have spent this much."

"It's for you. No price is too high," Tristan replied, gazing at her intently.

"You've always doted on me, even when you were little," Nina said warmly as she accepted the gift. Her eyes drifted to the emerald pendant hanging around Margot's neck.

"Though I guess now that you've got a girlfriend, I can't compete with her anymore. That emerald pendant she's wearing looks far more valuable than my sapphire."

Margot's heart seized. Instinctively, she covered the pendant at her chest with her hand.

Her father had put it on her at her coming-of-age ceremony. It was the only proof that she was a princess of the Halsac Dynasty.

Tristan immediately understood what Nina meant. He turned to Margot. "Nina likes your pendant. Take it off and give it to her."

Margot couldn't believe what she was hearing. She clutched the pendant tighter, shielding it with her hand. "No! My father gave this to me as a coming-of-age gift. I can't give it away!"

Tristan's jaw tightened. He leaned toward her and lowered his voice, his tone sharp with warning and impatience.

"Margot! I've put up with these stories of yours in private. But now you're doing it in front of Nina? Have you no shame? Come on, be a good girl and give her the pendant."

"I said no!" Margot fired back, her eyes burning with defiance.

The air around them grew tense.

Nina stepped in with a smile to smooth things over, saying she'd only been teasing and telling Tristan not to push Margot.

The incident seemed to blow over, but Margot could still feel the anger radiating from Tristan.

In the past, she would have been anxious, desperately trying to find ways to cheer him up. But her heart had gone cold. His mood no longer affected her.

After the meal, a torrential downpour began.

Margot followed Tristan to the car and reached for the door, only for him to lock it with a sharp click.

"Get a cab home," he said coldly, without even looking at her.

Margot froze.

From the passenger seat, Nina lowered her window and tried to reason with him. "Tristan, you can't do that. It's pouring, and we're so far from town. How's Margot supposed to get a cab out here? You're making this hard on her on purpose."

Tristan gave a cold laugh and shot Margot a deliberately cruel look. "That's right. I'm doing it on purpose. She was out of line today and embarrassed you. She needs to learn a lesson."

"Tristan, stop it. She's your girlfriend," Nina protested.

"So what if she is?" Tristan said, his voice rising. "Even my girlfriend doesn't get to disrespect you. Nina, stay out of this."

Without another glance at Margot, who stood frozen in the pouring rain, he floored the accelerator. The black car tore away, splashing muddy water over her.

The icy rain and muddy water soaked her through, leaving her looking completely miserable. She stood motionless, watching the familiar black car disappear into the downpour. The pain in her chest was almost unbearable.

He was punishing her just because she refused to give in to Nina?

Her hands shook as she pulled out her phone to call a ride, only to realize she still didn't know how to use the complicated app.

She remembered how Tristan had tried to teach her before, but she'd never managed to get the hang of it. Back then, she'd nervously asked if he thought she was stupid.

What had he said?

He'd affectionately ruffled her hair, his eyes filled with tenderness. "If my princess could do everything herself, what would she need her prince for? Don't bother learning. Any time, any place, just say the word, and I'll come pick you up."

His words still rang in her ears, but everything had changed.