Chapter 4
“Haven’t seen you for a long time,” came a calm, familiar voice.
It was Edward Reynolds, the only son of the prominent Reynolds Family. His sudden. appearance caused a ripple in the air. Liora’s eyes immediately brightened, her face lighting up with a smile as she ran toward him. Edward was Luke’s mortal enemy and had always been her
unattainable first love. He was the only person she had longed for but could never have for the past eight years.
“Ed, why are you here?” she asked, her voice eager, unable to hide her excitement.
“Aren’t you starting a new company abroad? I thought you weren’t coming back here.”
Too bad, Edward did not even glance at her. He took two steps forward, his eyes calm as he looked directly at me.
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“Don’t call me like that,” he said, his voice cold and cutting. “We‘ re not that close. Also, if you keep yelling like that, I won’t hesitate to sew your big mouth shutt and have my lawyers deal with you.”
“Why are you talking to her like that?”
It was no secret that Edward was the reason Luke had never been able to win Liora’s heart fully, despite all his efforts.
She had always held Edward Reynolds on a pedestal and now that her long–lost love rival was standing right in front of her, she seemed eager to toss everything aside to chase him once again. It was a bitter pill for Luke to swallow.
However, Liora was determined not to let anyone belittle her precious first love, so she shot a sharp look at Luke. “We‘ re guests here, aren’t we? Why don’t you go. get some tea?” she said sweetly, though her eyes held no warmth. “Edward… Ed likes green tea…”
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Luke’s face twisted with anger, his brows furrowed and his voice came out tight, each word forced through gritted teeth.
“Liora Sinclair!”
His patience had clearly snapped. “I am not your servant and this is not a café!”
But Liora was unfazed by his anger. She completely ignored him, continuing her flirtation with Edward. She squeezed herself between him and me, her eyes glowing with hope. “Ed, how long will you be staying in this country this time? Are you free tonight? I can cook for you myself if you want to…”
Before she could finish, Edward smoothly sidestepped her chatter, walking past her like she was not even there. He approached me, his movements calm and to my surprise, gently took my hand. His fingers intertwined with mine in a gesture that was both protective and intimate.
“I already have a wife,” Edward said. “I don’t need anyone else getting
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involved.”
Liora s eyes widened in shock, her expression frozen in disbelief.
Luke was stunned at first, his eyes fixated on the sight of my hand intertwined with Edward’s. His shock quickly turned into a sneer and he spat out his words with condescending disdain.
“Calista, even if you’re upset about Liora and me getting the marriage certificate, dragging in any random guy and making up such pathetic lies to soothe your pride is just sad,” he mocked.
“But I’ll be generous this time. Since you’re clearly doing this because you still love me and can’t help yourself, I’ll give you another chance. Come back to me and I’ll forgive all your unreasonable drama this
time.”
I had already moved past any hope of reconciliation with him, but the sheer arrogance in his tone, the confidence that
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he was somehow irreplaceable, stirred at bitter knot in my chest. I took a deep breath, ready to lash out at him, but before. I could say a word, Edward stepped in.
“And who do you think you are to decide what Calista should do?” Edward’s voice cut through the tension like a blade.
“You strut around in fancy clothes like a peacock, but you don’t even speak like a decent human. If you don’t have a mirror handy, go take a look at yourself in some. water. You‘ re so full of yourself and it s honestly disgusting.”
When was the last time had Luke ever been ridiculed like this, I wondered? Had he even been ridiculed before?
Immediately, he clenched his fists, his face contorted with fury. In a heartbeat, he swung a punch. “Who the hell are you? I’m talking to my woman, not you!” he
shouted.
Edward let go of my hand, bracing himself.
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The two men lunged at each other, fists flying, neither willing to back down.
“You still don’t get it, do you?” Edward shouted over the chaos. “Calista and I are
married now. You‘ re not even her ex- husband, so who are you to interfere?”
The fight escalated quickly. Within moments, Luke was sporting a bruised nose and swollen face, but Edward was not unscathed either. A thin line of blood
trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Liora was looking frantic before she rushed over and grabbed Luke by the waist, trying to pull him away.
“Luke, stop! Have you lost your mind? If you keep this up, I’ll divorce you! I swear, I will!” she screamed, desperate to get through to him.
But Luke was consumed by rage at the moment, so he shoved her aside without a second thought. His face was twisted with anger, eyes blazing. “You love him? Then
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what the hell have I been doing all these years?” he shouted at Liora.
Edward was still standing tall as wiped the blood from his mouth and shot back coolly, “Sounds like you’ve just had terrible luck, mate.”
Luke froze, visibly stunned by the response. In a fit of pure frustration, he lashed out at his surroundings, overturning a table, smashing vases and destroying everything within his reach.
His eyes were wild, red with anger as he told everyone to get out.
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