Tristan Grayson nodded at Sheldon Rhodes’s words. A vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he said coldly, "Give Archie however many men he needs."

"Yes."

"Tell Ian Shaw his only task is to protect Archie. He doesn’t need to rush back to see me."

"Yes, sir."

As Sheldon Rhodes left, Tristan Grayson turned to enter the hospital room. Suddenly, he felt as if someone was watching him. He shot a cold glance behind him but saw nothing.

He frowned, and a flicker of unease stirred within him.

After the door to the hospital room closed, a woman emerged from a nearby corner. She pulled down her surgical mask, revealing a pale, small face.

At that moment, Tristan Grayson had no idea he was already being watched. Nor did he know that the events about to unfold would be seared into his memory forever—an experience that, even years later, would make his heart tremble at the mere thought.

The moment Tristan Grayson closed the door, Mika Summers opened her eyes. She turned to her side and reached out to stroke Kiki’s little face. Her voice trembled as she asked uncertainly, "Why... why would I marry you?" ’As far as I can tell, I really don’t like Tristan Grayson. Just seeing him makes me deeply uncomfortable.’

’If that’s true, why would I have married him?’

Tristan’s expression faltered, a flicker of unease in his heart, but he forced a calm, gentle tone. "Mika, can we just... not talk about the past anymore? From now on, I’ll treat you and our son well. I swear."

"Tristan, I need time to accept all this." ’Aside from knowing we were married and had a child, I knew nothing. He hadn’t even given me a clear explanation for all my injuries.’

’This marriage... it couldn’t have been a happy one. Otherwise, why would I feel this visceral need to push him away?’

"Okay, I’ll give you time. I’ll wait for you to accept me," Tristan Grayson said, his voice low. He reached out to touch her cheek, his eyes a storm of complicated emotions.

Mika turned her head, avoiding his touch.

The moment his fingers brushed against her skin, a sharp, inexplicable pain lanced through her heart...

Her reaction made Tristan’s chest tighten, and his hand froze in mid-air. After three or four seconds, he finally snapped out of it. He gave a bitter smile, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You can’t refuse this one. Get some rest." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

「Early the next morning」

Jasmine Warren rushed to the hospital. She had planned to spend the day with Mika, so she was shocked to hear that her friend had been hospitalized.

Once in the room, she grabbed Mika’s hands and launched into a long, tearful rant, only for Mika to finally ask, "Miss, I think you have the wrong person."

Jasmine Warren was completely dumbfounded. Then, her shock turned to fury. She pointed a finger at Mika and yelled, "Damn it, I’d recognize you even if you were burnt to a crisp! Mika Summers, how could you forget me?"

Tristan Grayson had been watching the two of them with calm patience. But the moment he heard Jasmine’s words, his face turned to ice. Without a shred of hesitation, he stood up and physically threw her out of the room.

Jasmine pounded on the door, screaming, "Tristan Grayson, you goddamn bastard! It’s none of your business I’m here to see Mika! Get your ass out here! If you’ve got the guts, we can go at it! Mika, don’t you let him fool you! That guy is bad news! After how he treated you before, you can’t just fall for his tricks so easily!"