Chapter 3

I arrived at Seraphina's penthouse duplex, carrying a Patek Philippe watch box. I'd casually bought this place for her when she complained about living in the dorms.

The door opened. Caleb stood leaning against the doorframe, wearing Seraphina’s black silk robe.

The robe hung loosely, revealing his pale chest, covered in tell-tale hickeys. He saw me, and his pretty eyes immediately welled up with tears, as if he'd suffered the greatest injustice.

"Julian… don't get the wrong idea. Sera just stayed to keep me company because she was afraid I'd do something reckless."

A rich, top-tier white tea scent mingled with the undeniable scent of... intimacy, assaulting my senses.

I smiled, though the mirth never reached my eyes: "Is that right? She was afraid you'd 'do something reckless,' so she personally got involved, giving you... palliative care with her body temperature?"

"Looks like she's really dedicated herself to saving your life, must be exhausting."

Caleb's face instantly went ashen, tears trembling on his lashes.

Just then, the master bedroom door slid open with a whoosh.

A bath robe hung loosely on Seraphina's body. There were still hickeys on her neck as she walked out, wiping her wet hair.

She froze when she saw me, then her gaze fell on the watch box in my hand, and her eyes instantly lit up.

"Julian? What are you doing here?"

She strode over, her voice filled with such surprise, such a naturally intimate tone.

"And you brought me a gift? I knew you were the most generous, that you loved me the most."

She reached out to take it, completely ignoring the fragile thread that bound us.

But then Caleb suddenly clutched his chest, letting out a series of heart-wrenching coughs.

He gripped the doorframe, looking at Seraphina with tear-filled eyes: "Sera, am I… am I dying? Will I not see our baby…?"

Seraphina's face instantly changed.

She immediately turned and took Caleb's arm, carefully helping him to the sofa.

Then she took his hand and placed it over her own lower abdomen.

"Don't be silly, the baby is already in my belly. Once he's born, you'll be saved."

Then she walked back, snatched the watch box from my hand, and thrust it into Caleb's.

"You take this for now. If it's not enough, I'll figure something else out."

Her tone was so natural, as if this watch—and even I—were just tools for her to appease another man.

I looked at them, my heart chilling inch by inch, leaving only a numb, bitter amusement.

Caleb was still putting on his act. He pushed the watch box back, saying with a heartbreaking vulnerability:

"No, I can't take it. This is Julian's gesture, he loves you so much…"

Seraphina frowned, turning back to look at me, her voice carrying a hint of entitled command.

"Julian, how about this? You don't really live in that lakeside villa in the suburbs anyway, why not sell it first to pay for Caleb's treatment?"

"Didn't you always say what's yours is mine? Caleb's dad raised me. Without him, we would never have met. You wouldn't want to see a parent burying their own child, would you?"

"You're so good, you'll understand me, right?"