Chapter 4

Riley hurried over.

Her gaze fell on Tristan standing there unharmed, and she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief before turning to address Lucas.

"Lucas, Tristan's house has been empty for years and needs to be renovated. So could he stay with us for a few days?"

Lucas looked at Riley without speaking.

In the silence, Tristan's expression became very uneasy and a bit pitiful. "Riley, maybe I should just leave. After all, it was my fault for not showing up at the wedding. Now you have a new husband, and Mr. Xu doesn't seem to welcome me."

Riley looked at Lucas, her face hesitating.

Tristan let out a long sigh, turning away dejectedly.

Sophie immediately reached out to stop him. "Tristan! Why are you leaving?! If anyone should go, it's him. The real man of this house should be-"

"Shut up, Sophie!" Riley snapped angrily. "Who said you could talk to Lucas like that? He's my husband and your brother-in-law. Apologize to him right now or get out!"

Sophie's eyes instantly reddened at this. Seeing the scene, Lucas finally spoke up, the corners of his mouth curving into a smile.

"It's fine, you don't need to scold Sophie. I didn't refuse. Mr. Fu, please make yourself at home here."

After all, in five more days, this home would belong to Tristan.

There was no need to ruin the sisters' relationship over an outsider like himself.

With that, Lucas turned and walked into the villa.

"Hey orphan! Who said you could speak for me?! Am I wrong?! If my sister wasn't the Sullivan family's princess, would you have stepped up as the groom?!"

Sophie's defiant voice came from behind, followed by Riley's scolding and Tristan's placating words.

Hearing Sophie's words, complex emotions surged in Lucas's eyes.

This was his eighth year of loving Riley.

He still remembered the scene when he first fell in love at first sight with her in the dance studio.

She was wearing a ballet dress, her graceful movements making her look just like a proud yet noble and beautiful white swan. In that moment, his heart was captivated.

But she was the Sullivan family's princess, the darling of high society.

As an orphan, Lucas knew their backgrounds were worlds apart. But in the end, when he saw Riley red-eyed and at a loss standing on that stage, Lucas instinctively went up.

That feeling had nothing to do with status or benefits. He simply didn't want to see the girl he liked cry.

Seemingly afraid Tristan would still leave, Riley immediately instructed the servants to move his luggage into the largest guest room.

Sophie instantly strutted over to Lucas, her nose in the air. "What are you standing around for? Go make dinner. Oh, and Tristan can't eat spicy food, so make it bland."

Hearing this, Tristan's eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he looked Lucas up and down again.

"I've heard Mr. Xu's cooking is quite good. Then today I'll have to trouble-"

Before he could finish, Riley came down from the guest room upstairs. "Sophie, that's enough! How many times have I told you, we have servants. Why do you always make Lucas cook for you?"

Tristan's expression soured, his glance towards Lucas filled with hatred.

But when Riley walked over, Tristan immediately put on a different face, smiling.

"I'll cook today. I learned a lot of skills abroad these past years and have been wanting to make something for you all to try."

As he said this, Tristan was looking at Riley.

Riley's eyes suddenly had a moment of haziness, but when she saw Lucas standing quietly to the side, she still shook her head and said, "No need. Your health isn't good. Let the servants-"

Sophie latched onto her, grabbing Riley's hand and saying, "Sis, just let Tristan cook for us. He worked so hard to learn."

Riley seemed to think of something and finally nodded.

"Alright, but don't tire yourself out."

Lucas watched all of this without saying a word, just standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the garden.

Seeing Lucas so quiet, Riley suddenly felt an increasing sense of panic.

After a long silence, she walked to Lucas's side and softly said,

"Lucas, if you don't like Tristan staying here, I'll send him back after this meal."

"No need. Let him stay if he wants."

Lucas turned to look at Riley. "That document, have you looked at it?"

Mentioning the document again, Riley's brow furrowed slightly. "I haven't looked yet. Didn't I say I trust you? Do I really need to look at it?"

Did she need to or not? Lucas didn't know.

The signature was already there anyway. But thinking of their three years together...

Lucas was about to speak when Tristan suddenly came over carrying a pot of hot soup. He glanced at Lucas standing like a stranger beside Riley, his eyes flashing with intense jealousy.

Then, pretending to stumble, he rushed forward towards Lucas in a panic, spilling the entire pot of soup.

"Watch out!"