Chapter 4

Ethan's POV

The trust signing ended just like that.

Tristan clutched his right hand while Emily helped him sit down and had the housekeeper bring medicine.

The Hayes family surrounded him, all asking about his injury with their mouths while their eyes stabbed at me.

Linda was barely containing her anger.

"Ethan, did you have to push him on a day like this? Don't you know who his hand was ruined for?"

Tristan immediately spoke.

"Don't blame him. I shouldn't have come."

The more lightly he spoke, the more the people in the room thought I was cruel.

Emily supported Tristan and looked up at me.

"Let's not talk about the trust today. Tristan's hand hurts so much. Are you going to continue?"

I looked at her protective posture and didn't argue anymore.

I gathered up the documents.

"That's it."

When Emily left with Tristan, she didn't look at me.

I returned to the study and reopened the access log.

Every time Tristan entered late at night, the source of the permission was crystal clear.

Emily had opened it.

I saved those pages of records, then placed last night's security backup beside them.

Not long after, there was a knock on the study door.

Emily pushed the door open. Seeing the access log on the computer screen, her face changed immediately.

I asked, "How many times has Tristan actually come to our house?"

Emily was silent for a few seconds.

"His right hand isn't convenient. Sometimes the pain is so bad he can't sleep. I just let him rest in the guest room."

I clicked on one particular night.

"This night, he entered at one in the morning and left at six."

Emily glanced at it and averted her eyes.

"That night he was in very bad condition. I took care of him until very late."

"What about the night in the master bedroom?"

Emily completely froze.

She didn't ask how I knew, and she didn't deny it.

She only lowered her voice.

"I'm pregnant now. I can't be stressed. Ethan, can we wait until after the child is born to discuss some things?"

I laughed.

"After the child is born, will Tristan be able to move in smoothly?"

"I never thought of letting him replace you!"

Emily was agitated.

"He was ruined for me back then. Now seeing me with a child, it's normal for his emotions to spiral."

"His emotions spiraled, so you gave him access to the master bedroom?"

Emily's eyes reddened instantly.

She seemed finally pushed to her limit, and her voice grew cold.

"You know exactly what I feel most guilty about. Why do you keep tearing it open again and again? I'm caught between you and Tristan. Can't you be understanding just once?"

I didn't respond.

I stood up and opened the study door.

"You should rest."

Emily stood at the door and looked at me for a long time.

For the first time, I didn't follow along with her guilt.

That night, Tristan suddenly moved out of the residence the Hayes family had arranged for him.

He didn't take much, only leaving behind a note.

It was very brief.

He said he didn't want to put Emily in a difficult position anymore, and he didn't want the child to be caught between adults before it was even born.

He wouldn't participate in the child's trust, wouldn't enter our house, and wouldn't disturb me anymore.

Linda saw the note soon after.

Her eyes immediately turned red.

"Tristan has suffered enough, and now even this bit of hope has been taken from him."

Emily's first reaction was to call Tristan.

No one answered.

A few minutes later, Tristan sent a location.

An old apartment.

That was the place where he had lived during rehabilitation after his accident.

Emily grabbed her coat and headed for the door.

I stood at the stairway.

"You're pregnant. Going out late at night isn't safe."

Emily paused, as if thinking I had finally relented.

I continued, "I'll have the driver take you. But Tristan's house access won't be restored."

The softening on Emily's face vanished instantly.

She left with anger.

An hour later, Tristan sent me a video.

In the video, Tristan sat in the living room with medicine beside his right hand.

He wasn't crying, only smiling bitterly.

"Emily, I didn't save you back then to be humiliated like this today."

Emily stood at the door, her chest feeling pressed.

Tristan looked up at her.

"Ethan can't tolerate me. I accept that. But after the child is born, will I have to ask his permission even to look at the baby once?"

Emily was silent for a long time.

Finally, she said, "I'll handle the access issue."

Tristan lowered his head.

"Don't fight with him because of me."

Emily didn't say anything more.

In the study, my computer displayed a notification.

Someone was requesting to restore Tristan's access.