He Ditched Me At Engagement, I Married A Tycoon

Chapter 4

"Cerys, you are utterly impossible!" Liora exclaimed.

Jesse struggled free and scrambled down, rushing forward to shove Liora hard. She instantly tumbled to the ground, putting on a look of utter heartbreak and despair.

"I am your real mother…"

"No, you are not! You are a wicked woman!" As Jesse fought and twisted, he lashed out and kicked her leg.

Seeing this, Callum was just about to step forward, when my brother, who must have heard the commotion, stormed over. Furious beyond words, he grabbed Jesse roughly by the collar and lifted him off the ground.

He pointed an accusing finger straight at me. "Cerys, is this how you raise Liora's child? How could you be so cruel and twisted?"

"I told you again and again! Jesse has nothing whatsoever to do with any of you!" I ground out between clenched teeth.

Ignoring my words completely, he dragged Jesse toward the garden terrace of the venue, hoisting him high in the air. Right beneath his dangling feet lay a deep pond, its surface dark and several meters down. My heart lurched violently into my throat, and I lunged forward to stop him, only to be instantly seized and held back by his burly bodyguards.

"Let him go this instant! Please!" Seeing he paid no heed to my screams, I twisted my head and pleaded desperately with Callum. "Callum! If you truly believe Jesse is your own flesh and blood, can you stand there and watch him be treated like this without lifting a finger?!"

At my words, Callum's expression wavered, and he hesitated.

But before he could move, Liora spoke up swiftly, her tone soft yet laced with calculation, "He is only trying to scare him a little. He would never truly harm the child. This little one came from my own body. If anything were to happen to him, no one would grieve more deeply than I. But if we let him act this way without correction, he will only grow more unruly and reckless in the future!"

Hearing that, Callum immediately stopped in his tracks and turned to face me, his voice stern and cold, "Cerys, you never should have run away all those years ago. Look what you have turned the boy into!"

My eyes burned crimson as I caught sight of the unmistakable triumph glinting in Liora's eyes. Rage and terror roared inside me until my vision blurred.

"If even a single hair on Jesse's head is harmed, my husband will hunt every single one of you down and make you pay dearly!"

At my mention of another man, Callum's face hardened instantly into ice. "How much longer do you intend to keep up this pathetic lie?"

"Is it truly possible… that you betrayed Callum and marry someone else?" Liora added softly, feigning shock.

Callum clenched his fists so tight his knuckles turned white and let out a sharp, mocking snort. "Who else on earth could you possibly rely on, aside from me?"

I can still remember clearly, back when my own parents had cast me out of the house. Callum had sworn solemnly that he would build a warm, safe home just for me.

In those days, he truly had put my wishes above all else, bringing me every single thing I loved without me even asking. But all that tenderness and devotion had crumbled to dust the moment he humiliated and betrayed me right at our own engagement banquet. Nothing could ever wash that memory away.

Summoning every last ounce of strength I had, I rammed my shoulder hard against the guards holding me. Caught off‑guard, they stumbled back, and I broke free, sprinting with all my might toward the pond.

In the next breath, I saw Jesse sink his small teeth deep into my brother's hand. He cried out in searing pain, and his grip loosened instantly. With a sickening gasp, Jesse slipped straight from his grasp and plunged headfirst into the dark water!

"Jesse!" I screamed and threw myself into the pond without a second thought, grabbing hold of him and clutching him tightly to my chest, only to suddenly remember with horror that I had never learned how to swim.

Cold, murky water flooded into my mouth and throat, choking me, yet I fought with all my might to hold Jesse above the surface. But my limbs grew heavier by the second, my strength draining away fast, and slowly, inevitably, we began to sink downward into the freezing depths.

Just as despair threatened to swallow me whole, another powerful figure dove into the water. Strong arms wrapped firmly around both of us, pulling us upward and shoving us swiftly toward the bank.

Moments later, we were hauled onto solid ground, and a heavy, warm wool coat was immediately draped over our trembling, soaked bodies.

Then came a voice, one so familiar, yet now thick with such terrifying, unrestrained fury, that tears welled instantly in my eyes.

"Seize every single one of those bastards and tear them limb from limb. Then feed what's left to the dogs!"