Caleb kept his head lowered, saying nothing.

Mr. He snorted coldly and pushed past him to walk inside.

Mrs. He sighed deeply, directing people to move things in while telling him about the recent events.

"After Damian got his hands on those shares, he joined forces with a few shareholders to squeeze out the He family. The stock price has been falling continuously, and many subsidiaries are facing bankruptcy and liquidation. Since your father is the legal representative, in order to fill the deficit, we had no choice but to sell off our cars and properties. Your grandfather is still in the ICU and needs money, and the old family estate has been sold, too. In the future, we’ll all just have to live together."

Caleb hadn't expected that in just a month, Damian would have turned the He Group into an empty shell.

The family business his ancestors had spent generations building had been destroyed in his own hands just like that.

He held his head in despair, his entire being swallowed and gnawed away by the emotion of guilt.

He didn't even have the strength left to resist.

Mrs. He knew he wasn't feeling well and patted his shoulder, wanting to offer comfort, but she didn't know where to begin.

Just as mother and son stood there in speechless silence, a timid, familiar voice came from behind them.

"Caleb... Mrs. He..."

The two turned around and saw Sienna, along with her parents and brother, standing at the door.

The moment he saw this family, Caleb’s face darkened completely, as if shrouded by storm clouds.

He looked over with cold eyes, his tone filled with hostility and resentment.

"What are you here for again?"

Seeing him like this, Sienna nearly burst into tears, standing there twisting the hem of her clothes, unable to speak.

Julian, who had been harboring his own anger, immediately shielded his sister behind him and snapped back in a deep voice.

"Do you think we want to be here? We’re just here for an explanation!"

An explanation?

Hearing the word, Caleb let out a cold laugh.

He, too, wanted an explanation!

Chapter 20

In the dimly lit room, the two families sat across from each other, none of them wearing pleasant expressions.

The atmosphere in the living room was suffocating to the extreme, with no one speaking for a long time.

In the end, it was Sienna who gathered the courage to reveal the news.

"I... I’m pregnant!"

The sentence struck like a thunderbolt, thoroughly shattering the dead-water silence.

Both Mr. and Mrs. He wore looks of absolute shock, turning their gazes toward her in unison.

Caleb was so startled by the news that he stood up abruptly.

In his eyes, sharper than sword blades, was utter disbelief.

"Impossible!"

Hearing his flat denial, Julian couldn't sit still either. He clenched his fists and went at him.

"How is it impossible! My sister has only ever been with you; the child is yours. It's already two months old—are you still going to deny it?"

Caleb’s sluggish brain spun rapidly, calculating the timeline.

Two months?

That would have been in the middle of November.

That was even more impossible!

He had used condoms that entire month; how could she be pregnant?

After some logical deduction, Caleb was certain they were lying, and his eyes grew sharper.

"If it’s been two months, the child isn't mine! Who knows if your promiscuous sister hasn't been hooking up with other wild men outside!"

Julian was infuriated by these insulting words and raised his hand to hit him, but was held back by Sienna.

She looked at Caleb with reddened eyes, explaining with deep grievance.

"November 19th, Caleb. You were drunk on your birthday—have you forgotten that day?"

Reminded of that, Caleb finally remembered the absurdity of that night.

The expression on his face grew even gloomier as he gritted his teeth and questioned her.

"Didn't I buy you emergency contraceptive pills? Didn't you take them?"

"I looked it up, and they said the pills aren't good for the body, so I didn't take them! Caleb, now is not the time to be arguing about pills. What’s important is that we have a child, and you..."

Sienna looked at him shyly, waiting expectantly for his response.

But with just a single sentence, Caleb shattered her beautiful dream.

"Even if the child is mine, I won't keep it. Abort it!"

Because of this sentence, the entire living room fell into a deathly silence once again.

Mrs. Yu, who had been watching for a long time, finally couldn't hold it back and stood up, cursing him in high agitation.

"You tricked my just-of-age daughter into having relations with you, and now that there’s a child, you first deny it, and now that you can't deny it, you want to abort it! You are so irresponsible; you’ll be punished by heaven!"

Hearing her mother’s words, Sienna’s tears fell, her voice filled with pleading.

"Caleb, the baby is already two months old. When I went for my check-up, the doctor said the heart had already developed. How can you bear not to want him?"

Faced with her crying, Caleb remained expressionless, completely unmoved.

"The very first time you crawled into my bed, I warned you that it was just a fling between us. Don't even dream of using a child to threaten your way up!"

Mr. Yu and Julian felt their fists harden upon hearing this, and they grabbed him by the collar.

"Caleb! Watch your mouth!"

"My daughter is sincere about wanting to be with you. You toy with her feelings—aren't you going to take responsibility?"

Faced with the threat from the father and son, Caleb showed no fear, his eyes filled with mockery.

"From the very beginning, with your sister and your daughter, it was them who took the initiative to seduce me. She had bad intentions, got me drunk, and forced relations. I gave her money as compensation, yet she grew greedy and wanted to use a child to threaten me. Why should I take responsibility for a woman with ulterior motives?"

Julian could bear it no longer and smashed a fist into Caleb’s face.

Caleb wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth. A flash of cruelty crossed his eyes as he raised his hand to hit him back.

Mr. He, who had been sitting on the sofa all along, finally couldn't stand the farce any longer and barked a command to stop.

"Enough!"

Chapter 21

"Caleb, you have been married to Luna for five years and haven't had children. Now that she’s left without a word, just divorce her! I can’t be bothered to clean up the mess you’ve made, but this child—this child must be kept!"

Hearing this tone that left no room for argument, Caleb grew anxious in an instant.

"I will never divorce Luna! She’s just angry; once she gets over it, she’ll come back..."

Mrs. He never expected that even after Luna had brought their family to such a state, her son would still be obsessed with her. She couldn't help but interrupt.

"Back? And what if she comes back! Hasn't she harmed you enough? She is just like her mother. How could she possibly come back after leaving like this! Do you want to end up like her father, living out your days as a lunatic in a mental hospital?"

Hearing such words from the person closest to him, Caleb felt as though his heart were being pierced by knives.

He clenched his fists tightly, his face deathly pale, yet he stubbornly refused to accept reality, still struggling to defend himself.

"She will come back. We’ve been together for so many years; how could she possibly abandon me!"

"Caleb, wake up! She even canceled her household registration—how could she possibly..."

Sienna’s attempt to console him was like a sharp blade piercing through Caleb’s precarious defenses.

He glared at her, revealing an expression that looked as if he were about to devour her alive.

"Shut your mouth! Even if Luna never returns in this lifetime, I will never agree to marry you! In my heart, my wife will only ever be Luna!"

Julian’s face slowly turned pale at these words.

Her shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and her fingernails dug into her flesh until blood began to drip down.

An unprecedented sense of despair enveloped her heart.

For the first time, she realized that to her, Luna was a mountain so vast and insurmountable.

Even if she had evaporated from this world entirely.

She still couldn't walk into the depths of Caleb’s heart.

Watching his son’s near-manic state, Mr. He could no longer bear it and immediately called for people to lock him in his room.

The living room returned to silence.

Mrs. He had tea served and handed it to the Yu family herself, but they still didn't give her a pleasant look.

Mr. He glanced at Sienna and forced a polite, pleasant expression.

"The He family—Caleb is not the one who calls the shots. Don't take those crazy words he just said to heart. Since the child is already two months along, the He family will certainly take responsibility."