Calista looked at the sly smirk spreading across Lancelot's face and suddenly regretted starting this.

"Scared now?"

Lancelot pulled her closer as he made his way to the bed, his grip tightening just a bit. His lips dangerously close to hers, his voice low and teasing.

Hearing that, Calista's body tensed. Tilting her chin up, she said, "Babe, me? Scared of you? Please. I was just about to suggest some... deeper communication."

Lancelot's eye twitched. Without a word, he tossed her onto the bed, yanked the blanket over her, and said coolly, "Go to sleep. No more nonsense. Or I'll throw you out myself."

"You're not gonna sleep with me?"

Watching him head toward the door, Calista let out a silent sigh of relief, but her mouth wouldn't let her quit teasing.

Lancelot didn't say a thing, just slammed the door behind him sharply on his way out.

Staring at the closed door, Calista rolled around on the bed, stifling her laughter.

That was hilarious! Who knew this serious old guy could be so fun? Looks like turning Lancelot into a wife-doting maniac might not be that far off.

*****

"Babe, time to get up! Let's go for a jog!"

A little before six in the morning, the dreadful sound of Calista's voice echoed in Lancelot's ears.

He'd been in the study working till 2 a.m., finally made it to bed, and now she was waking him up? The way-too-lively kind of wake-up.

With his head pounding, Lancelot looked up to see Calista dressed in sporty gear, ponytail bouncing, looking fresh and full of energy.

"Calista, what on earth are you doing?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he exhaled, his voice laced with tiredness.

She beamed up at him. "Jogging. Your stamina sucks - you need more exercise. And y'know, when people age, the body starts shutting down all kinds of functions. So it's important to stay active. Let's move it!"

Getting old?

Each word coming out of her mouth felt like a jab. Was she blind? Kept calling him old when he was clearly still in his prime.

Lancelot shot her a sharp glare, trying hard to stay calm. "No. If you wanna run, go ahead. I'm staying."

"What? Are you yelling at me now?"

Calista's lips pouted as she looked heartbreakingly pitiful, tears practically threatening to fall.

Feeling his patience stretch thin, Lancelot turned his back, pulling the blanket over his head.

No way he was giving into her this time. If he kept doing that, she'd be running this whole house in no time.

"If you don't get up, I might actually bite you."

Calista wasn't fazed by his childish stubbornness. Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she mocked, "You lie there all day, you'll end up with memory loss. If that happens, I'll just abandon you, take all your assets, and you can be a lonely old man wandering the streets. Pretty tragic, huh?"

Her tone rose, borderline shrieky.

Lancelot's handsome face twitched.

This damn woman... she was insulting him in the sneakiest way.

"Calista."

He drew in a deep breath, trying hard to keep a lid on his temper, but his face was like thunder.

"If you're that bored, go water the plants or organize the garden. Stop messing around in here."

"I don't care, I just wanna go for a morning run. A lovely little jog between husband and wife-aren't you the least bit excited?"

Calista pouted, clinging to Lancelot's arm, looking up at him with those big eyes full of fake sadness.

Lancelot's eyes met her sparkling ones, and for a split second, he looked lost-like something had clicked.

She really is... looking more and more like her.

"Calista, have you ever owned a necklace of Bluewing?"

"What Bluewing? Nope. I'm into pearls. Never bought anything from Bluewing."

His sudden question threw her off. She stared at him like he'd just spoken gibberish.

"Why'd you bring that up anyway? Isn't Bluewing some super old brand? They got bought out years ago and turned into some random overseas label."

"It's nothing... Just overthinking, I guess." Yeah, he must be losing it. What are the odds? After years of searching, the person's been right next to him-his own wife?

"What did you just say? I didn't catch that."

His voice had trailed off. She squinted at him, confused.

Lancelot didn't answer. Instead, he got up and started getting dressed.

"Let's go. Didn't you say you wanted to run?"

Classic unpredictable man... definitely got that mysterious vibe going.

Calista quickly followed after him.

She originally wanted to use the run to get Lancelot's health in better shape. Who knew the guy was already in peak condition?

Meanwhile, she was already huffing like crazy and couldn't keep up. Lancelot, on the other hand, barely looked fazed. Not even a hint of sweat. He shot her a sideways glance.

"You insisted on running, and yet your stamina's garbage."

"Who said my stamina's bad? Race me for 2,600 feet if you're so confident!" Calista's face turned red as she straightened up and challenged him, voice full of pride.

Lancelot gave her a blank look. "And if you lose?"

Calista frowned, thinking hard. "If I lose... I'll make you breakfast."

"Your fingers okay for that?"

His eyes drifted toward the spot on her hand where she'd been injured. Tone totally casual.

This woman really knew how to stir up trouble.

"You're the best hubby ever, seriously. You're worried my injury might mess up my cooking, aren't you? Don't worry, I'm a pro in the kitchen!"

Of course, she knew how to flatter him just right-pure Calista style.

"If you lose, you give me a full shoulders-and-legs massage," Lancelot said with a smirk, reaching out to pinch Calista's cheek.

She slapped his hand playfully in agreement. "Deal. But if you lose, same punishment for you."

No way she was gonna lose to some guy who was supposedly frail!

With her confidence soaring, Calista set off against Lancelot.

Five minutes later-

"Looks like you owe me," Lancelot said, glancing at his watch as Calista finally dragged herself to him-face flushed, panting heavily.

Looking all pink and breathless like that, she somehow seemed even more endearing.

As Calista glanced up at his ridiculously handsome face, she snapped inside.

What the hell? Lumi's intel was totally wrong.

Chronic illness? Rarely seen in public?

This dude was basically a pro athlete! What part of him is 'weak' again?

Fuming silently, Calista stomped over and started giving him the massage she owed.

Lancelot chuckled softly, watching her pout.

Man, she was adorable.

Half an hour later, the two returned to the villa. Breakfast was already served on the table, thanks to the butler.

Noticing how drained Calista looked, the butler gave her a knowing smile and said, "Ma'am, I made you a nourishing tonic. Mr. Bennett might've gone a bit overboard last night. Please don't take it to heart. He's quite something physically, after all."

Wait, hold up-what?

Why was she being handed a tonic?

Calista was totally confused.

"Come sit down and eat," Lancelot said, already seated at the table with his usual grace. Seeing her whispering with the butler, he narrowed his eyes a little and motioned her over.

Calista pouted at him but shuffled over.

Her whole body felt sore-arms, legs, everything hurt. She wasn't even in the mood for breakfast.

"Drink it," Lancelot said, pushing over the tonic the butler had made for her.

She gave it a glance-looked decent, smelled sweet.

"Honey, I want you to feed me," Calista said, trying her best to look cute as her eyes sparkled mischievously.

Lancelot's hand twitched so hard he nearly spilled the entire bowl in her face.

"Drink it yourself."

He set the bowl down with forced calm and gave her a cold snort.

"But I'm too weak," Calista whined, sticking out a finger covered in a little bandage. "And I even hurt my finger making soup for you last time."

Lancelot's jaw twitched.

With a resigned sigh, he picked up the bowl and began feeding her.

As she sipped the soup, Calista shamelessly kept throwing flirty darts at him.

"Honey, you look so charming feeding me like this."

"Can you feed me every day? I'd love that so much."

"Mmm, tastes even better when it's you who's feeding me."

"Calista, if you don't shut that mouth of yours, I swear I'll have it sewn shut."

Lancelot gave her a sharp glare, clearly annoyed by her constant teasing.

But Calista just giggled. "Aww, are you blushing? Come on, we're married, what's there to be shy about? Keep feeding me, hubby."

The butler and staff were struggling to keep straight faces, their shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

This young lady definitely had Mr. Bennett's number.

Ten minutes later, after finishing breakfast, Calista asked Lancelot to take her to Ors Café for her piano performance.

She had previously made arrangements with the café owner to play there for the day as part of her prep for an upcoming piano competition.

Lancelot just frowned slightly but didn't object. Instead, he had someone get a bicycle from the garage.

Calista stood by the door, texting Lumi while waiting for Lancelot to pull the car around.

But when she saw Lancelot wheeling out a bike, she nearly froze on the spot.

A bike? Was her vision glitching?

"Get on," Lancelot said flatly, already mounting the bicycle without even glancing at her stunned expression.

Calista's eye twitched. "You... want me to ride a bike to a piano gig?"

"You said I'm in poor health, right? This is exercise," Lancelot glanced sideways at her, looking all chill.

"Well, I guess a cute bike date could be kinda romantic," Calista muttered with a stiff smile, climbing onto the back of the bike, trying to keep her expression in check.

Lancelot seemed a bit surprised that Calista actually got on without complaining. Guess she really wasn't your typical spoiled rich girl.

If it were any other socialite, she'd probably be having a meltdown right now.

"Hold on," Lancelot warned before pedaling off swiftly like an arrow.

It had been ages since Calista rode a bike, and she was low-key terrified he'd fling her off, so she clung tightly to his waist.

The second Calista wrapped her arms around him, Lancelot's body tensed up.

A faint scent wafted from her - light, floral, and something about it seriously messed with his focus.

*****

"Lucas, is that... my sister?"

Lucas had been invited to the Ors Café banquet, and of course his date was none other than Felicity.

While they were mingling with guests in the hall, Felicity casually glanced outside and caught sight of Calista on the back of Lancelot's bike just across the street.

Lucas turned to look out when he heard Felicity's voice.

"Looks like she married that guy just to spite us. Honestly, Lucas, we really let her down," Felicity said, lips curled in a slight smirk.

Calista, the Monroe family's precious daughter, ending up with some broke pretty boy? What a joke. Embarrassed the whole family.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to sit back and do nothing," Lucas said with a dark look, lightly patting Felicity's hand.

He hadn't even had a taste of Calista yet-there's no way he'd let her get taken by some broke loser.

Outside the Ors Café.

After dropping Calista off, Lancelot left without saying a word.

"Honey, don't forget to pick me up after work!" Calista waved at his retreating figure with a grin.

Lancelot nearly lost control of his bike.

Seriously, this woman's so thick-skinned, he's surprised bullets don't bounce off her.

Seeing him almost bolt like that made Calista laugh even harder. Teasing her grumpy man every day-life really couldn't get any better.

"Hey sis, fancy running into you here."

Her good mood shattered the moment Felicity's voice cut through the air.

Calista turned, her smile gone in a blink. Standing behind her were Felicity and Lucas.

Her face darkened. "Coincidence? Yeah, right. Get out of my way."

"Calista, come on, don't be like this. We're just worried about you. You should leave that-what was he?-gigolo."

Gigolo...?

Did Lucas seriously not recognize his own father just now?

Well, to be fair, maybe not. The glass at the café was a bit reflective, and Lancelot was wearing a high-collar black coat-easy to mistake. But calling his dad a gigolo? Then what does that make him, a baby gigolo?

"Bahahaha!"

Calista cracked up, hugging her stomach as she burst into laughter.

Felicity and Lucas exchanged confused looks. Neither had a clue why Calista was laughing like that.

Felicity finally asked, "Sis, what's so funny? We're just looking out for you. Why would you degrade yourself like this?"

"'Degrade'-what a word choice." Calista's smile faded, her tone turning cool. "Felicity, Lucas, you both just wait and see. It won't be long... before you realize heaven and hell are just a step apart."

"Stolen happiness doesn't always smell sweet-sometimes it just reeks."

With that, Calista moved closer, leaned in, and whispered into Felicity's ear, slowly and clearly.

Felicity's expression shifted. Her fists clenched tighter.

What did Calista mean by that?

Could it be-she's planning to steal Lucas back?

Was marrying some random guy just a ruse? Some distraction to throw them off? Was her real goal to win Lucas over again?

"She's probably still bitter, but no matter what, we can't let her stay involved with that man."

Lucas stared at Calista's fading figure, expression hardening, fists clenched.

"Lucas, do you... still have feelings for my sister?" Felicity's eyes darted around, jealousy flashing. She clung to his arm, clearly annoyed.

She was about to marry Lucas-there's no way she'd let Calista mess this up again.

"What are you talking about? Of course not. I'm just upset that she's throwing her life away."

"Mom and Dad want her to marry the Jennings family's son."

"The disabled one?" Lucas frowned slightly.

The Jennings family had a few sons, but the one Calista grew up with had an accident-he couldn't walk anymore.

"Even if he's in a wheelchair, she'd still be the Jennings family's daughter-in-law. Look at who she's with now-a man who lives off women. She's not just embarrassing the Monroes, she's heading straight for a dead end. Don't you think the Jennings guy's a better match?"

Felicity tiptoed and leaned into Lucas's neck, resting her face against his with a soft, syrupy tone.

Lucas gave Felicity a lurid grin, swallowing hard as he pinched her cheek. "That Gigolo guy? Please. Even a disabled heir from the Jennings family's a better pick."

He'd rather see Calista married off to someone in a wheelchair than let her keep fooling around with that so-called male escort. At least a disabled man wouldn't sleep with her.

Felicity's eyes lit up as she leaned close. "Then why don't we give them a little push? Once Calista and Mr. Jennings are... you know, in too deep, she won't be able to crawl back to that escort ever again."

Lucas's gaze sharpened. "Sounds like a plan. After all, we're just looking out for her."

"Let's reach out to Mr. Jennings now. He's always had a thing for her anyway," Felicity added with a sly smirk.

"You handle it," he said breezily.

Lucas brushed a kiss on her cheek, a twisted smile creeping up.

In Felicity's mind, she sneered-Calista, even if you're Miss Monroe, in the end, I still got your man. First, you marry a male escort, now you're about to marry a cripple. I'll make sure everyone sees just how far from grace you've fallen.

*****

Calista had two performances today-one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The time in between was her break.

She already had her Level 10 piano certificate in hand, and in all of Crownvale, no one could really hold a candle to her performances. Those who'd heard her play before basically agreed-she was on a master level.

With fifteen minutes to go before her next set, the event organizers were getting her outfit ready.

Just then, Lumi texted her.

[Wanna drag your husband out for some grilled food tonight?]

[Thought you'd never ask,] Calista replied, her eyes glinting as she shot back a message.

Lumi didn't even wait-she called immediately to lock down the spot.

"How about my husband's villa?"

"Totally. I haven't even seen your love nest yet. Perfect time to check it out."

"Being a Bennett, that house must be real fancy, right?"

"Fancy?" Calista gave a slight snort.

"His taste is so stiff and gloomy... I had to change up everything as soon as I moved in."

"You're unbelievable. He actually let you do that? Looks like the old guy is head over heels. Turning him into a doting-husband type, huh?"

"Well, duh. You think I don't have that kind of pull?"

Calista was clearly enjoying herself.

"At this rate, if you told Lucas and Felicity to serve you tea and wash your feet every day, Lancelot probably wouldn't bat an eye."

The thought made Calista beam.

A knock came from the door-must be the staff with her dress.

She ended the call with Lumi and called out for them to come in. After receiving the dress, she changed quickly, then snapped a selfie and sent it to Lancelot.

[Hey hubby, do I look cute or what?]

She had her hair styled in a half-up princess look, topped with a small white tiara. Pure and sweet, she looked just like a fairytale princess.

Meanwhile, Lancelot was deep in work when his phone buzzed.

The moment he checked it and saw the picture, his expression changed.

Staring at Calista in that dress, he felt a tightness in his throat.

This girl... always messing with him at the worst times. She was really asking for it.