CHAPTER 181: CHAPTER 181- TRISTA IS MY WIFE NOW

Janice watched as Shaun led little Callum up to the stage, instantly understanding the situation. Two powerful families united by marriage—such an arrangement was nothing unusual. But Callum was only five years old, and Trista had just turned one...

"Isn’t this a bit too early?" Janice asked Charles with a hint of surprise, watching the two children receive admiring gazes and congratulations from the crowd.

"Have you not noticed they’ve already taken a liking to each other?" Charles, dressed in a striking black suit that accentuated his tall, commanding figure, glanced down at Janice, who was nestled against him like a delicate bird.

"But your daughter is only one—how could she even know what it means to take a liking?" Janice rolled her eyes, feeling slightly overwhelmed. Trista was barely talking yet. If Callum showed interest in Trista, she could understand that—but the other way around?

"Look now—aren’t they facing each other?" Charles lifted Janice’s chin with a playful smirk, guiding her gaze toward the center of the hall where the two kids stood. Callum was impeccably dressed in a three-piece tailcoat and a smart bow tie, his hair neatly styled like a miniature groom. His small hand held Trista’s as she wobbled on unsteady legs, one hand grasped by Callum and the other by Shaun. The father and son duo clearly already treated Trista as one of their own.

"So, our daughter is practically betrothed already?" Janice stared at Trista in disbelief. Today was her birthday, but Janice, her mother, hadn’t even held her enough before others had started claiming her. As a mother, Janice couldn’t help but feel a pang of protectiveness.

She had just reclaimed her daughter—how could she already be ’someone else’s’?

"That was already decided before Trista was even born," Charles said reluctantly, though inside, he was secretly pleased. Years ago, when Callum was just born, Shaun had already reached an agreement with him.

Charles saw the displeasure cloud Janice’s face and teasingly stroked her chin, then whispered seductively in her ear, "Then how about we have another?"

"Get lost! Who wants another one!" Janice blushed in embarrassment, pushing him away as she caught sight of Angela and Samantha nearby, puffing up her cheeks in defiance.

Behind her, Charles’s low chuckle echoed as he spotted Steven’s lonely figure in the crowd and stepped over to him.

"Manfred!" Janice’s face lit up when she saw Manfred searching the room anxiously. He was approaching, followed by August and Philip.

She knew Philip had returned with Derrick. Charles hadn’t invited Derrick this time, but everyone understood that his return was for Trista. To have a granddaughter hold such a place in his heart—it was clear he truly wanted to make amends.

"You should call me Philip now!" Philip’s voice was as smooth as a breeze, his gaze gentle as always toward Janice.

They had once been married, and in Janice’s heart, he was already family.

"Philip," Janice nodded softly. His expression shifted slightly at her address. Once, he had felt sympathy for her. Had he been a different man then, maybe he would have fought for their happiness. But now, watching her and Charles so happy, he had no regrets.

"Where’s Trista?" Manfred asked, sensing the unspoken tension between them, his eyes heavy with a love deeper than Philip’s. Yet to forget this fruitless, one-sided affection, he needed more time.

"She’s inside. I’ll go get her," Janice said, noticing Manfred’s hopeful gaze. She turned and scanned the hall for Trista, unaware of where the little girl had wandered off to...

"Trista..." Janice hurriedly searched the backyard as Angela had directed, but there was no sign of Callum or Trista. Just as anxiety began to gnaw at her and she turned to find Charles, her eyes caught sight of a bent figure standing outside the courtyard.

Squinting closer, she saw the little girl cradled gently in his arms—it was Trista. And the man holding her was none other than Derrick.

Janice hadn’t seen him all evening and thought he might not show up. Yet here he was.

"Dad..." Janice approached cautiously, her voice polite but carrying a hint of emotion as she addressed him.

"Ah..." Derrick responded with surprise, his eyes shining with a bittersweet joy. Hearing Janice call him "Dad" touched him deeply, even more than Charles or August’s presence could.

"Why aren’t you inside? Philip and August are there too," Janice asked gently, sensing why he had chosen to hide away—to steal a quiet moment with Trista but avoid facing his other sons.

"No... I just wanted to see Trista. She looks so much like Charles..." Derrick’s voice trembled as he held the calm child. Trista, obedient in his arms, clutched a mysterious object in her hand. When she saw Janice, she stretched out her tiny arms, eager to be held by her mother.

"Janet, thank you... Charles, I leave her in your hands," Derrick said, sorrow etched into every line of his weathered face. Before Janice could reply, he gently placed Trista back into her arms and quietly walked away.

Janice saw the regret and reluctance in his eyes. After he left, she noticed the precious item in Trista’s grasp — a sapphire necklace worth millions, Derrick’s birthday gift to his granddaughter. The blue gem sparkled like a princess’s treasure in the little girl’s hand.

As Janice prepared to head back, Callum suddenly appeared from an unseen corner. Seeing Trista, he clung stubbornly to Janice’s leg, eyes wide and pleading.

"Auntie, Trista is my wife now. Hold her for me!" he demanded.

"Callum, Trista’s still little. You have to wait until you’re both grown up and married before you can call her your wife, okay?" Janice couldn’t help but chuckle. The boy’s possessiveness over Trista was just like Shaun’s and Charles’s—serious even at such a young age.

"No! Dad and Uncle both said that from today, Trista’s my wife. I already put a stamp on it!" Callum tugged Trista from Janice’s arms and planted a loud "smack" on her soft lips, declaring his claim in the most childish yet adorable way.

Charles stepped out at that moment and saw the hilarious scene unfold. Janice tried her best to coax Callum to let her hold Trista so they could introduce her to Manfred, but Callum refused to let go.

In his eyes, Trista belonged to him, and no one else was allowed to take her away.