The Heiress Spoiled by Four Brothers and One Devilish CEO-Chapter 205 The Smile After the Storm

Tristan watched the screen go dark, a smug grin tugging at the corners of his lips.

Meanwhile, Karl let out a short laugh when the call ended in a busy tone. "What a child."

He walked over to a jar, bent over slightly, and said, "Such a valuable lead—why didn’t you speak up earlier? Might’ve saved yourself a whole lot of pain."

Jacob, now a wreck of his former self, barely managed a bitter smile. "If I had, wouldn’t I have died even faster?"

Karl scoffed, "You miscalculated. Honestly, if you’d said something sooner, I wouldn’t have treated you this way. Did you think I’d just dish all your torture back with interest? That I’d go full-blown sadist on you? You’re wrong. I didn’t."

With his eyelids gone, Jacob looked disturbingly grotesque. "No way you’re showing mercy. You’d make it worse if anything. After all the experiments I ran on you... You must hate me enough to wish me the worst."

"Hate’s definitely there," Karl sneered, a mocking smirk on his pale face. "I’ve lived through hell because of you. But hey, you did play a part in me surviving it all."

Straightening up and placing his hands behind his back, he added, "I didn’t totally destroy you. Your organs are still intact. You’ve got legs that work. Me? My insides are all wrecked."

Jacob’s eyes widened, fury blazing. "You’ve got the Silverwing sorcery worm King on your side. What are you scared of?"

Karl let out a cold snort. "And if I didn’t?"

"Then you’d die a horrible death!" Jacob hissed, eyes glinting eerily. "Wait... someone’s infected with an incurable sorcery worm, and you need the sorcery worm King to save them, don’t you? Hah! Like you’d sacrifice yourself for anyone. Who is it—Megan? The girl you’d cradle and never let go of? Must be the Lover’s Link sorcery worm. A real nasty one, huh? One dies, the other croaks in ten minutes."

He leaned forward, grinning wickedly. "So, Karl, you’ve finally got a choice that’ll tear you in two. Stick around and watch a lover’s suicide, or die a hero for someone who might not even thank you for it. Life’s cruel like that."

Karl smiled, calm and unfazed. "If I go, you’re coming with me."

The smirk on Jacob’s face froze. "But you said you’d spare me..."

Karl laughed out loud. "Yeah, changed my mind."

And just like that, he turned and walked out without a backward glance.

At Dreamscape Manor.

When Tristan walked through the door, Megan had just finished a call with Chloe.

As soon as she saw him, she darted out of bed and threw her arms around him. "Missed you so much."

He lifted her up effortlessly and set her gently back on the bed. "Careful now. Your belly won’t take rough moves much longer."

"Is Grandpa okay? And Dad?"

Tristan gently patted her back. "It hit Grandpa hard. It’s his own son after all. But what your uncle did... disappointment’s what stuck with him most."

"What do we do now?"

"What now?" Tristan pinched her chin, gave her lips a light kiss. "Now, you sleep."

Megan let out a soft sigh. "I can’t. I didn’t even get to see Grandpa one last time.""Megan, there’s not much we can actually change."

She looked up at him. "But maybe we can be like, I don’t know, time travelers or something?"

Tristan’s voice sharpened. "You’re pregnant. You wanna risk going through death again for this?"

He was clearly worried. "That whole tech isn’t even reliable—last time was pure luck. What if we can’t come back? Or worse, land in some random timeline?"

Megan lowered her head. "Okay, I get it."

Not wanting to listen to another lecture, she nudged him toward the bathroom. "Go, wash up and get ready for bed."

His breathing soon evened out, but then—out of nowhere—Tristan’s eyes snapped open, sharp and focused like a sudden beam cutting through darkness.

Karl’s warning circled in his mind. If they took down that parasite breeding base, would whoever’s behind it finally slip up?

But the price? Peace, once again, might shatter.

"You’re hiding something, aren’t you?"

So she was never asleep. This little sneak was studying his every move.

Tristan leaned in, pressed a soft kiss to her ear. "No, just thinking about when your brother’s wedding should be."

"Liar."

"I’m serious. Can we talk later? I’m dead tired."

Megan didn’t believe a word of it—this man was the king of denial. She turned and tucked herself into his arms, grinning as she teased, "Then let’s see just how stubborn that mouth of yours really is."

Tristan’s warm hand slid under her shirt. "Only fair if I get to test how unbreakable your heart is."

Early the next morning—

A knock echoed, followed by Mrs. Jones’ familiar voice: "Sir, Ma’am, the Lewis family is here."

Tristan and Megan quickly got up, threw on their clothes, and headed downstairs after a quick wash. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

There stood Stella, giving orders like a general, bags and boxes piling in by the second. Doing the heavy lifting? Oliver, Jason, and Samuel.

Seeing Tristan’s slightly stunned face, Samuel shrugged. "We couldn’t win against Mom. So, yeah... we moved in."

Megan blinked. "Is it just Mom?"

Samuel ran a hand through his hair. "Me and my parrot too!"

"Hello, pretty lady! You’re even prettier today!" the parrot chirped cheerfully.

Tristan leaned down and whispered in her ear, "What happened to the plan for some quality alone time?"

"Gone. But hey, silver lining—I get to stay here for good. No more back-and-forth between cities."

Tristan just nodded. Pros and cons, he figured.

Megan looked around. "Where’s Zeta Prime? Didn’t come back with you?"

"Home playing chess with the old fart!" the parrot squawked.

Megan burst out laughing. "And who’s the ’old fart’ exactly?"

"Little grandpa!"

Yup. Zeta Prime definitely taught it that.

Jason finally dragged in the last suitcase, clapping the dust from his hands as he walked over to Megan, arms open for a hug.

"Tristan, you cool with this?"

Tristan laughed, "Of course," and gave him a quick hug.

Jason cringed. "I was talking about hugging *her*, dude."

Without missing a beat, Tristan spun and pulled Megan into his arms. "I shared your breeze. So now, technically, we’re all hugging. You hugged me. I hug her. Circle complete."

Megan covered her mouth to keep from laughing. Seriously, what kind of logic was that?

"Missed you so much, Jason." Megan wrapped her arms around him tightly. "You’re so good-looking it’s unfair. Crazy busy with filming and still made time to visit me."

Jason ruffled her hair gently. "After everything that’s happened, it took me long enough. I’m sorry I made you wait."