Clara wanted to leave.

But a warm hand gently closed around her wrist.

It was Vivian.

"Clara, please don't go, okay?" Her voice trembled slightly. "Ever since you remarried, we've barely spent any time together… I just want you to shop with me for a little while. Just a little while, please?"

Clara lowered her eyes and looked at that hand.

Once, that hand had held hers all night when she had a fever. It had hugged her while she cried after her first divorce. It had wiped away her tears when Victor and Margaret announced that she was not their real daughter.

But now, that same hand had just slipped out of Julian's grasp, only to reach for her again.

How ironic.

Clara said nothing. She simply tried to pull her hand free.

Just then, Julian strode over.

His gaze burned with concern, but it was not for Clara. His eyes landed on Vivian's face, his tone edged with reproach. "Vivian, you look awful. I'm taking you to the hospital."

Vivian shook her head, her eyes reddening. "I'm not going. Clara hasn't agreed to have cake with me yet…"

"If she doesn't want to, then forget it!" Julian's voice darkened. At last, he turned to Clara, his eyes cold. "Clara, Vivian has given you everything she has. You can't even spare her this little bit of time? Do you even feel anything?"

Clara let out a faint, bitter smile. "Julian, you're right. I don't."

Julian looked at Clara's expressionless face, and a sudden wave of panic rose in his chest. Did she know something?

Clara tried again to pull free from Vivian's hand. Vivian seemed to twist her wrist slightly, and her brows drew together.

Julian's eyes darkened. He stepped forward. "Clara, you hurt Vivian."

"Julian!" Vivian suddenly raised her voice and rushed in front of Clara, spreading her arms. "Don't talk to Clara like that!"

Julian froze. "Vivian?"

"I said I'm not going to the hospital!" Vivian's eyes were red, her voice shaking, yet unusually firm. "Either you leave right now, or you stay and spend Clara's birthday with her. Choose."

"But you look terrible. What if—"

"There is no what if!" Vivian cut him off, tears finally falling. "It's Clara's birthday today. Are you going to celebrate it with her or not?"

Julian went still and instinctively looked at Clara.

Clara had lowered her head, her long hair hiding her face, but the slight tremble of her shoulders betrayed her.

Julian clicked his tongue, as if trying to cover the panic in his heart. "Fine, fine. I'll celebrate it with her, okay?"

Vivian took a deep breath and turned to Clara, her voice softening. "Clara… it's your birthday today. I ordered a cake, bought you a present, and booked a table at your favorite café… Please don't leave, okay?"

Clara's eyes burned.

How badly she wanted to believe this was real.

But she knew better than anyone that this was only another performance put on by the two of them.

"Thank you for the gift. I really like it. As for the cake… you two can have it."

With that, she turned and left.

Silence fell behind her.

A few seconds later, she heard Julian say quietly to Vivian, "I'll take you home."

"No." Vivian avoided his hand. "If you treat her badly, I'll leave right now. I'll disappear forever, and you'll never find me again."

Julian was silent for a long time before finally giving in. "Fine. I'll treat her well."

Clara did not look back, but her steps slowed for a moment.

So Julian's tenderness toward her had only been an illusion created by Vivian's words. How ridiculous. Vivian had been with Julian just to make him treat Clara better.

Clara kept walking, every step feeling as if she were treading on the edge of a blade.

She should have hated Vivian.

But she couldn't bring herself to.

Because Vivian truly loved her.

And she truly loved Julian too.

But in this world, some things could never coexist.

Clara stumbled back into the empty mansion and collapsed onto the couch, the tears she had been holding back finally spilling over.

Grievance, humiliation, and betrayal tangled together inside her, suffocating her.

Her phone suddenly rang. The screen lit up with a single word, "Mom." Clara stared at it, and despite everything, a faint flicker of hope rose in her chest.

She took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and answered the call.

"Clara, there's a family dinner tonight. You should come." Margaret's voice carried no warmth at all, only impatience.

Clara's heart sank. Her voice came out hoarse. "I'm not part of the Sterling family anymore. Why do you still want me there?"

Margaret sounded even more irritated. "Your sister invited you. Just come."

Her sister?

Clara froze for a moment before realizing that Margaret was referring to the real daughter of the Sterling family.

After a brief silence, she finally nodded. "I understand."

By the time she arrived at the Sterling residence, the dinner had already begun.

The moment she pushed the door open, every eye turned toward her. Whispers erupted, sharp and unpleasant.

Each word felt like a blade stabbing into her heart. Clara clenched her fists.

Julian walked over and cast a cold glance at those whispering. They fell silent immediately.

Just like the day she had fallen for him, this was how Julian used to protect her.

A sharp pain tore through Clara's chest. Julian noticed her ashen face and frowned.

She had seemed off these past few days.

"You okay?" he asked quietly.

At that moment, Victor and Margaret stepped forward. The hall fell silent.

Victor spoke, "We've gathered everyone here today to announce something important. After confirmation, Vivian is our biological daughter."

It felt like something exploded in Clara's mind.

Vivian… was the real heiress?

She looked at Vivian in disbelief.

At the announcement, Vivian's face turned deathly ashen.

She shot to her feet, anger flashing in her voice. "You promised me you wouldn't say this in front of Clara!"

The entire room fell silent.

The next second, all eyes were on the newly acknowledged heiress as she hurried to Clara, her voice low and apologetic. "Clara… I'm sorry. I didn't know they would do this."

Clara stared at her, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

Suddenly, Clara laughed, tears slipping down her face. "Vivian… what else do you want to take from me? Just take it all. My husband, my family, love, friendship… take everything. Just don't hurt me anymore."

Vivian froze, all the color draining from her face.

"Clara, what are you saying? If you're upset about them announcing this, I can ask them to adopt you as their goddaughter, okay? We can still be family. We can still be sisters."

Clara felt something close to absurdity wash over her.

She slowly lifted her head and looked at Vivian, her gaze calm. "How long are you going to keep pretending, Vivian?"

Vivian's face went pale in an instant. "Clara, I really am doing this for you… I don't want to lose you, and I don't want you to have nowhere to go…"

"Doing this for me?" Clara let out a faint, bitter smile. "If that were true, you wouldn't be taking my money for your tuition, living in a place I arranged for you… while sleeping with my husband."

Tears burst from Vivian's eyes as she instinctively looked at Julian. "Julian, I never meant to hurt her…"

Julian frowned deeply, about to speak, but Margaret had already reached her limit.

"Clara!" Margaret snapped sharply. "Do you have any manners left? Vivian was kind enough to let you stay, and this is how you act? Who do you think you are?"

Before she finished, she raised her hand, about to slap Clara across the face.

In a split second, a figure rushed forward and threw herself in front of Clara.

A sharp crack echoed through the room.

The sound of the slap rang clear.

It didn't land on Clara's face, but struck Vivian hard across her left cheek.

Clara froze, her pupils shrinking in shock.

She watched as Vivian's tender cheek flushed red almost instantly, a trace of blood appearing at the corner of her lips. Clara's heart clenched.

"Vivian…" Clara reached out instinctively, her voice trembling. "Are you… hurt?"

The next second, Julian yanked her away with enough force to make her stumble.

He rushed to Vivian, gently cupping her face, his voice tight with urgency. "Where are you hurt? Are you dizzy? Do you need to go to the hospital?"

Vivian shook her head, though her tears kept falling.

She didn't look at Julian. Instead, she turned and spread her arms again, shielding Clara. Her voice was thick with tears, yet unwavering. "Mom! You're not laying a hand on Clara again!"

Margaret stood there, stunned, her hand still frozen midair. "Vivian? You… you took that for her?"

Vivian bit her lip and met Margaret's gaze. "She's the person I care about most."

Margaret's face turned livid as she pointed at Clara. "Look what you've turned her into! No respect, no sense of boundaries!"

"Enough!" Vivian practically shouted. "You keep saying you've taken me back, but do you even know me? You have no idea how good Clara has been to me! All you care about is your image, your reputation. You can't even give her basic respect!"

Standing behind her, Clara listened to it all and suddenly let out a quiet laugh.

She stepped forward, standing beside Vivian, and looked calmly at Margaret. "Mrs. Sterling, you're right. I do lack manners. After all, growing up, all I ever got from you was punishment and scolding. You never once had the patience to actually teach me any."

Margaret's face went deathly ashen.

Julian looked up sharply, staring at Clara in shock. Was this really the same quiet, obedient Clara?

Vivian froze as well, her eyes filled with pain.

Clara didn't look at anyone again. She turned and walked away.

Clara had just stepped out of the Sterling residence when the night wind hit her, cold enough to make her shiver.

Footsteps hurried up behind her. She didn't turn. She already knew who it was.

Her wrist was seized suddenly, the grip firm and familiar.

Julian's voice came low, edged with anger. "Clara, you're just leaving like that? You're going to leave Vivian there by herself?"

Clara turned slowly to face him.

Under the streetlight, he still looked as composed as ever, but his eyes were full of blame, as if she had done something unforgivable.

"So?" she asked softly. "You think I should've stayed?"

"She just took a slap for you. She looked ashen, and you walked out without saying a word?" Julian's tone carried unmistakable disappointment. "I always thought you were just rigid, Clara. I didn't expect you to lack even basic decency."

Clara looked at him quietly, then suddenly smiled.

It was a faint smile, but it cut through every layer of pretense like a blade.

"Aren't you there for her?" she asked. "Aren't you the one who comforts her, takes care of her, gives her everything she wants? What would I, an outsider, be doing staying?"

Julian's pupils contracted.

He could tell. She knew.

But instead of panicking, he frowned, irritation creeping into his voice. "What are you overthinking now? There's nothing going on between me and Vivian. Stop imagining things."

"Nothing going on?" Clara repeated softly, as if tasting something absurd. "Then what I saw at the hospital… you holding her like that… I imagined it?"

Julian fell silent for a moment, then let out a cold laugh. "You were following me? When did you become so… vicious, Clara?"

"Vicious?" Clara looked at him, feeling as if a dull blade were carving into her chest. "I'm the vicious one? Julian, if you didn't love me, you could've just said so. I didn't beg you to remarry me. I didn't force her to leave you. You love each other, but you don't have the courage to stand against your families. So you hide behind this story of 'sacrificing for me' just to feed your act of devotion and her act of kindness. You treat me like a fool, comforting me, lying to me, using my feelings as a stepping stone for your love."

Her voice remained steady, but the pain in her eyes was impossible to hide, the corners already tinged red.

Julian scoffed. "We were together because of an arranged marriage. Who ever said I loved you? Who promised you forever? If you'd faced reality earlier, you wouldn't be hurting like this now."

Clara froze.

So in his eyes, none of this counted as betrayal.

Because from the very beginning, she had never mattered to him.

At that moment, a choked voice broke in. "Clara… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

Vivian stood on the steps, her cheek still swollen, tears streaming down her face.

She stumbled toward Clara, reaching out but not daring to touch her. "It's my fault… I shouldn't have… I shouldn't have fallen for him… But I couldn't help it… I hate myself every day for it…"

"Vivian!" Julian stepped forward immediately, pulling her behind him. "What are you apologizing for? You didn't do anything wrong. Feelings aren't something you can control."

Vivian shook her head, crying harder. "But she's Clara… how could I…"

"That's enough," Julian cut her off, his voice low. "You don't need to apologize for loving me."

Clara stood there, watching them.

One cried in remorse. The other stood firm in defense.

How ironic. The one who hurt her most… was also the one who had loved her most sincerely.

Suddenly, Clara felt exhausted.

So exhausted that even anger had drained away.

"Forget it." She spoke softly, as if to herself, and to them. "Whatever you do, I don't care anymore."

She looked at Julian and said only one thing. "Don't forget to sign the divorce papers."

By the time Clara returned to the mansion, it was completely dark.

She went straight to the bedroom, opened the closet, and started packing.

She didn't have many clothes. Most were simple suits and a few old sweaters, things she wore when she was alone.

The designer dresses Julian had given her were untouched, hanging neatly in the corner like a dream that had never been opened.

Her phone rang.

It was her former boss in Kingshaven.

"Clara, your position is ready, and your visa has been expedited. You can come anytime. The company has arranged an apartment for you, and you can start next Monday."

Clara closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

"Thank you. I'll take the earliest flight over."

After hanging up, she felt the weight on her chest ease, just a little.

If she stayed any longer, she would break. Not her body. Her heart.

In Kingshaven, she could have a new job, a new life, new people.

She had just stuffed the last coat into her suitcase when the front door was pushed open.

Julian stood in the doorway, his tie loosened, his expression a mix of urgency and anger.

The moment he saw her packing, his expression darkened. He strode over and grabbed her wrist. "Where are you going?"

Clara didn't struggle. She simply pulled her hand back gently. "We're getting divorced. Of course I'm moving out."

"Divorce?" Julian let out a cold laugh. "Think this through, Clara. You're not the Sterling heiress anymore. And you're still trying to use divorce as leverage?"

Clara paused and looked up at him.

Under the light, her gaze was still, like a lake in late autumn, without a ripple.

"You're saying all this now…" she let out a soft laugh, "does that mean you don't want the divorce?"

Julian froze.

Her words struck like a needle, catching him off guard in the softest part of his chest.

Ever since she mentioned divorce, something in him had felt unsettled.

"You're overthinking it." Julian turned his face away, his tone hard. "I just don't want you coming back to bother me and Vivian when you have no one left."

Clara nodded, zipped up her suitcase, and stood. "Don't worry. I don't have a habit of chasing married men."

She picked up her suitcase and walked toward the door.

The door closed softly behind her.

She flagged down a cab and gave the driver the airport address.

As the car pulled away from the mansion, she didn't look back.

Julian remained where he was, his fists clenched, his knuckles ashen.