My ex-husband regretted it after I left.

“Miss Bennett, are you absolutely sure? The value of this school’s offer is beyond question, but the enrollment agreement clearly states that for the next five years, you are not allowed to set foot back in the country—not even if an immediate family member is critically ill.”

There was one last note of caution in the staff member’s voice as her finger landed on the clause marked “No return for five years.” The red stamp looked like an inescapable shackle.

My hand, gripping the pen, jolted violently. The tip scraped past the signature line, leaving behind a jagged streak of ink. The spreading blot looked painfully similar to my shattered heart at that moment. But in the very next second, my fingers tightened, and the last trace of hesitation in my eyes was replaced by resolve. I signed Clara Bennett firmly on the agreement, each stroke sharp as a blade.

“I’m sure.”

The three words were forced through clenched teeth—hoarse, yet unwavering, carrying the desperate courage of someone with no way back.

The staff member’s surprise deepened. After confirming repeatedly, she could only file the agreement away. “Alright. The admission notice will be sent to your registered phone number within a month. Please keep an eye on it.”

I said nothing more and turned to leave the office building. The noon sun was blinding, yet I felt ice-cold all over. My fingers glided across my phone screen as I bought a one-way ticket to a foreign country scheduled for a month later—my only lifeboat out of this wreckage.

The moment the payment confirmation chimed, a breaking entertainment alert exploded across my screen in blood-red letters:

[SHOCKING! Heiress Clara Bennett Exposed for Chaotic Private Life, Explicit Photos Leaked! Suspected HIV Infection. Fiancé Liam Foster Officially Announces Engagement Termination at 8 A.M. Today!]

Below it was a statement from Liam Foster’s studio, coldly worded, every sentence nailing me to a pillar of shame. The photos—maliciously blurred—clearly featured Vanessa Bennett, yet Liam’s team deliberately guided the narrative to make me the target.

The ninth time.

This was already the ninth time Liam had unhesitatingly poured all the filth onto me just to clean up after his half-sister Vanessa—using my reputation to preserve her “pure and innocent” public image.

My fingertips turned icy as I scrolled through endless curses and insults. My heart felt like it was being crushed by an invisible hand, the pain so intense I could barely breathe. But my tears had long since dried up. All that remained was numbness, deep into my bones.

I put my phone away and walked toward the place called “home”—a place that had long since become a prison.

The key slid into the lock with a dull click. The moment I pushed the door open, the dazzling luxury of the living room stabbed my eyes. Vanessa was lounging lazily on the European-style sofa my mother had loved most when she was alive. Around her neck sparkled a diamond necklace—Liam’s engagement gift to me on my twentieth birthday.

Back then, he had said its brilliance suited only me.

Hearing the door, Vanessa slowly lifted her gaze. Her delicate face carried unconcealed triumph as her fingers lightly brushed the diamonds. Her voice was sweet to the point of sickening, laced with poison.

“Welcome back, Sister Clara. Look—Liam said this necklace looks better on me, so he gave it to me. You won’t blame me, will you?”

My eyes fixed on the necklace, and it felt like a needle pierced straight through my heart. I took a deep breath, forcing my emotions down.

“His things,” I said coldly. “He can give them to whoever he wants. It has nothing to do with me.”

The moment the words fell, Vanessa’s eyes instantly reddened. Large tears spilled down her cheeks like broken pearls as she looked at me, utterly wronged.

“Sister, I know you’re upset. About those photos… I didn’t want this either. But I’m about to appear on a variety show, and my reputation can’t afford even the slightest stain. Please help me just this once, okay? Just… think of it as you loving me.”

“Loving you?”

I laughed sharply, the sound filled with bitterness and rage. My nails dug deep into my palm until blood seeped out, yet I felt nothing.

“Vanessa Bennett, your reputation is priceless, and mine is worth nothing? You’re the one fooling around with men, and when things go wrong, you shove me out to take the bullet. And you still dare talk to me about ‘love’?”

I stepped closer, my gaze sharp as steel.

“When you were doing all those filthy things, did you ever think about the consequences? Vanessa Bennett—you disgust me.”

“Sister!”

Vanessa’s crying suddenly escalated. Her body trembled as if she had suffered an unbearable injustice.

“Clara Bennett! Have you had enough?”

A cold male voice cut through the room. Liam came down the stairs in quick strides. His eyes immediately went to Vanessa. When he saw her tear-streaked face, pain flared red at the corners of his eyes. He rushed over and pulled her protectively behind him.

When he turned to look at me, his gaze was filled with disgust and fury.

“Vanessa is your sister. How could you talk to her like that?”

My heart plunged into an icy abyss. I stared at the man before me—familiar, yet utterly foreign. Once, he had stood just like this, shielding me from every storm.

“How did I talk to her?” My voice trembled, but I refused to back down. “She did those filthy things herself. Why should I take the blame? Liam Foster, can you be reasonable for once?”

“Reasonable?”

Liam let out a cold laugh, his eyes full of contempt.

“Vanessa is so innocent. How could she possibly do something like that? You’re the one with a vicious mind, deliberately slandering her. Clara, I never thought you’d turn into someone like this.”

He lowered his head toward Vanessa, his tone instantly gentle enough to melt water, carefully wiping away her tears.

“Vanessa, stop crying. It’s my fault—I didn’t protect you well. Didn’t you say you liked that starlight gemstone set? I’ll have someone deliver it to you tomorrow, alright?”

Vanessa sniffed, looking up at him through tearful eyes. Twisting her fingers in her skirt, she pushed further.

“But… I also want Sister’s engagement ring. You said that ring was meant for the woman you love most…”

“Fine. You can have it.”

Liam agreed without hesitation, his voice indulgent.

“As long as you’re happy. Forget a ring—even the stars in the sky, I’d pluck them down for you.”

“You’re the best, Liam!”

Vanessa broke into a smile, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. From the corner of her eye, she shot me a victorious glance.

They left together, their intimate backs stabbing into my eyes. I stood frozen, every drop of blood in my body seeming to congeal. Sharp pain radiated through my chest, so intense I could barely stand, forced to lean against the icy doorframe for support.

When I was ten, my mother died of illness. Before her body was even cold, my father brought Vanessa and her mother home. From that day on, my world collapsed.

My father was no longer just mine. His tenderness and affection belonged to Vanessa. To please her, he even personally destroyed every relic my mother had left behind.

I thought I would never believe in love again—until I met Liam in my freshman year of college. He was a beam of light in my darkness, appearing when I was most lonely and helpless. He held an umbrella for me, stayed up late with me, and spoiled me like a princess.

I still remembered the day he confessed. Cherry blossoms filled the sky. He stood beneath the falling petals, holding a bouquet of white roses—my favorite. His voice trembled as he spoke, saying he had practiced his confession countless times, afraid of saying a single wrong word that might upset me.

He said, Clara Bennett, I will love you forever. I will protect you for life.

Back then, his phone lock screen was me. His messaging background was me. His password was my birthday. When introducing me to his friends, he would proudly say, “This is my future wife.”

I once believed he would be my salvation.

But the moment Vanessa appeared, everything changed. His tenderness belonged to someone else. His protection belonged to someone else. And for someone else, he pushed me into hell again and again.

I slowly slid down to the floor. The cold seeped through my clothes, yet it was nothing compared to the pain in my heart. I covered my face, stifled sobs leaking through my fingers as tears fell like broken beads, soaking my sleeves.

My phone screen was still lit. The slanderous news continued to ferment, the comments beneath it unbearable to read. And the agreement I had just signed—along with the plane ticket to a foreign country—had become my only escape.

Five years without returning.

Maybe that was for the best.

Leaving this place filled with betrayal and pain, leaving behind the people who broke my heart—perhaps only then could I truly live again.