The moment the words left Alyssa's mouth, Justin's figure froze in place. His gaze wavered slightly as he said, "Alyssa, the company just went public. It's a busy time for the business now."

Was he really busy with work, or was it just an excuse because he didn't love her?

Alyssa let out a faint chuckle and nodded faintly. "Alright, I understand."

Dodging the question was often the best answer in itself.

Alyssa didn't press further and headed straight for the parking garage. They had only taken a few steps when the man beside her suddenly stopped.

Alyssa followed his gaze and saw a figure in the distance. The person had their head buried in their knees and was crouching under the dim glow of a streetlight.

It was Claudia.

Justin's gaze remained glued to that figure as he spoke hoarsely. "I have something to attend to. Head back by yourself for now."

After saying that, he strode toward the woman.

Alyssa's feet remained rooted to the spot. She watched helplessly as Justin reached out and pulled Claudia into a corner.

Claudia staggered a little from the pull. Justin didn't move to support her, but his pace noticeably slowed.

Alyssa's hands subconsciously tightened by her sides. And in the end, she decided to follow them.

At the corner of the hallway, Justin grabbed Claudia's wrist. His eyes were bloodshot as he said, "You said you were leaving. Why are you still here?"

Claudia looked at him with red-rimmed eyes. "I… I just wanted to see you one more time."

Justin laughed coldly. He practically gritted out through his teeth, "You left so decisively back then. Why come back now?"

Claudia broke free from his grip and threw her arms around his waist. He buried her head against his shoulder and said in a choked voice, "I never wanted to leave you! It was my father who didn't agree to us staying together.

"He threatened to use you against me, saying if I didn't break up with you, he'd join forces with others to oppress you."

Justin didn't push her away. His hands clenched into tight fists as he said in a subdued tone, "Even if you had your reasons, you could have told me. We could have faced it together. But you chose to run away and only returned after three years.

"Now, what makes you think I would want a woman who once abandoned me?"

Tears streamed down Claudia's face, and she looked up at him through blurred vision.

"I didn't come back expecting us to be together again. I know you've had another woman by your side these last three years. I just wanted to see you one more time."

She let go and stepped back a few paces. In a broken voice, she said, "Knowing you're doing well is enough for me. I'll keep my dist—"

Before she could finish her sentence, her body suddenly went limp, and she fainted.

Standing nearby, Alyssa watched as Justin's cold facade crumbled and how he immediately gathered Claudia into his arms.

"Claudia?" His voice trembled slightly.

When he realized she had only fainted due to overwhelming emotions, Justin visibly relaxed.

He gently stroked her cheek, no longer suppressing his true feelings. He looked at the woman in his arms with a gaze full of calm affection.

"Claudia, it seems I'm completely at your mercy."

After saying that, he lifted her into his arms in a bridal carry.

Alyssa stood where she was and watched the man's figure gradually disappear from sight.

She suddenly felt a patch on her cheek. Upon reaching up to touch it, she found it was already wet.

Over the past three years, Justin had always treated her well. Even at his poorest, he would save up to buy her things.

Thus, she had believed it to be love.

But today, after witnessing how he interacted with Claudia, she suddenly realized that this was what Justin looked like when he truly loved someone. He would get angry and say things he didn't mean.

When he was with Alyssa, though, he only ever kept up a gentle facade.

Justin didn't return that night.

Late into the night, while scrolling through TikTok, Alyssa came across a video tagged in the same city she was in.

In the video, a man was leaning over, his slender, well-defined hands tucked under hospital bed sheets.

The caption contained one simple word. "Reunion".

Even though the man's face wasn't shown, Alyssa could recognize that it was Justin at a glance.

During the year they lived in the basement rental, she had snuggled against the embrace of those hands countless nights. Of course, she could recognize them now.

It seemed that… he and Claudia had reconciled.

Perhaps Alyssa had stared at the screen for too long, for her eyes stung slightly. She turned off the screen, pulled the blanket over her head, and fell into a deep sleep.

…

Early the next morning, Alyssa was woken by noises outside.

She came downstairs to find Justin and Claudia sitting in the living room. There were several suitcases placed beside them.

When he noticed her presence, Justin cleared his throat and explained, "Claudia just returned to the country and has nowhere to stay. She'll be living here for a while."

Claudia peeked out from behind him and asked somewhat apologetically, "Ms. Lambert, you won't mind me moving in, will you?"

Alyssa shook her head indifferently and went straight to the kitchen to make herself some toast for breakfast.

This villa was purchased after Justin's company gradually got on track, so it didn't matter to her who Justin wanted to bring home.

Besides, she would be leaving soon anyway.

Claudia carried her suitcase upstairs. The next instant, an exclamation came from upstairs.

Claudia came downstairs holding a watch and presented it to Justin.

"Justin, this is the birthday gift I gave you before. I never imagined it would still be here!"

Alyssa instinctively looked at the watch. She suddenly remembered the time when creditors were hounding Justin. He had taken everything of value—the villa, luxury cars, antique collections—and mortgaged them to the bank one by one.

When it came to this watch, his eyes betrayed his inner struggle. In the end, he took it back and simply said, "Let's keep this for now."

At that time, his gaze was filled with nostalgia and reluctance.

In the three years that followed, he would often take out the watch and stare at it blankly.

Alyssa had initially thought the watch was something his family had left him. Only today did she learn it was a gift from Claudia.

He had kept it only as a memento to remember her by.

In that moment, Alyssa finally realized how laughable it was that she believed she had a place in his heart over the past three years.

For three years, he had never forgotten Claudia. Even though she had abandoned him and gone abroad, he still couldn't let her go.

All it took was her showing up, a few tears, and a vague explanation for him to forget the painful past and forgive her.

Alyssa smiled sarcastically, turned, and went upstairs without glancing at the two of them again.

…

In the following days, Claudia made herself completely at home. Her presence could be felt in every corner of the villa.

She mentioned she didn't like the gray curtains, so Justin had someone replace them with the cream-white ones she preferred.

She said the paint on the walls was too dull, so Justin had them repainted in warm tones.

She said she wanted to see Juliet roses, so he had the freshest rose cuttings flown in from abroad and transplanted into the garden.

When they'd first bought this villa, Justin was always busy with work. Thus, Alyssa had handled all the furniture selection and interior design alone.

Now, she could only watch as the traces that belonged to her were erased little by little.

Vanishing along with them was the love she had for Justin.

The day before the press conference happened to be the birthday of Lily Clark, Justin's mother.

As it was the first grand celebration since the Fullers' comeback, the event was held on a lavish scale.

In the afternoon, Justin called numerous stylists over. He also had his assistant bid for several pieces of high-end jewelry and had them sent to the house.

Claudia began directing the stylists as they rushed to place the jewelry on her.

As for Alyssa, she just looked at the jewelry in the boxes and shook her head. "I won't wear these."

Justin was momentarily taken aback, then said with a smile, "Alyssa, the company has gone public now. You don't have to help me scrimp and save anymore."

Claudia spoke up, feigning consideration. "Justin, since Ms. Lambert doesn't want to wear them, don't force her. I heard she's an orphan, so she probably isn't used to wearing such things."

Alyssa replied calmly, "Indeed, I'm not used to it."

After all, her own jewelry would often cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions. She really wasn't used to jewelry worth just a few million dollars.

Seeing her insistence, Justin didn't press further.

…

By the time they arrived at the banquet hall, most of the guests were already waiting.

Justin was immediately surrounded by business partners and pulled aside to chat, leaving only Alyssa and Claudia together.

Alyssa didn't like staying with people she wasn't familiar with, so she went straight to the dessert table on the other side of the hall.

As soon as she left, all the socialites gathered around Claudia.

"Claudia, you're amazing. You just returned to the country and are already by Mr. Fuller's side once more."

"That's right. You were apart for three years, yet you can still get back together. It seems he never forgot you."

"Of course. Back in the day, Mr. Fuller was famous for doting on you."

Claudia smiled smugly when she heard this. With a triumphant glint in her eyes, she glanced covertly at Alyssa before pretending to be bashful.

"Don't say such things. I've only just returned and am staying at Justin's place temporarily. Ms. Lambert has been by his side these past three years. I'm sure Justin doesn't think of me anymore. We're just friends now."

As she spoke, her eyes reddened slightly.

The people around Claudia looked Alyssa up and down with slightly disdainful expressions.

Those who could attend this birthday party came from wealthy and influential families, so naturally, they looked down on her as an "orphan".

They didn't lower their voices as they made snide remarks, and as such, Alyssa heard their comments clearly.

"The Fullers have made a comeback, and Mr. Fuller is the hottest rising star right now. Doesn't she know her own worth as an orphan?"

"Exactly. She just latched onto him when the Fullers were down. Mr. Fuller probably just lets her stick around out of gratitude for these years of companionship. Her status isn't befitting of the current him."

Alyssa only chuckled lightly when she heard their disparaging remarks.

Indeed, her status and Justin's didn't match. But it wasn't that she didn't deserve Justin. No, it was he who didn't deserve her.

After the birthday party officially began, everyone presented the gifts they had brought for Lily.

Alyssa also offered the emerald pendant she had prepared. Lily accepted the gift, and without opening the box to look, handed it to the staff member behind her.

She took Alyssa's hand and said with a smile, "Aly, we really owe it to you for staying faithfully by Justin's side over the past three years. I'm just happy you could come. You didn't need to bring a gift.

"Now that Justin's company has gone public, the Fullers must repay this kindness of yours. Tell me—what would you like? How about a house?"

Having grown up wealthy, Alyssa perfectly understood the true intention hidden beneath Lily's seemingly gentle demeanor.

It was a veiled warning. Her companionship for the past three years could only be exchanged for material compensation, and anything more was absolutely out of the question.

When the Fullers went bankrupt, Alyssa's arrival had moved Lily to tears. Thus, Lily had always treated her well for the past three years.

Now, with the Fullers' comeback, Lily was starting to draw a clear line.

Even Alyssa, who had witnessed her share of the world's fickleness, couldn't help but feel a surge of derision in her heart. She initially came to the birthday party just to say goodbye to Lily, but now, it seemed that wasn't necessary either.

At that moment, Claudia presented a box to Lily. "Mrs. Fuller, this is a gift for you. I hope you like it."

Upon Lily's opening of the gift box, a necklace adorned with multi-colored gemstones was revealed.

Deep down, Lily resented Claudia, the woman who had once abandoned her son. But when she saw the dazzling necklace, she couldn't help but gasp in admiration.

Claudia noted her reaction and smiled. "This is a necklace that once belonged to the Albion royal family. I acquired it abroad. The moment I saw it, I thought it would suit you perfectly."

Lily did indeed like the necklace very much. She eagerly held it up against her neck, prompting everyone around to offer her praise and flattery.

Alyssa thought the atmosphere was becoming stifling, so she turned to leave.

However, Claudia specifically called out to her. "Alyssa, what do you think of the gift I gave Mrs. Fuller?"

Alyssa looked at the necklace in Lily's hands. She hesitated briefly before calmly saying, "The design is exquisite, and the craftsmanship superior."

The triumphant gleam in Claudia's eyes darkened when she heard that evaluation.

But then, Alyssa added, "It's a high-quality counterfeit."