Arthur waited half a month for Clara to apologize.

During those two weeks, living with Mia had felt wonderful.

But as time passed, an unsettling feeling began to take root in his heart.

He went to the hospital under the pretext of a check-up, thinking he would give Clara a chance. He told himself that if her attitude softened even slightly, he would turn a blind eye and forgive her.

However, when he reached the ward, he found only an empty, stripped bed.

He hurried to the nurse's station, only to be told she had been discharged two days ago.

The panic in Arthur’s chest flared. He pulled out his phone to call her, but as he scrolled through his recent calls, he realized he hadn't seen Clara’s name in a very long time.

Had they really been out of touch for that long?

He went to his contacts, only to realize he hadn't even given her a proper nickname. He didn't even know which number was hers.

In the past, Clara was always the one to contact him; he had never spared a thought for such trivial details.

Arthur sat on a hospital bench for an hour, finally identifying a number he was certain belonged to her.

He dialed. A cold, mechanical female voice responded: "We're sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service. Please check the number and..."

He stared at the screen in disbelief. How was that possible?

Arthur bolted toward the house.

The moment he opened the door, he was met with the thick scent of dust. It was clear no one had lived there for a while.

The house was even emptier than the last time he had visited.

His heart hammered against his ribs, and his hands began to shake.

Scanning the room, he saw a document on the table, covered in a thin layer of dust.

The bold words—

Divorce Agreement

—stabbed deep into his heart.

He remembered this agreement; he was the one who had thrown it at Clara.

He never expected it to become a boomerang that would strike him right between the eyes.

Clara’s elegant handwriting showed no hesitation. The date was from a month ago.

It was during that New Year’s and anniversary he had skipped.

While he was oblivious, she had been silently planning this for a month. Today, that plan had finally sharpened into a blade, piercing his body.

For a moment, Arthur felt dazed, refusing to believe Clara had simply left.

How could she? She had been by his side for five years. No matter how harsh he was, she had always endured it. How could she suddenly decide to walk away?

Was this her trump card? An ultimatum?

Arthur desperately wanted to find Clara and confront her, to demand an explanation face-to-face. But as he thought about it, he realized he knew nothing about her.

What she liked, where she went, what her hobbies were—he was completely ignorant.

Even her only phone number was now a dead end.

It was as if Clara had vanished from the face of the earth.

Arthur refused to give up. He remembered the night at the bar. He hadn't called the police, so Clara must have done it herself. How could a disconnected number call the police?

With this shred of hope, he rushed to the police station.

But the officer’s answer dealt him a crushing blow.

The person who reported the crime wasn't using her own phone; she had snatched the attacker's phone to call for help.

An image instantly flashed in his mind: a woman covered in blood, agonizing in pain, struggling to call the police for herself.

A simple act of assistance—one he had refused to provide.

Arthur left the station in a trance.

His phone rang. He jolted and answered immediately: "Clara?"

But the voice on the other end was not the one he longed to hear. "Arthur, Leo keeps crying for the amusement park. Are we going?"

Arthur snapped back to reality and refused. "I’m not going. Just get him to sleep."

Hearing his raspy, dejected voice, Mia didn't know what had happened, but she sensed it wasn't good for her. She bit her lip and played piteous. "Arthur, you know I’ve always felt I owe Leo so much. I want to be a good mother to him, so..."

The word "mother" stung Arthur. He denied it without a second thought. "Leo only has one mother!"

————————————

Mia was stunned. Her prepared lines died in her throat, and a sudden nervousness seized her heart.

What was going on?

In less than half a day, how could Arthur change so much?

Her eyes darted around as she decided to retreat to advance. "You’re right. I was overstepping. Clara is such a perfect person; I’m sure she’s a much better mother than I could ever be."

The moment she finished, Leo began to scream nearby. "I don't want the Wicked Witch! I don't! I want Auntie Mia to be my mother!"

Arthur had never found Leo's tantrums so piercing. Just as he was about to speak, Mia began to sob.

"Maybe my return was a mistake. I’m sorry. I’ve caused a rift between you and Clara. I’ll leave right away. I’ll be out of here in a few days."

Sure enough, hearing this made Arthur’s heart soften. He tempered his tone. "I didn't mean you weren't good enough. Don't overthink it. I'm coming over now."

On his way to Mia’s apartment, Arthur contacted several private investigators to track Clara’s recent movements.

When he arrived, Mia and Leo were already dressed and ready to go. They walked toward him together. Just as Mia reached out for their usual embrace, Arthur let go of her hand and simply picked up Leo.

"Let’s go."

This slight distancing sent a wave of alarm through Mia. She silently observed Arthur’s expression and exchanged a look with Leo.

Leo understood immediately. He wrapped his arms around Arthur’s neck and asked, "Dad, when are you going to divorce the Wicked Witch?"

Arthur stopped in his tracks, his expression more serious than ever before. He stared at Leo’s face and spoke with heavy solemnity. "She is not a Wicked Witch. She is your mother. You will call her 'Mother'."

Leo threw a fit. "I won't!"

But Arthur didn't respond.

Mia was now certain that something had happened.

That little bitch Clara... she really had some tricks up her sleeve, didn't she? To actually turn things around like this?

Mia steeled herself and said through tearful eyes, "Arthur, don't blame Leo for speaking out. He’s just upset on my behalf..."

"I... Clara forced me to get an abortion once."

Arthur’s entire body went rigid. He looked at her in total disbelief. "What?"

Mia spun a vivid, detailed lie, painting Clara as a monster beyond redemption.

She didn't care about how she would clean up the mess if the truth came out later.

By then, she planned to have already secured her place by Arthur's side.

Ding. You have a new email.

The notification interrupted Mia’s tearful performance.

Arthur hadn't intended to check his email, but he caught a glimpse of the subject line and opened it in a panic.

Inside were scene after scene of him and Mia together.

All the videos, the photos, and every malicious insult Mia had hurled at Clara... they formed a suffocating net that choked the air from Arthur’s lungs.

Was this... was this what Clara had been facing every day?

His expression darkened instantly, and he shot a sharp, piercing look at Mia.

Mia still had fake tears on her face, but the look in his eyes made her forget to cry. She stammered, "Arthur, what is it?"

Arthur stared at Mia, finding it impossible to reconcile the face before him with the toxic, swearing woman in the records.

He put his phone away. After a long silence, he said in a low voice, "I’ve been taking contraceptives, Mia. Tell me, which of your words are actually true?"

Mia’s expression tightened, her eyes filled with panic. She stumbled through an explanation. "Maybe... maybe the medication wasn't effective enough..."

He cut her off. "We shouldn't see each other for a while. I need to take a long, hard look at who you really are."

With a cold face, Arthur picked up Leo and walked out.

Realizing he wouldn't be seeing Mia for a while, Leo began to wail loudly.

"Cry one more time and I’ll lock you in the basement."

The threat worked. Leo let out a single sob and fell silent.

The moment Arthur got home, he mobilized every resource at his command to find her.

Clara, where on earth are you?