Chapter 16: Extreme Control, At Most It’s Just Death

After closing the shop in the afternoon, Clara and her mother, Sylvia, went to the supermarket.

"Clara, has Arthur been very busy lately? Call him and ask him to come for dinner tonight. I’ll make a few extra dishes..."

Sylvia stopped mid-sentence as she spotted a familiar figure.

"Isn't that Arthur?"

Clara followed her gaze. Sure enough, Arthur was standing in the fruit section.

But he wasn't alone. Nearby, Bianca was picking out a durian.

Clara instinctively tried to pull her mother away. "Mom, let’s go check the seafood section."

Sylvia sensed something was wrong and stayed put.

A moment later, a slender, graceful figure looped her arm through Arthur’s.

Sylvia’s expression changed instantly. She moved to step forward, but Clara held her back firmly.

"Mom, don't be angry. I was going to find a time to tell you the truth," Clara stood in front of her mother, blocking her view of Arthur and Bianca. "Arthur and I are divorced. Whoever he’s with has nothing to do with me anymore."

Sylvia’s brow furrowed, her face grim. "Did he think our family wasn't good enough for the Fu family anymore? Now that their business is booming, he cheats and kicks you to the curb?"

Clara rubbed her mother’s back to soothe her. "Mom, I got a hundred million in the divorce. I didn't lose out. Your daughter is a wealthy woman now. If you want a mansion, I can buy one."

Sylvia knew her daughter. Clara might look indifferent on the surface, but she must be hurting inside.

She and Arthur were childhood sweethearts. When Clara’s father was around, his business was very successful and he had supported the Fu family.

After her father disappeared, the family business plummeted.

The two families had an old engagement; perhaps the Fu family feared being called ungrateful, so they let Arthur marry Clara. Sylvia thought he would cherish her, but...

Seeing her mother on the verge of tears out of heartache for her, Clara hugged her. "Mom, don't be sad. Your daughter is doing great—rich, beautiful, and I have a job I love. If you ever want to go to a club and pick out some male models, I can take you."

Sylvia gave her a sharp look. "I’m not going anywhere. I’m waiting for your father to come home."

The mention of her father brought a silence upon them both.

Sylvia sighed, breaking the quiet. "Let’s go buy some seafood you like."

Clara smiled. "That’s the spirit. Don't worry. Everyone makes a mistake when they’re young. From now on, our paths don't cross. I’ll find someone better, right, Mom?"

Sylvia nodded. "Right."

The two went shopping hand in hand.

Sylvia prepared a large feast.

Clara’s younger brother, Noah, was sixteen and had autism.

Noah was handsome and refined, standing six-foot-one and lean.

Aside from not speaking, he was exceptional in every way, consistently ranking first in his grade at the top high school.

Ever since their father disappeared, their grandfather had kicked the family out.

The old man disliked Sylvia, viewing her as a curse on the Ye family, and extended that dislike to her children—especially the autistic Noah.

The grandfather favored Noah’s cousin, Derek, who was the same age but a terrible student. Yet, the old man treated Derek as the pride of the family.

"Noah, has Derek been bullying you at school lately?" Clara placed a piece of fish on his plate.

Noah looked at her with clear eyes and shook his head gently.

"If he dares to touch you, you tell me. I’ll go kick his ass for you."

Noah nodded.

"Give me a smile."

Noah’s lips quirked up slightly.

Clara patted his head. "Good boy."

Sylvia smiled, watching the siblings.

"By the way, Clara, go check on Mia when you have time."

Clara looked up. "What’s wrong with Mia?"

Mia was Clara’s cousin on her aunt’s side. Last year, she got a great score on her college entrance exams.

But the major she chose wasn't what her mother liked. When the acceptance letter arrived, the aunt tore it up and forced Mia to retake the year.

Mia refused, had a huge fight with her mother, and moved out.

"Your aunt says Mia refuses to retake the exams. She’s obsessed with a celebrity now. If your aunt says one wrong word, Mia threatens suicide. Now your aunt is afraid to even speak to her."

Clara frowned. "Mom, honestly, I think Aunt was way too strict with Mia. Tearing up the acceptance letter... that kind of control is suffocating."

Sylvia sighed. "I told her that. She regrets it now, but Mia won't reconcile."

"I’ll head over to Mia’s after dinner."

Mia lived in a small rented villa with a garden on the outskirts of the city.

Clara drove over; the gate was open, and loud, upbeat music was pumping from the house.

She pushed the door open.

Mia was sitting in the living room with a laptop, her fingers flying across the keys with intense focus.

Clara walked over to look. The screen showed a fan-club voting interface.

"Yes! He’s in the top three on the music charts! We Stars are the best!"

Mia jumped up from the sofa, then noticed Clara standing nearby.

"Clara? What are you doing here?"

Mia scrambled down from the sofa. Clara walked to the speakers and turned the volume down.

"Aren't you scared, living here alone?"

Mia shook her head. "I’m not scared. At most, I’ll just die."

Clara frowned but didn't immediately criticize her. She handed Mia the cake and milk tea she’d brought.

Mia grinned. "Only you know my favorites, Clara."

Clara sat beside her and looked at the screen. It featured a bright, handsome young man in a white hoodie with a dazzling smile. "You like him?"

At the mention of her idol, Mia’s eyes lit up. "Yes! That’s Jace. He’s a huge star lately. Have you heard his songs? They’re amazing."

"I think I have."

"Even a non-fan like you has heard him? See, he really is famous!"

The living room walls were covered in Jace posters. The coffee table was littered with light sticks, banners, and merchandise. Even her keychain was his face.

Clara remembered Mia never used to care about celebrities.

"Mia, tell me. Why the sudden obsession with Jace?"

Mia put down her tea, her gaze dropping. "Clara, after my mom tore up my acceptance letter last year, I almost jumped off a cliff."

Mia’s mother was an extremely overbearing woman. After Mia was born, she couldn't have more children for medical reasons.

Mia’s grandmother had three sons; the other two had sons. Only Mia’s family had a daughter.

Her mother wanted Mia to be the absolute best, to surpass the cousins in every way.

Mia started painting at three, piano at four, and dance at five. Her schedule was busier than a high school senior’s.

She wore through several sets of dance clothes and practiced piano until her fingers blistered. If she didn't want to learn, her mother would use a bamboo switch to force her.

She would tell Mia it was for her own good and that she’d be grateful later.

In elementary school, her mother demanded she be first in her class every year. The wall had to be covered in awards.

Every time relatives visited, her mother forced her to perform—piano, dance, or poetry. If she made a mistake, the criticism would follow as soon as the guests left.

As she grew older, she wanted to make friends, but her mother’s rules were strict: no playing with kids with bad grades, no approaching kids from "common" families, and definitely no speaking to boys.

In middle school, she had merely helped a boy with two math problems. Her mother found out, went to the school, accused the boy of trying to start an "early romance," and forced him to apologize to Mia in front of the whole class.

From then on, her classmates avoided her like the plague.

Her drawers were full of certificates, but she wasn't happy.

Under her mother's crushing pressure, she became sensitive, insecure, and fragile.

She didn't dare resist; she could only curl into a ball at night, her tears falling to the sound of cicadas.

In high school, she became even more withdrawn. Her desk was always piled high with workbooks. She never joked with classmates and even went to the restroom alone.

She was like a programmed robot.

Her grades were top-tier, but her peers secretly mocked her for being a "study bot."

She lived on a knife’s edge until the day the exam results came out.

She had done well. Her mother wanted her to enroll in the best finance academy so she could eventually run the family business and crush the cousins.

But Mia didn't want to do business. She hid it from her mother and applied to medical school.

She wanted to be far away from her mother and this city.

She thought her mother would compromise once the letter arrived.

Instead, her mother flew into a rage and tore the letter to shreds.

In that moment, Mia’s blood ran cold.

As the paper scraps fell, over a decade of repressed resentment and suffocation exploded.