How could someone like you ever compare to me?

Clara Wynter’s voice finally betrayed a tremor in the studio:

"Clara Vance simply could not accept it."

"He was the one who had knelt and begged her not to leave, swearing to treat her well forever... yet his 'forever' lasted only two short years."

"Those cloyingly sweet memories turned into rusted, blunt knives in an instant, pressing against her bone and licking at her blood, executing her inch by inch."

"She was driven mad by pain and hatred—"

"So she told Julian: 'I won't abort this child even if I die. I will make sure it exists, to disgust you both day and night for the rest of your lives!'"

But she had underestimated how cold-blooded Julian would become once his heart had changed.

Seeing her refuse to comply, he directly had men kidnap her and take her to a private hospital under the Vance family’s name.

As she was pushed toward the operating room, Clara fought with everything she had, sobbing and screaming out every detail of their past love, her face a mask of tears.

She saw a flicker of hesitation in Julian’s eyes, but in the end, he simply looked away:

"Melody is such a pure person; she cannot have a stain on her life because of me. This child... cannot stay."

Even more cruel was that the "pure" woman he spoke of had already bribed the doctor.

The three-hour surgery became a long, agonizing torture.

When she was wheeled out, Clara had only a breath of life left in her.

She glared deathly at Julian. When Melody approached, he casually tossed a black card toward Clara, his eyes devoid of any guilt:

"Thirty million. Consider it your compensation. I will... still provide for you as before."

He said much more then, but Clara could no longer hear anything.

Overwhelming pain and hate swallowed her whole.

As much as she had loved him before, that was how much she now wanted to drag him to hell with her.

In the live studio, the listener on the line had already broken into sobs:

"This is too cruel... that was his own flesh and blood! How could he..."

Another listener asked through tears: "Has he forgotten everything she did for him?"

Clara Wynter took a soft breath, her hand unconsciously pressing against her lower abdomen.

A life had once been there, ended personally by the person she loved most.

"So, Clara Vance didn't even wait to be discharged before she contacted several major newspapers. Julian said Melody was his soulmate, didn't he? Then she would make sure this 'perfect couple' was nailed to a pillar of shame forever!"

But within an hour of the news being released, it was scrubbed clean from the entire internet.

Immediately after, a tide of press releases surged forth, praising Julian Vance and Melody Sterling as a "match made in heaven."

Julian called her, his tone indifferent:

"Don't waste your energy. In the face of absolute power, you can do nothing."

Clara didn't believe him.

She recorded a video that night, every word written in blood, and posted it online.

But soon, under massive public opinion manipulation, she became the "obsessive, delusional woman trying to climb the social ladder."

Meanwhile, Julian was taking Melody all over the world to flaunt their affection.

A kiss in front of the Sydney Opera House, a duet by Lake Baikal, a mutual confession through opera in a grand theater...

Every shot proclaimed to the world: they were destined soulmates.

Under the crushing weight, Clara Vance fell into severe depression.

At her worst, she couldn't even hold a pair of chopsticks.

Melody would often "casually" sigh in her ear: "Someone like you was never meant to be truly loved anyway."

"Perhaps... you should have sought release sooner, just like your father did."

Finally, on the day of Julian and Melody’s engagement, Clara Vance slit her wrists in front of him.

Chapter 8

The moment the words fell, the entire studio sank into a deathly silence.

Julian Vance jerked his head up, his hands clutching his hair tightly. A suppressed sob could no longer be contained, breaking out from the depths of his throat in a fractured wail.

Clara Wynter looked at the pale, distorted face on the monitor and spoke slowly, her voice carrying a sense of release:

"She wanted to die, but she also wanted revenge. But this revenge, in the end... was only pathetic."

"At the moment of her suicide, Julian did indeed rush over in a panic."

"But on the very day after she was out of danger, he put on his coldest face."

"He grabbed her chin, his words like frozen poison: 'Clara Vance, how did you become so malicious? Did you have to leave a scar in Melody’s heart?!'"

"From the day he cheated, Clara had told him the truth about Melody’s true colors countless times, but he never believed her."

"This time, she didn't want to say anything anymore. She just shed tears and forced a mocking smile: 'I didn't die this time, but there will be a next time. I want you both... to live in my shadow for the rest of your lives.'"

"Julian flew into a rage, forcing her to admit her fault and apologize, or else get out immediately."

"Clara bit her tongue until it bled but refused to yield, cursing him to a miserable end."

"Perhaps struck by the last bit of his pathetic guilt, Julian actually raised his hand and slapped her hard across the face!"

"'Who do you think you are? Everything you’ve eaten or worn these past two years—which of it wasn't mine! I want to see how long your backbone stays stiff without money!'"

"That same afternoon, Clara was thrown out of the hospital."

"Julian was ruthless. He didn't give her a single cent and even took back her phone."

"It was snowing heavily that day. Wearing nothing but a thin hospital gown, she dragged her unhealed body and walked barefoot through the streets. Passersby took her for a madwoman; not a single person stopped for her."

"For a moment, she really wanted to throw herself into the traffic... but hatred pinned her to this world."

"She walked for twenty kilometers, back to the underground gym where she used to fight."

"The owner, out of sentiment for the past, took her in and promised to let her recover before she fought again."

"But on the third day, she was pressured into the ring."

"Someone had specifically requested to see her fight a retired professional boxer."

"Only when she stood in the ring did Clara see that the person sitting in the VIP section with his arm around Melody was Julian Vance."

"The look he gave her was as cold as if he were looking at an object—a pathetic slave."

"Clara froze. Her opponent seized the opening in that split second and slammed her to the ground, his fists raining down like iron hammers—"

"With the first punch, she heard the sharp crack of her own bone."

"With the second, blood sprayed from her mouth. Before her vision blurred, she saw Julian tenderly covering Melody’s eyes."

"The third punch, the fourth... she lay in a pool of blood, unable to move."

"Julian walked up to her, tossed a stack of cash down, his voice devoid of any warmth: 'Do you know your mistake now?'"

"Melody leaned into his arms, feigning pity as she whispered: 'Clara, why bother? Just apologize to me, and I won't hold the engagement party incident against you anymore.'"

"In that moment, Clara finally saw clearly. The boy who had once held her in the palm of his hand had died long ago."

"In total despair, she closed her eyes and spoke hoarsely: 'I’m sorry... I know my mistake now.'"

Clara Wynter let out a long, slow breath, as if a thousand-pound shackle had been lifted.

She looked at Julian.

He was so exhausted from crying that he could only stay seated by bracing his hands against the table.

"Alright, the story ends here."

Her voice was as calm as water, reflecting the detachment of someone who had survived a thousand storms.

the listener on the line was still sobbing: "The female lead suffered too much... Will the male lead regret it after knowing she died? Or will he go mad?"

Clara looked down, her fingertips tracing the pale scar on her wrist. She shook her head:

"I don't know. But I think... probably not."

"He was the one who turned away first. Since the love is gone, why bother with regret?"

"How could there be no regret—!"

Julian suddenly slammed the table and stood up!

The chair screeched harshly against the floor.

He stared at Clara with bloodshot eyes. "Soulmates... it was all fake! From beginning to end, the only person Julian loved was Clara Vance!"

"He was just blinded by the novelty... it wasn't until he lost everything that he woke up!"