Clara’s breath hitched, and she could hardly believe what she had heard; her whole body could not stop trembling.

So, Ivy... she knew everything.

It turned out that the accident was not an accident at all, but a scheme she had been planning for a long time!

But before she could recover from the shock, Ivy suddenly gasped and tumbled down the stairs.

"Ivy!"

Hearing the commotion, Julian flew out like an arrow released from a bow.

He tremblingly pulled Ivy into his arms, his expression filled with a sense of tension and panic that Clara had never seen before.

When he saw the large pool of blood under Ivy, he froze completely.

"My child, my child!"

Ivy hugged her belly, crying heart-wrenchingly. Her scarlet eyes glared fixedly at Clara, her voice full of resentment.

"Clara, why would you treat me like this?!"

"Even when you snuck into my room to steal my jewelry, I pretended not to see it and let you go."

"But why... why are you still not satisfied? You actually wanted to cause my miscarriage just to seduce my husband and climb the social ladder!"

"Clara!"

Julian’s bloodshot eyes glared at her, filled with lethal intent.

"Ivy treats you like a sister, and this is how you repay her?"

Clara’s lips moved, wanting to explain.

But looking at the certainty in his eyes, a lump formed in her throat, and in the end, she could only say a few words.

"What if I told you it wasn't me?"

Julian pulled a cold sneer, his eyes filled with undisguised chill and mockery as he spoke word by word.

"Ivy is my wife, and Miss Clara, we are nothing but strangers who have met a few times. Why should I believe you?"

Clara’s heart felt as if it had been struck by a giant boulder; it was unbearably clogged, and even breathing hurt.

Strangers?

Over ten years, she had carried three children for him, blocked five knife attacks, and the scars from those days still remained on her back.

Yet now, all these scars had earned her the word "stranger."

Clara suddenly felt exhausted, lacking even the strength to defend herself.

She took a deep breath, her voice as hoarse as if it had been ground by sandpaper.

"Mr. Huo, I'm sorry, it was my mistake."

After saying this, she bowed deeply to Ivy and turned to leave.

Julian’s gaze flickered with a trace of surprise, but he quickly grabbed her hand with force, gritting his teeth.

"You caused Ivy to lose her child, and you want to leave after a half-hearted apology? Miss Clara, you are thinking a bit too simply."

Hearing this, Clara raised her lifeless eyes, her tone filled with exhaustion.

"What do you want?"

Julian gave a cold snort, his eyes filled with the disdain one might show an ant, his voice as cold as ice.

"Since Miss Clara is willing to stop at nothing to climb high, then I, naturally, must make you pay an equal price."

Within half an hour.

Clara received a phone call from the nursing home.

"It's bad! Miss Clara, your mother’s health had just improved... but after seeing the news online, she fainted again, and she is in emergency care right now!"

Clara’s mind went blank, and she was just about to pull out her phone to search.

But the next second, a headline scandal from the paparazzi popped up.

【Shocking! The wife of the former wealthy Shen family exposed for being a mistress, dumped by the original spouse into a pile of thugs for a scandalous night!】

Chapter 7

Attached below were several high-definition, unblurred photos of her mother lying under different men.

The comment section was filled with filth and abuse.

"This mistress is truly shameless. She's so old and still can't behave herself; she throws herself at any man she sees. She's really not picky!"

"How much for one night? I have plenty of money, and I just want to taste what these rich wives are like."

Clara stared fixedly at the vile words, her whole body feeling as if it had been frozen, the cold seeping into her very bones.

The only person who could have obtained these photos was Julian!

In her senior year of high school, the Shen family went bankrupt, and her father was forced to jump to his death.

Her mother was pinned to the ground and humiliated by debt collectors, and just when those animals were about to reach out for her...

Julian appeared.

He saved her single-handedly, never harboring a shred of resentment, even though the cost was having his hand tendons severed and missing his university entrance exams.

Afterward, he was the one who clarified all the rumors for her and made a solemn vow.

"Clara, your mother is my mother. From now on, as long as I, Julian, am here, no one will ever be able to hurt you two!"

But now, in order to vent anger for Ivy, he deliberately tore open the wounds of her and her mother, going so far as to twist the facts and label her mother a mistress!

Clara’s blood seemed to congeal, her very teeth trembling.

After a long while, a nearly raspy sound escaped her throat.

"I have seen the lengths you will go to, Mr. Huo."

She supported herself against the wall and stood up, her eyes filled with hollow, dead silence.

"We common folk truly... cannot afford to provoke you."

Watching her indifferent appearance, an inexplicable sense of irritability surged in Julian’s heart.

His feet shifted, instinctively wanting to chase after her.

But Ivy behind him suddenly tugged at his sleeve, crying out in pain.

After a long silence, he paused his steps and ultimately turned back.

By the time Clara rushed to the hospital by taxi, her mother had already been wheeled out of the operating room.

"I'm sorry, Miss Clara, your mother's condition was already poor."

"The shock she suffered today completely exceeded her body's limits. For the rest of her life, she will probably... only be able to live on a ventilator."

Looking at her mother in the intensive care unit, hooked up to rows of instruments and tubes.

Clara’s throat felt as if it were being strangled, unable to make a sound, even her breathing laced with pain.

Like a helpless child, she curled up in the empty hallway and sobbed bitterly.

After finishing the transfer procedures, Clara prepared to return to the rental apartment to pack her luggage.

When she opened the door, she found Julian sitting on the sofa.

She was tired—too tired to even find the energy to question him.

But before she could take a few steps, Julian chased after her and hugged her from behind.

"Honey, what happened? Why is your face so pale?"

He paused, his tone filled with a hint of probing.

"Is it... did something happen to Mom?"

Clara remained quiet for a few seconds before realizing this was the real man.

She felt a wave of nausea and pushed him away with force.

"I'm tired, I'm going to sleep."

But Julian wouldn't let it go; he held onto her, his voice softening.

"Honey, haven't you always wanted a wedding?"

"I've already prepared everything, and I’ve scheduled it for tomorrow."

When she heard the word "wedding," Clara’s deadened eyes finally flickered.

It was something she had waited ten years for but never received.

Now that she thought about it, she realized it was nothing more than that.

"There's no need to go through so much trouble."

After all, she was leaving the day after tomorrow, and these formalities were useless.

Julian, however, held her hand stubbornly, tears glimmering in his eyes.

"Zhizhi, I have owed you too much over the years. Now, I just want to make it up to you properly. Don't refuse me, okay?"

Chapter 8

After saying this, he didn't give her another chance to refuse, dragging her straight to a bridal shop.

The moment she put on the wedding dress.

Julian’s expression softened for a fleeting moment, his Adam's apple bobbing as if he wanted to say something.

But it was quickly overshadowed by other emotions.

"I said it long ago; Zhizhi would surely be the most beautiful bride in the world."

Clara curled her lip, just about to say something.

"Julian, we—"

But before she could finish, her vision went black, and she fainted on the spot.

Amidst the haze, the sound of voices drifted into her ears.

"Mr. Huo, are you really going to have the Madam go to 'Nightfall' to trade places with Miss Jiang? That Mr. Wang is a known pervert; no one knows how many women he’s played to death!"

The air remained quiet for a few seconds before Julian’s cold, hard voice came through.

"Yes."

"If Clara hadn't caused Ivy to lose her child, Ivy wouldn't have gotten drunk and provoked the Wang family."

"In the end, this is all trouble she brought upon herself; she can't blame anyone else. Using her to trade for Ivy is a matter of course. No matter the outcome, she has to bear it herself."