"If I gave birth to the child, wouldn't I be tied to you?"

"I just wanted to make some money. No matter how much you pay, I don't want to have your child."

Julian’s eyes were so red they seemed to bleed!

He raised his hand high, but it lingered, unable to fall.

Clara’s vision was blurry, but she did not dodge.

This slap was one she deserved, for she had abandoned their child.

Just then, a gust of wind swept by.

Slap!

A fierce slap landed on Clara’s face, leaving her ears ringing.

Selene Hart stood by the bed, looking down at her:

"This slap was on behalf of Julian! You are not worthy of being his wife at all! And you are not worthy of his true heart!"

As she said this, she took Julian’s hand and dragged him out of the room.

A moment later, the sound of their voices drifted from the master bedroom next door.

Like a ghost, Clara watched the two of them embracing and cuddling from the crack in the door, her face red and swollen.

Selene held Julian’s head, softly stroking the back of his neck, her tone as gentle as water.

"Julian, divorce her! Be with me."

"I will love you very much, treat you very well, and give you many children."

"Julian, don't love her anymore; she isn't worth your love."

Selene cradled the man’s head; the look in her eyes as she gazed at him was filled with intense, honey-like love and longing:

"Love me, okay? Will you?"

Julian’s shoulders trembled.

After a long while, he said hoarsely: "Okay."

After speaking, he looked toward the doorway.

In the sunlight, Clara’s eyes met his.

There was a moment of silence in the air.

Clara heard his voice clearly:

"I won't love her anymore, never again."

Chapter 7

The next morning, Julian brought up the divorce.

The two sat on the living room sofa; they, who had once been the most intimate lovers, were now as distant as strangers.

Julian took out a thick stack of contracts and pushed them, along with a check, toward her.

"This is the divorce agreement; sign it."

Clara flipped through the divorce agreement casually, and as she looked at the terms inside, her heart ached.

If she truly only cared about money, she should be cheering with joy right now.

He had left her hundreds of millions in cash, several properties, and the education fund that had originally been intended for the child.

She looked at the divorce agreement and used all her strength to hold back her tears.

Putting on a greedy expression, she took the pen from the side, scribbled her name, and said to him with a beaming smile:

"I didn't expect you to be so generous, Mr. Sterling. Had I known, I would have divorced you earlier and taken the money to go live a carefree life."

Julian looked at her expressionlessly.

Clara’s smile became increasingly stiff.

Just as she was about to say something else cruel because she couldn't keep up the act, Julian spoke.

"Since it’s signed, give me that thing," he said.

"What thing?"

"It’s written in the agreement."

Her gaze followed his to the understated, simple diamond ring on her ring finger.

The diamond was very small—only 0.3 carats, set in an 18K gold band. To Julian, who was now a billionaire, it looked as lowly as a speck of dust.

However, this was the engagement ring he had given her when he first proposed to her at the age of twenty-two.

That night, she had received the ring with disdain, sneered, and thrown it on the ground: "You have the nerve to propose with such a cheap ring? It’s hilarious."

The ring rolled on the ground and fell into the sewer.

She had smashed his flowers, thrown his ring, and walked away with her head held high.

Julian had chased her for a long time; failing to catch her, he returned to the clearing where he had proposed.

That day, wearing a white shirt, he lay by the sewer grate, reaching in to retrieve the ring, which was covered in filth.

He wiped the ring clean with his sleeve and sobbed uncontrollably in the moonlight.

The seeds of hatred took root and sprouted in his heart; the more he had loved her before, the more he hated her afterward.

But what he didn't know was that, not far away, Clara had been watching him from the corner of the building.

She had bitten her hand until it bled, tears streaming down her face.

That summer night, her heart felt as if it had undergone a thousand cuts.

After he became successful, he proposed to her again, tossing a ten-carat diamond ring to her as if it were charity.

She had pretended to be overjoyed, while only feeling regret in her heart.

Until the night after they received their marriage certificate, he had pinned her to the bed, held her hand, and forcibly put that ring she had thrown into the sewer back onto her finger.

He warned her in her ear:

"You will wear this ring well; as long as this marriage lasts, you will wear it."

At that moment, Clara’s heart felt as if it had been lifted from an icy cavern and placed into warm water, coming back to life.

Three years had passed, and Clara had never taken the ring off.

And now, he reached out his hand to her and said to her, word for word:

"Give the engagement ring back to me."

Clara forced a laugh:

"Mr. Sterling, you aren't really that petty, are you? You want your engagement ring back?"

Julian watched her in silence.

Clara still wanted to get away with it: "Fine, I’ll go get it in the room now..."

As she said this, she turned to retrieve the large ten-carat diamond ring.

However, Julian stopped her again.

He pointed at the ring on her ring finger:

"I want the one you are wearing on your hand right now. This one."

Clara clenched her hand instantly.

She didn't want to give it to him.

This ring might have been cheap, but in her heart, it had an incomparable weight, far more precious than that so-called ten-carat diamond ring.

If none of this had happened, then on that night, she should have worn this ring, happily accepted his proposal, and grown old with him.

But now, she had lost the possibility of happiness.

She only wanted to keep this ring.

If her investigation failed, and she met the same tragic end as her mother...

Then, this ring would be buried with her ashes.

Consider it a way to fulfill her own wishes and leave herself a memento.

"What, you don't want to give it to me?" Julian’s eyes seemed to flicker with light.

Supppressing the trembling in his heart, he whispered:

"If you don't want to separate from me, I can also forgive you..."

Even though she had abandoned him so ruthlessly, even though she had so coldly and heartlessly killed their child, as long as she was willing to admit her mistake and lower her head to him, he was willing to give her one more chance...

Clara’s heart skipped a beat.

She looked into his eyes.

In the sunlight, the eye that once belonged to her was staring straight at her now.

She curled her lips coldly, slipped the ring off her finger, and threw it at his feet with indifference:

"I thought you meant the expensive one; I was worried about losing that."

"If you want this cheap piece of junk, take it. I didn't want to wear it anymore anyway."

Watching her shameless demeanor, Julian turned pale with anger.

His gaze was like a knife, wishing he could cut the person in front of him into pieces so she could feel the pain in his heart:

"Clara Vance, a person like you is not worthy of being loved at all."

He picked up the ring from the ground, his long, slender fingers clenched into a fist.

"See you at the Civil Affairs Bureau tomorrow."

At nine the next morning, the two received their divorce certificates from the bureau.

It was the same red booklet, the same two people, but this time, meeting meant an eternal parting.

Julian took his divorce certificate and got into his car without looking back.

Clara stood where she was, watching him leave.

Just then, she received a call.

"Clara, everything is ready. In three days, we will act according to the plan."

Chapter 8

Three days later was the wedding of Julian Sterling and Selene Hart.

According to the terms of the divorce agreement, she was required to attend this wedding.

Clara Vance did not understand why Julian would do this.

To have one's ex-wife attend the wedding to his new bride—wasn't that awkward?

But soon, she understood why he would act this way.

Because everything displayed at the wedding was something he had once promised her.