"Number plate ending in 1952, hello. The destination is Blue Universe Airport, correct?"

Hearing the driver’s words, a shiver ran down Marcus’s spine; his usual cold facade shattered completely.

"Clara, where are you going? I forbid you to leave...!"

"Beep, beep, beep..."

Clara hung up without a shred of lingering attachment and got into the taxi.

Rain streaked across the window; she closed the door and snapped the SIM card in half, tossing it out the window.

Goodbye, Marcus. Never again.

Chapter 8

"Beep, beep, beep..."

Clara hung up without a shred of lingering attachment and got into the taxi.

Rain streaked across the window; she closed the door and snapped the SIM card in half, tossing it out the window.

Goodbye, Marcus. Never again.

...

Thunder rumbled in the sky.

The skies over A City were covered by heavy, dark clouds, creating a suffocating sense of oppression that made it hard to breathe.

In the corridor of a magnificent manor, Marcus dialed Clara’s phone again and again.

Yet, there was no answer on the other end. The repeated failure weighed on him with abnormal anxiety.

"Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable..."

The repetitive, mechanical prompt continued to ring in Marcus’s ears.

It felt like it was mercilessly mocking his futility.

Weiwei had never treated him like this before...

After seven years together, how could Marcus not understand her?

The palm that had slapped Clara was now burning with waves of heat, as if it were constantly scorching his restless and unsettled mind.

"Marcus?"

Chloe had been waiting outside the room for a long time, but seeing that Marcus still hadn't come in, she couldn't help but call out in a sweet, soft voice.

Hearing her, Marcus stopped what he was doing.

He sent one last message to Clara, then took a deep breath to hide his emotions and walked into the room to be with Chloe.

Chloe’s eyes were red; she looked at his cold, sharp profile and said softly:

"Marcus, you’re so good. Julian leaves me behind every time. I’m starting to regret that the one I married wasn't you..."

Under normal circumstances, Marcus would have been pleased to hear Chloe say such things.

Yet, why was the person occupying his thoughts right now Clara?

A persistent sense of irritation continued to harass him.

At what point, exactly, had his heart quietly begun to sway...

"Marcus? Marcus?"

Chloe watched Marcus drift off repeatedly and keep checking his phone; a bizarre association rose in her heart, making her want to laugh.

Could it be that work matters were distracting him this much?

She was certain in her heart that it absolutely could not be because he was thinking of Clara.

Time ticked by second by second.

The messages Marcus sent to Clara remained unanswered.

An endless restlessness spread through his heart.

The thunder outside the window suddenly crashed violently, intensifying the agitation within him.

Chloe waited for a long time, but she never received the tender care she expected from Marcus.

She couldn't help but pout, showing her dissatisfaction to the man.

However, Marcus seemed completely unaware of her sullen expression.

He gripped the phone in his hand so tightly that it felt as if he were trying to crush it.

He began to wonder if he had truly gone too far, if he had really hurt Clara?

Chloe was just about to call him again when she was startled by Marcus suddenly standing up.

His rushed movement caused the chair to scrape against the floor with a harsh screech.

"I have something to take care of. I’ll come see you tomorrow."

Marcus threw on his jacket and hurried out. As soon as he left the hallway, he called the butler, telling him to go to the villa to check on his wife.

"...Confirm she is at the villa, then call me immediately."

He climbed into the driver’s seat and slammed his foot on the gas, the car speeding away.

Raindrops pelted the vehicle as if even the heavens were working against him; he hit red light after red light along the way.

Marcus stepped on the brake, tapping his fingers impatiently against the armrest.

He had never felt such intense unease and chaos; even as the "Prince of the Beijing Circle," he felt a touch of panic.

When his gaze inadvertently fell on the small doll hanging from the rearview mirror, a sudden, inexplicable ripple touched his heart.

Memories poured out like a flowing stream.

He reached out and gently picked up that little white dolphin, his eyes showing a complex expression.

This had happened after he finished accompanying Clara through her auditory rehabilitation treatment, as they were passing a shopping mall.

Clara, who was always quiet and calm, had stared intently at the claw machine that day, her clear eyes showing a distinct preference for the first time.

Marcus had assumed she only liked flowers and plants.

He chuckled softly and took her to try it out.

He bought 1000 game tokens, but she was only interested in that one machine.

It was funny to think about: Clara, as a gold-medal floral designer, possessed countless refined skills, yet she couldn't handle such a simple task as catching a doll.

Marcus watched her, her ears turning red with frustration because she couldn't catch one, and shook his head helplessly.

He covered her hand with his, fixed his eyes on the white dolphin she had been trying to grab, and pressed the button.

Chapter 9

A direct hit on the first try.

It was as if destiny had orchestrated the moment, so precise and unerring.

Marcus bent down and picked up the doll from the pile of chaotic items, a toy he found rather unattractive.

He hadn't expected to have his heartbeat skip a beat because of the bright, shining look in Clara's eyes.

He had assumed he was long immune to such trinkets, but Clara’s joyous expression and her childish motions as she held it up to inspect it...

It inexplicably tugged at his heartstrings.

Driven by some sudden impulse, he hung the little doll in his car.

He didn't even realize himself that this behavior was a way of keeping the warmth and happiness Clara brought to him by his side.

However, this beautiful memory was shattered by words echoing relentlessly in his mind.

‘Marcus, you don’t need to be my ears anymore. The freedom you wanted—I’m giving it back to you.’

Clara’s cold voice continued to reverberate in his head, leaving his chest feeling suffocated.

The moment the green light shone, he slammed on the accelerator and sped away.

He did not believe that Clara would truly leave.

He firmly believed she would come back, just as she had before.

How much Clara loved Marcus was something known to everyone in the Beijing circle.

How could she possibly just leave like this?

The car eventually arrived at Evergreen Manor.

As soon as Marcus stepped out, he saw the butler running toward him, his face drenched in cold sweat.

"Sir, Madam is truly gone, and all the items related to her in the house are gone as well!"

The butler’s voice trembled, revealing a trace of panic.

After the butler's words fell, the nerves Marcus had been holding together completely collapsed.

He pushed aside the person blocking his path with great force and marched up the stairs with long strides.

As he walked, he shouted Clara's name loudly, yet he received no response.

Although reason argued with him, telling him he shouldn't be so out of control, his heart continued to beat with uneasy agitation, as if something precious was leaving him and completely slipping out of his grasp.

In A City, Clara had no friends and knew no one.

Having left him, she had nowhere else to go!

He sat in the bedroom in a disheveled state, dialing the phone number again and again, but Clara’s phone never connected.

In his mind, Clara’s recent changes flashed by, but no matter how he searched, he reached only one conclusion.

He was the one who had forced her to leave.

Marcus summoned the butler, his expression terrifyingly dark.

"Bring out all the surveillance footage of the house, including everything outside the gate and beyond the fence!"

"Yes, sir."

The butler's voice was low and rapid; he hurriedly wiped away cold sweat as he left, not daring to meet Marcus's eyes.

In his twenty years of service, this was the first time he had seen his employer's emotions so exposed, all because of the Madam.

Everyone knew the master didn't like his wife, so why was he so restless and anxious?

The footage was quickly pulled up.

Marcus’s face grew worse as the surveillance played. When he saw Clara saying goodbye to him while standing in the rain, the unease in his heart reached its peak.

Clara hadn't decided to leave just today; she had been packing her things alone at home, waking up in a cold sweat, and crying in secret.