I bit my lip, wanting to laugh and cry at the same time.

"Julian, are you a fool?"

"Yes." He walked over, stopped before me, lifted a hand as if to touch my face, then let it fall. "Clara's fool."

I lowered my head, my tears falling silently onto the carpet.

"Give me one year." I looked up into his eyes. "After one year, whether I've figured it out or not, I will give you an answer."

"Okay." He extended his hand. "It's a deal."

I looked at his hand—the knuckles were distinct, and the ring mark on his ring finger was still there.

I took it.

His hand was very hot, much hotter than mine.

The rain outside was still falling, lightning flashed one after another, and thunder rumbled across the sky.

But at this moment, I felt very quiet.

"Julian."

"Yes."

"About your mother... what do you plan to do?"

His hand tightened slightly. "The evidence has already been handed to the police. Tomorrow, they will act in the country."

"Are you really not going to regret it?"

"My biggest regret is that I didn't know about this three years ago," he looked into my eyes. "And let you suffer so much alone."

I didn't speak, just rested my forehead against his chest.

He stiffened for a moment, then slowly raised his hand and placed it on my hair.

"Sleep," he said. "I'll wait until you fall asleep before I leave."

I nodded.

That night, I slept very deeply.

In my dreams, there was no Selina, no Mrs. Julian, and no aborted child.

There was only the eighteen-year-old Julian, holding daisies, his ears bright red, asking me:

"Clara, could you try to like me?"

And in the dream, I said the exact same words I had said back then: "I like you, I have always liked you."

Chapter 20

The next morning, I was woken by my phone ringing.

It was Chen Qing.

"Clara, look at the news quickly! Your mother-in-law was arrested in the country! Also, Selina disappeared from the hotel early this morning! Her room is empty, and her luggage is gone!"

"Mr. Julian asked me to tell you to stay in the room and not come out; he has sent people to look for her—"

I sat up abruptly and rushed into Julian’s room next door.

It was empty.

There was a note on the nightstand with his handwriting on it:

"Selina might come for you. Don't open the door. I’m going to find her. Wait for me to come back."

I clutched the note, my fingers trembling.

The rain had stopped outside, but the sky was still gray.

Selina had disappeared.

Julian had gone to find her.

And I was standing alone in an empty hotel room, not knowing what would happen next.

I returned to my room, locked the door, and wedged the chair under the door handle.

The two bodyguards were guarding downstairs, but if Selina was truly insane, who knew where she might pop up from?

I sat on the sofa, hugging my knees, my mind turning over the words from just now: Julian's mother had been arrested, Selina had disappeared, and Julian had gone to find her.

For that child from three years ago, someone was finally going to pay the price.

Yet, I didn't feel happy at all.

I just felt tired—that kind of bone-deep, unshakable exhaustion.

My phone vibrated; it was a message from Julian: "She appeared near the apartment you lived in before; I’m going to check it out. You stay at the hotel, don't go anywhere."

I replied: "Okay."

Then, I began to wait.

Time moved very slowly, every minute feeling stretched out.

I walked to the window, lifted a corner of the curtain to look out—parked on the side of the road across from the hotel was a white car.

My heart contracted sharply.

I had seen that car before.

In front of 47 Sentier Street, I had seen Selina get out of that car.

I quickly drew the curtain, stepped back, and dialed Julian's number.

"She is across from my hotel." My voice was trembling. "That white car—it’s parked by the side of the road."

There was a silence on the other end of the line for a second: "I’ll be there immediately. Don't go near the window."

I crouched down, hiding behind the sofa, my hands slick with sweat as I gripped the phone.

I don't know how much time passed, but when I looked up again, the car had vanished. Then, a knocking sound echoed at the door—

bang, bang, bang

—every hit felt like it was crashing against my heart.

"Sister-in-law, I know you’re in there." Selina’s voice came from outside the door, carrying a calmness that made my hair stand on end. "Open the door; let’s chat."

I didn't answer.

She knocked three more times: "Sister-in-law, do you think this door can stop me?"

"Or are you waiting for Julian to come and save you? You’re overthinking it. He can’t come; I hired people to stall him long ago."

As soon as she finished speaking, a flurry of hurried footsteps sounded in the corridor.

It wasn't high heels; it was leather shoes.

"Selina." Julian’s voice was as cold as ice. "Turn around."

It was quiet outside for a moment.

Then I heard Selina laugh—a laugh that made one's scalp tingle: "Julian, you came really fast."

"Is it that my men are incompetent, or is Clara just too important to you—important enough that you would risk your life to come save her?"

"Looking at those wounds all over you, it must be the latter, right?"

Wounds all over him?

I shivered violently and moved to open the door to check.

Julian spoke before I could: "I’m fine. Don't open the door."

Chapter 21

I pulled my hand back from the door handle.

Outside the door, Selina's voice came again, filled with sharp hatred: "Julian, I’ve done so much for you, yet you only have eyes for her! What is so good about her? Does she deserve you?"

I heard Julian's approaching footsteps, followed by a dull thud, as if someone had been pressed against the wall.

"Whether she deserves me or not is not for you to decide." His voice was very low, as if squeezed from his chest. "If you come one step closer to her, I won't let you leave Paris alive."

Selina's laughter stopped abruptly.

The hallway remained quiet for a long time.

Then I heard Selina say, in a tone of near-resignation: "You think that by catching me, everything is over? Julian, the things your mother did were far more ruthless than anything I did; I was just the knife in her hand."

"I know." Julian's voice was devoid of emotion. "That's why she won't get away either."

The sound of handcuffs came from outside the door; he had brought the police.

I leaned against the back of the sofa, my strength feeling as if it had been drained away.

The footsteps outside the door gradually faded.

I heard Julian speak a few words to the police, and then the hallway went completely quiet.

After a few minutes, my phone rang.

"She's been arrested." Julian’s voice was a bit hoarse. "Open the door."

I stood up, my legs feeling somewhat weak.

I walked to the door, moved the chair aside, and unlocked the door.

Julian was standing outside, pale-faced and covered in bloodstains.

"You're injured," I said, my voice trembling slightly.

"I'm fine." He raised a hand to pat his clothes. "This is all someone else's blood."

I didn't believe him and pulled him over to check him from head to toe before I was finally convinced he was telling the truth and let out a sigh of relief.

He looked at me; the light in the hallway was very bright, bright enough to see the red bloodshot lines in his eyes.

He suddenly spoke.

"Clara, if I had really..."

Before he could finish, I reached out and covered his mouth. "That kind of thing won't happen."

He was stunned for a moment before he bloomed into a smile and pulled me into his arms, holding me so tightly that I felt like he wanted to melt me into his own flesh and blood.

Things had finally come to an end.

Three days after Selina was taken away, Julian and I flew back home together.

It wasn't because I had forgiven him, but because the police needed me to give a statement.

The case of the child from three years ago had finally been formally filed, and as the victim, I had to testify in court.

When the plane landed, it was raining in Shanghai.

It was the exact same weather as the day I left three months ago.

Only this time, Julian was sitting next to me, his hand holding mine, not letting go from start to finish.

I did not pull away.

There were many reporters surrounding the airport—the news that the wife of the chairman of the Julian Group was suspected of intentional injury resulting in a miscarriage had been a trending topic for three days.