What she thought was a secret romance turned out to be a meticulously planned deception. The devoted boyfriend she believed in had long been married to someone else. Clutching her household registration book, she made twenty-one trips to the Civil Affairs Bureau, full of expectation, only to find that those so-called unexpected events were nothing more than a cruel twist of fate.
The air in the living room was stagnant, like damp cotton wool. Broken glass was scattered on the floor. Liam and Vanessa's laughter drifted from the dining room, hitting Clara's eardrums repeatedly.
She sat on the edge of the sofa, her fingertips unconsciously tracing the wrinkles on her trousers. Only when Liam brought over a glass of milk did she slowly raise her eyes. Her blind eyes held just the right amount of bewilderment and confusion.
“Liam,” she said softly, with a hint of barely perceptible probing, “yesterday the lawyer called me and said… Noah’s legal guardian is registered under your name.”
Liam paused as he handed her the milk, his eyes flashing briefly. He avoided Clara's gaze, placed the cup on the coffee table in front of her, and said in a perfunctory tone, "Vanessa has it tough raising a child alone. I'm just helping out."
He never mentioned marriage, and didn't even bother to offer any further explanation.
Clara's eyelashes trembled.
She remembered seven years ago when she casually mentioned wanting to eat the strawberry cake from that shop in the west of the city. That day, it was pouring rain, and Liam, holding an umbrella, ran three blocks to buy it. When she came back, she was soaked to the bone, but she protected the cake carefully and said with a smile, "Niannian, try it quickly, it's still warm."
Back then, he would get nervous for ages even if she just frowned.
But what about now?
She was nearly blinded by his "help," yet he was stingy with even a single truthful word.
Clara's hands, resting on her knees, slowly clenched. Her nails dug deep into her palms, a sharp pain spreading through her nerves, yet it only sharpened her consciousness. This pain was the mark of her resolve for revenge, proof that she was bidding farewell to the past.
"Really?" She forced a pale smile. "Then you must have had a hard time."