Chapter 2

I didn’t say that last line, "to finally leave you," out loud.

I just grabbed the Bentley keys and walked out the door.

As the car started, I glanced back at the cold, imposing house.

Adrian's figure had already vanished from the doorway, like a wisp of wind—impossible to catch, impossible to keep.

I drove straight to the Swiss Consulate.

Applying for a permanent residency visa wasn’t complicated, especially for someone with my family's backing.

Years ago, the Claire family business had entirely moved abroad. My parents and brother, Julian, had already settled in Switzerland.

Only I, like an idiot, stayed in this city for Adrian, refusing to leave.

Now, I was finally leaving.

I took the receipt from the staff member and nodded.

"It should be processed in about a week," she said, her voice as professional as a robot.

I walked out of the consulate and stood on the street.

The wind was a bit chilly. I pulled my coat tighter and looked down at the receipt in my hand.

It was finally coming to an end.

Adrian, the man I’d chased for five whole years, the seemingly detached figure I thought I could draw out of his solitary world, ultimately didn't belong to me.

I had given up so much for him.

I accompanied him in drinking tea as bland as water, endured his ascetic lifestyle, and even completely shed my once flamboyant personality.

All just to be a little closer to him, even just a tiny bit.

But in the end, I couldn’t even touch the most private desires of his heart.

I clutched the receipt and smiled.

My heart ached as if I’d swallowed a sour lemon.

"Forget it, Adrian. If you don't want me, someone else will."

That night, I met a few friends at a club.

Since being with Adrian, I hadn't stepped foot in a place like this for three years.

Tonight, I changed into a deep red bodycon dress, the hem short enough to just expose my upper thighs. My hair was loose, and my eyes held a long-lost wildness.

I pushed open the VIP room door and walked in, heels clicking.

"Claire, what's gotten into you?"

My friend, Maya, grabbed my arm, her eyes wide with surprise. "Didn't you stop coming to places like this after you fell for that cold-faced recluse, always circling around him?"

I picked up a cocktail from the table and took a sip.

The liquor burned my throat, blurring my vision slightly. "Not anymore. Tonight, I'm going to have fun."

I walked into the dance floor. Lights flashed, and music engulfed me like a tide.

I swayed my body to the rhythm, like a bird just released from its cage, free and a little reckless.

Male club-goers crowded around me. I scanned them, a smile curving my lips.

I reached out and touched one man's chest. It felt hard as rock, eliciting a low chuckle from him.

"Claire, are you crazy?"

Maya rushed up, grabbing my arm. "You're touching guys and dancing like this. Aren't you afraid Adrian will see you and get mad?"

"He's not here," I shrugged off her hand and continued to sway my hips.

"No..." Maya paused, then leaned in close to my ear, whispering, "Who says he isn't? He's right there, in that booth behind us, and he's been watching you for ages!"

My fingers stiffened.

Slowly, I raised my head, my gaze cutting through the crowd.

Through the kaleidoscope of colored lights, I spotted him instantly.

Adrian sat in the corner.

In a black suit, he looked like a stark, out-of-place shadow.

His fingers rested on the edge of a teacup, his eyes fixed on me with a heavy stare.

I didn't know how long he'd been watching.

Just then, the music suddenly stopped.

The VIP room became eerily quiet.

I heard the man beside him laugh and say, "Adrian, Claire's been dancing and touching other guys for ages. If that were my wife, I'd have flipped the table by now. How can you be so calm?"

Adrian didn't move.

He just picked up his teacup and took a sip, his voice clear and cold. "She knows her limits. She won't do anything reckless."

His words were like a venomous thorn.

Plunging deeply into the softest part of my heart.

"Knows her limits?"

Did he think I loved him too much, couldn't live without him, or simply didn't care who I danced with?

Perhaps it was both.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms.

The man continued to tease, "Tsk, tsk, your self-control is legendary. I really wonder what in this world could make you lose your cool…"

Before he could finish, his voice suddenly rose. "Hey, Adrian, where are you going?"

I instinctively looked up.

Adrian had abruptly stood, his gaze locked firmly on the other side of the dance floor.

In those eyes, usually as still as water, a flicker of jealous fire flashed.

I followed his line of sight.

Sure enough, Seraphina stood there.

She wore a white, off-the-shoulder dress, looking like an ethereal fairy, exchanging phone numbers with a tall man.

Adrian strode over.

He grabbed her wrist. "Who allowed you to come to a place like this? Who said you could give your number to someone else?"

Seraphina froze, her eyes reddening. "Why can't I come? Why can't I give my number to someone? You don't care about me anymore, so what I do has nothing to do with you!"

Adrian's fingers tightened, knuckles turning white.

His voice was low, like it was squeezed from his throat. "Who says I don't care about you?"

"You just don't!"

Seraphina's voice was tearful. "You keep avoiding me, you won't even see me! You used to be so good to me, how could you suddenly change?"

His Adam's apple bobbed.

His voice was laced with suppressed emotion. "That's because…"

I stood nearby, my heart clutched by an unseen hand.

I knew he couldn't finish the sentence.

What could he say?

That he, Adrian, liked her, which was why he deliberately avoided her?

That he couldn't control himself whenever he saw her?

That he loved her so much he didn't touch me for three years of marriage, and instead released his desires in his study with her wooden doll?

I tugged at my lips in self-mockery.

I turned to leave, but then I heard Seraphina crying, "Adrian, can we go back to how it was before? I want the old you, the one who only had eyes for me!"

Adrian's voice was hoarse, like a sigh. "I'm married now. I can't just revolve around you."

"So, if your wife wasn't around, we could be like before?"

Seraphina suddenly looked up, her eyes gleaming with a wild light.

I had just picked up my bag, ready to go.

She suddenly grabbed a bottle from the table and lunged at me.

*Smash!*

The sound of the bottle shattering against my forehead exploded in my ears like thunder.

Warm blood streamed down my temple, sticky and blurring my vision.

"Claire!" Maya screamed, rushing over.

I stumbled back two steps.

Before I could regain my footing, Seraphina raised a second bottle.

"Die!" she snarled, bringing it down.

This blow was even more vicious than the last.

My vision went black.

I collapsed to the ground.

All I heard were chaotic screams.