chapter 2

So this was what I meant to him. Absolutely nothing.

“The screen... why did it go black?”

Julian’s voice was tight with panic. I glanced at the TV, curious.

The intercom must’ve shorted out. The whole screen was blank.

Julian looked like he was under some kind of spell. He grabbed the intercom again and called my name.

“Clara. Say something.

“Clara, I told you to answer me. Do you hear me?

“Don’t make me mad. You know what happens when I lose my temper.”

He was losing it, sitting on the floor, calling out to me again and again.

Back when I was drowning and begging for help, how I wished he had cared like this.

I wished he had noticed something was wrong.

I wished he had come to save me, to save our unborn child.

But what was he doing at the time?

Lying in bed with Emily, holding her close.

Rage rose in my chest. I slapped him across the face.

He touched his face, completely frozen for a moment, then hurriedly fumbled for his phone.

“Julian, why didn’t you close the window? It’s getting windy.”

Emily wandered over, still half asleep, and shut the window.

She glanced at Julian’s phone and spoke softly.

“Julian, about Clara pushing me into the river… I’ve already forgiven her.

“You don’t have to fight with her anymore. Maybe it’s time to talk things out.”

The moment her words landed, Julian’s phone hit the floor.

“Talk things out? She screws up and I’m supposed to make peace?

“She pushed you into the river once. What if she tries to kill you next?”

Emily placed a hand on his chest, trying to calm him.

It was ridiculous. What was he so angry about?

I was the one who should be furious.

Emily framed me in front of everyone, said I pushed her into the river.

Julian didn’t even give me a chance to explain.

He had people drag me to the river and tie me up, half my body submerged in water.

He knew I almost drowned before while saving him.

He knew I had been terrified of water ever since.

But to defend Emily, he still tied me down there.

I cried and begged him to stop.

I told him over and over again that I didn’t do it. I even told him I was pregnant.

All I saw in his eyes was disgust.

“Still lying. No remorse.

“You can come out when you admit you were wrong.”

So he left me in the river, left me in the thing I feared most.

After hearing Emily was fine, he even took her overseas to relax.

Watching the two of them now, acting all sweet and in love, I couldn’t believe how stupid I had been.

Three years spent chasing him around like a fool. All I wanted was to marry him.

Then the sound of a phone call pulled me out of my thoughts.

Emily picked up Julian’s phone and answered.

The butler, Edward Whitmore, on the other end sounded anxious.

“Ms. Ward, could you pass the phone to the Mr. Stone?

“It’s been raining for days. Mrs. Stone is still out there, soaking in the river.”

Emily covered the receiver and answered on her own.

“I’m fine, really. I just fell in. It’s over. You can let Clara go now.”

Julian was already angry. Hearing that made him explode.

He grabbed the phone and snapped at the butler.

“If Clara’s alive, keep her tied up. No one’s allowed near her.

“If she’s dead, then it’s just karma for what she’s done.”

Edward hesitated, then spoke.

“Mr. Stone, some villagers said they saw a woman’s body in the river.”

For a second, everything went still. Emily looked over at Julian, clearly uneasy.

Julian, who had been fuming just a moment ago, actually laughed.

He didn’t believe it.

He thought I was playing tricks again, trying to fool him.

Back when Emily returned from abroad and Julian was out all night, I chose to let go. I walked away.

He searched for me for three days straight without sleeping.

One night, he sped down the highway like a madman and nearly crashed.

When he came back, he found me at home.

His eyes were bloodshot as he grabbed my shoulders.

“Clara, was it fun messing with me?”

I had already given up on him. But seeing how desperate he was, I got emotional like an idiot.

My eyes welled up. I tried to hug him.

He shoved me away.

I wanted to explain that I really had planned to leave him for good.

But I was pregnant. And my child needed a father.