Chapter 3 I didn't stand up. Instead, I pointed toward the stack of boxes behind me. "You have five minutes to get this garbage out of here. "Including that." I pointed at Clarissa, her face flushed from drink as she leaned weakly against Lawrence, seeming aggrieved. Lawrence's expression darkened instantly. "That was uncalled for. "The wedding photos were for Clarissa's mother. She wanted to see Clarissa married before she passed away. "We took the photos to fulfill her last wish. Don't make a big deal out of it." With red-rimmed eyes, Clarissa nodded. "I only wanted to make sure my mom didn't have any regrets. "I thought I put my home address... I never meant for these to come here. "Please don't be angry with Mr. Chavez, Ms. Wheatly... This has nothing to do with him." Clarissa sobbed, layering every word with a tone of grievance as always. It sounded like I was unreasonably finding faults with her. I let out a cold laugh. "You're a master's grad from a top university. And you're telling me you can't even get the ad- dress right? "Are you stupid? Or pretending to be? "Fine. If you don't want to deal with them, I will." I turned around, picked up a pair of scissors, and cut every wedding poster and album into shreds. Then I smashed the frames and display stands one by one and sliced the photos inside into pieces. "No! "Ms. Wheatly, please! I can take these away!" Clarissa cried out while lunging forward and trying to stop me with her bare hands. My scissors ended up slashing across her palm. Her piercing scream cut through the air, snapping Lawrence out of his drunken haze. In a surge of fury, he stormed over and shoved me backward. I lost my balance, falling hard onto the floor-where a shard of broken glass dug deep into my palm. 0.0 % 08:16 "Enough, Harriet! "Smashing things isn't enough for you? Now you've even drawn blood! You're such a shrew! "Clarissa's mother just passed. Your mom's dead, too. Can't you show even the slightest of empathy and kindness?" Lawrence's words pierced my heart. The loss of my mother remained my deepest regret. Back then, Lawrence and I were studying abroad, trapped under strict lockdown, so I couldn't return in time to see her one last time. She left this world while I could only watch through a screen helplessly. Even now, I still woke from midnight dreams, my pillow drenched with tears. Lawrence knew all of this. Yet now, for Clarissa's sake, he deliberately brought this up to use it against me. Lawrence picked Clarissa up and left without even glancing at me. I looked down at the bleeding cut across my palm. A bitter smile touched my lips as overwhelming heartache washed over me. A wave of bitterness overwhelmed me as I tugged at my lips. "Mom, the man you chose for me... He let you down. "I don't want him anymore." The living room stayed utterly still and silent. My mother had always adored Lawrence. She and his mother were the closest friends, and they'd arranged our marriage since we were children. Everything seemed to point to a shared destiny-Lawrence and I were meant to be. That was why my father had staked everything to help Lawrence fulfill the bet when the Chavez family was choosing an heir. By the time Lawrence was just twenty, he'd secured 150 million dollars in funding-all through my family's backing. At my mother's final moment, he looked into the camera, his voice solemn, and vowed to her. "I promise I'll make Hattie the happiest woman in the world." Later, we graduated and came back to the country, and wedding plans were set in motion. But early this year, a new intern joined the company-Clarissa. From that moment, everything shifted. My life veered off course like a derailed train, hurtling toward a future I never saw coming. 39.8 % 08:17 As Lawrence's secretary, Clarissa called and texted him even late at night. He always answered without hesitation-even in bed, not bothering to pull his pants up before taking her call. en suspicious and once checked his phone in secret. found nothing. first time I saw Clarissa, she was sitting in Lawrence's passenger seat. We were supposed to get our marriage license that day. But just before we stepped into City Hall, Lawrence got a call from her, and then he left without even telling me why. I waited until City Hall was closed. Finally, Lawrence came to pick me up. The moment Clarissa saw me, she sensibly slid out of the passenger seat and moved to the back.