“Okay, I’ll make sure not to take too much of her time,” Patricia said.
Christian nodded and walked away. Clarisse wanted to speak up and ask him to stay, but Patricia pinched her so hard that she winced in pain, causing her hand to bruise.
Alice, who was watching from a corner, smiled with satisfaction. This was the opportunity she had been waiting for-Christian and Clarisse were about to be separated. Now that he was alone, Alice had her chance. It was the perfect moment to make him hers.
Patricia turned to Clarisse, her eyes shifting from a pitiful, fake motherly gaze to a murderous glare.
“Back to your place, trash. It’s time to reset your brain,” she sneered, dragging Clarisse by her hair. Clarisse winced in pain, crying and pleading, but it all fell on deaf ears. Patricia had too many plans for her now, and no amount of pleading was going to stop her.
Patricia shoved Clarisse roughly against the wall.
“Ah,” Clarisse winced in pain but managed to stay on her feet.
“How dare you!” Patricia’s venomous voice sent chills down Clarisse’s spine. She felt like shrinking into the wall.
“How dare you try to play smart with me? Do you think I don’t know what you’re up to?” Patricia hissed.
“I… I don’t… know… what you’re talking about,” Clarisse stammered.
“Oh really? What was that nonsense you pulled at dinner, trying to make me look like a bad mother, huh?” Patricia sneered.
“But… you’re not my mother,” Clarisse mumbled, her voice barely a whisper.
Patricia laughed mockingly. “Of course, you think I’d want a piece of trash like you as a daughter? Eww! I forbid bad things like you. If I’d mistakenly gotten pregnant with you, I would’ve aborted you,” she spat near Clarisse’s feet, her face twisted in disgust. “I can’t blame your parents for leaving you behind. You’re nothing but a mistake. They couldn’t take their mistake with them.”
Clarisse’s eyes filled with tears. She looked out the window, where the sky was darkening, and the chilly air seeped in. The weather was about to turn, and it was going to rain.
Every day in my life is a bad day, but every rainy day is a nightmare, she thought as the tears began to fall.
“I want to tell you something, so listen carefully. You’re just bait to keep Christian. He belongs to Alice. I don’t want him marrying into another family, which is why we used you to hold his position until Alice is ready. And now, she’s ready. I think both she and Christian are already hitting it off somewhere,” Patricia said with a giggle, successfully piercing Clarisse’s heart with every word.
Clarisse wasn’t surprised by the cruelty, but it still hurt deeply.
Meanwhile, Christian was waiting in the lobby when Alice approached him, feigning a surprised expression.
“Oh my goodness! Who did I bump into?” Her excited voice caught his attention. He glanced at her but immediately looked away, clearly uninterested.
“Christian!” she called sweetly. “I can’t believe I bumped into you here. What are you doing here?”
“None of your business,” he said curtly, not sparing her a glance.
“Oh, come on… are you still angry with me?” Alice asked, pouting cutely. “I’m sorry about that night. I was just looking after her because I know she can be very clumsy,” she said, feigning guilt.
“Okay,” Christian replied, his tone flat.
“Thank you. I actually thought you weren’t going to forgive me, but you’re so sweet,” she added, touching him lightly to express her joy. However, he moved away, maintaining his coldness and aloofness.
“Have you seen my mum?” she asked.
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been looking for her. I don’t know where she’s been.”
“She’s with Clarisse. They’re having a conversation.”
“Oh, I get why. My mum really missed her,” Alice said, giggling. “I’ll keep you company while we wait for them,” she offered, but Christian didn’t respond.
After a moment of silence, she adjusted her dress, subtly exposing more of her cleavage, and tugged her mini skirt higher, hoping to draw his attention. But Christian wasn’t paying attention, nor did he spare her even a glance.
“I hope my sister has been good,” she started again. “You’re a sweet man, and I don’t want her to hurt you in any way. I wish she could throw away her old habits,” Alice said, this time managing to get a glare from him.
She secretly smirked, finally having his attention, and smiled. “You’re really kind, you know. Kind, sweet, and caring. I really admire the way you took care of her during dinner. A man like that deserves the best-a good woman, the right woman. And that’s why I wish she wouldn’t screw it up. I don’t want her to repeat what she did with her former husband.”
Her face dropped as she sighed. “Her former husband really showered her with care and affection, spent a lot of money on her, had connections, pampered her, and gave her everything she wanted. But my sister’s promiscuous attitude destroyed the marriage. She fell in love with another man because he was better in bed, cheated on her husband, and even brought the man to their home, spending nights with him on their matrimonial bed. She was so good at hiding it that her husband had no idea. The poor man was completely clueless, kept showing her love and affection, until she got pregnant by the man she was cheating with. And guess what? She even aborted it, and her husband finally found out. He was devastated and couldn’t take it, so he divorced her.”
Alice sighed. “That’s why I’m wishing she had changed, but I know… bad habits don’t die young.”
Christian’s fist was tightly clenched, and he kept gritting his teeth as he listened to the lies upon lies that made his blood boil. He knew the truth-the way her ex-husband had violated her, what Alice had done, how she had been maltreated. All the details had been delivered to him, and he felt disgusted by Alice to the point that he nearly wanted to puke. But he maintained his blank expression and looked at her.
“Are you done?”
“Huh?” Alice sighed, her voice startled as Clarisse entered just as Christian spoke. Alice quickly grabbed his hand, rubbing it gently and smiling sweetly at him.
A part of Clarisse didn’t want to believe Patricia, but each step she took toward the lobby felt heavy. She wasn’t surprised-she had known it would end this way. Yet, deep inside, she desperately hoped she was wrong. She wished for a shock, for something different, something that would prove her wrong. But as she reached the lobby, she saw Alice holding Christian’s hand, his back turned to her, Alice smiling sweetly at him.
Clarisse immediately turned away. Her legs felt heavy, but nothing weighed on her as much as her heart. Her chest tightened painfully as she walked away, her steps quickening into a run, as if she could outrun this world. This unfair world that always knew exactly how to crush her.
She burst outside, near the side of the hospital, and began laughing, the sound almost manic. Her laughter, however, was mixed with hot tears. Just then, the rain began to pour down, and she froze, scared. Her mind flashed with a thousand images, memories she didn’t want to relive.
She held her head in her palms and rushed to a corner, hoping it could offer her some refuge, trembling in fear. The more the rain touched her, the more the painful memories surfaced, drowning her in a sea of terror.
When would it stop? When would she be saved?
Alice smiled in satisfaction as she watched Clarisse’s expression and saw her run off, but Christian was overcome with disgust. He yanked his hand away from Alice’s and couldn’t stand being near her any longer. His anger was reaching its peak, and when she suddenly held his hand again, smiling sweetly, he felt as though he was stained with dirt.
He took several steps away from her. “Are you really that shameless?” he asked, his eyes narrowing in disdain.
“What… what do you mean?” she stammered.
“Even squirrels and rats have more respect and dignity than you. Being compared to a lowlife animal is too much for you,” he said, his face contorted with disgust. “The next time you touch me with your filthy hands, I’ll make sure they never see use again,” he added before storming off in anger.
He crossed paths with Patricia on his way out. “Where’s my wife?” he demanded.
“She left, saying she was coming to meet you,” Patricia replied, but before she could say more, Christian walked away, not giving her the chance.
Alice stood there, humiliated and hurt by his cold treatment. Just then, a man and a woman rushed to her side.
“Hi,” they greeted, polite but clearly happy to see her, though Alice glared at them angrily.
“I am Daniel Grover, from Heavenly Beauty…”
“So?” she cut him off, eyeing him from head to toe.
“Umm,” he faltered, “I’m from the modeling industry, and I’ve sent you many emails about our wish to have you model for us. I’m so excited to meet you in person!”
Alice scoffed, more insulted by his persistence. “When I don’t reply to your emails, are you too dumb to realize that I’m not interested? Oh, God! What a dimwit. Imagine a nobody sending me emails. Ugh,” she hissed, turning on her heel and walking away.
Daniel was left standing, feeling insulted and embarrassed. He couldn’t even look at his colleague. He had just started his career in the industry, trying to recruit models, but things weren’t going the way he wanted. There was a brand he was advertising that needed models, especially influencers, and Alice, with her large following on multiple platforms and her recent TikTok success, seemed like the perfect candidate. He thought endorsing someone like her would be a great move for the brand, but things were just not going his way.
“It’s okay, Daniel,” his colleague said, patting his shoulder. “Don’t take what she said to heart.”
“Why is it so difficult? Why is succeeding, being recognized for one’s hard work, so hard?” he asked bitterly.
“The journey wouldn’t be interesting if there wasn’t a story to tell, Daniel. We just need to keep pushing forward. The ones at the top don’t want to come down, and the ones below are striving to rise, but there’s no position that doesn’t come with a lesson, if not more. We’ll get what we want soon,” she said, offering him encouragement.
“Stop motivating me, Stella. I’m just called a nobody. I worked so hard, and I’m still called a nobody. This life is so unfair,” Daniel lamented.
“Whoever said it’s fair?” she replied with a laugh. “Some seem to be doing great while others are striving, but we become losers when we quit, Daniel. It’s called failure when you quit,” she added, managing to cheer him up.
He braced himself. “Maybe I should become an influencer myself.”
“Now we’re strategizing,” she said playfully, and they both laughed. She started walking away when Patricia saw her and rushed to meet her.
Alice, looking upset, asked, “How was it?”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.