When Clara emerged from the restroom, she had composed herself, at least outwardly. She gave a cold, forced smile to her reflection in the decorative mirror at the end of the hallway, at her own red-rimmed, vulnerable face. It was time to end this absurd charade.

She went back to the bathroom and took out her cosmetics from her purse. With practiced speed and precision, she carefully concealed all traces of crying around her eyes with a slightly thicker foundation, then drew a bolder, more dramatic eyeliner and applied a retro, bright red lipstick. Instantly, the mirror reflected a strikingly beautiful Clara, exuding confidence and charisma. Her overly sharp gaze and intense makeup acted like a sturdy mask, sealing away all her heartbreak and vulnerability, leaving no room for observation.

When she stepped back into the dazzling banquet hall, Liam and Lila were indeed already waiting for her in the center of the hall, seemingly whispering something to each other.

"Honey, where have you been? You haven't been back for so long, and you didn't answer my calls. I was so worried about you!"

The moment Liam saw her, he strode over to her, his tone laced with just the right amount of anxiety and concern. However, when he noticed the heavy makeup on Clara's face, so different from her usual fresh and elegant style, he was momentarily taken aback, a fleeting, almost imperceptible look of surprise crossing his eyes, quickly replaced by worry. He reached out naturally, wanting to take her hand affectionately, just as he had for the past three years, to feel her warmth.

"It's nothing, I just took a while to touch up my makeup, and my phone was on silent so I didn't hear it."

Clara's voice was calm and even, as if she were stating something unrelated to herself. Almost the instant his fingertips touched the skin on the back of her hand, she subtly yet resolutely pulled her hand out of his palm, letting it hang at her side, her fingertips slightly curled.

"Really, you're alright?"

Her hand suddenly felt empty, the lingering delicate touch instantly replaced by the cool air. Liam stared blankly at her empty palm for a moment, a strange feeling rising within her. She had never so clearly resisted his touch before.

"Um."

Clara didn't want to say anything more, not even giving him a second glance, and walked straight past him into the crowd. Her straight back and aloof posture seemed to draw an invisible chasm between them.

Watching Clara's resolute retreating figure, Liam frowned deeply, a strange sense of unease creeping in. Today, Clara, from her makeup to her demeanor, and even her aloof manner, seemed different from the gentle, dependent wife he knew. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it; it was just a vague and irritating intuition.

At that moment, Lila, who could no longer contain herself, held a glass of blood-red wine, a fake smile plastered on her face, and strode up to Clara, blocking her way.

"Happy birthday, sister-in-law! I was wrong to disturb you and my brother earlier. This drink is my way of making amends. Please do me this favor!"

Lila smiled and handed the carefully prepared glass of red wine to Clara, her eyes filled with barely concealed calculation and eager anticipation as she watched Clara's reaction intently, afraid she might refuse.

Gazing at the alluring red liquid shimmering under the light, Clara felt as if an ice pick had pierced her heart, a chill instantly spreading to every limb. She knew this drink was an invitation to hell. She remained silent for a long time, so long that the smile on Lila's face was almost impossible to maintain, and the atmosphere around her seemed to freeze. Finally, she slowly reached out and accepted the heavy glass, laden with malice and betrayal.

She didn't look at Lila, but instead, holding the glass of red wine, she walked back to Liam step by step. She raised her eyes and gazed deeply, almost greedily, at the handsome face she had loved for so many years, trying to find even the slightest hesitation, reluctance, or struggle in his deep eyes.

“Liam,” she called him by his full name for the first time in public, her voice soft but clear, “this drink… do you really want me to drink it?”

Her gaze, like the most precise searchlight, locked onto his eyes, not missing a single subtle change. She was giving him one last chance, and also giving her own dead love a final farewell.

Liam merely frowned slightly, seemingly puzzled by her abrupt question and form of address. He then raised the wine glass he had somehow acquired, his gentle and perfect demeanor returning, and spoke in a relaxed and natural tone:

"Honey, what's wrong with you today? You're acting so strange. Of course we should drink! Today is your special day, happy birthday! I'll drink with you."

As he spoke, he casually downed the champagne in his glass, then looked at her with a smile, waiting for her next move.

Watching him drink his "clean" glass of wine without hesitation, seeing the flawless, almost genuine tenderness in his eyes, Clara's heart ached to the extreme, leaving only a deathly numbness. The last glimmer of hope was completely extinguished.

Slowly, she brought the wine glass, which carried the weight of conspiracy, to her lips. The cool rim of the glass touched her warm lips, carrying a deadly allure. However, just as everyone thought she was about to drink it, the next second...

Her hand suddenly slipped as if all its strength had been released—

"Crack!"

The wine glass was slammed onto the polished marble floor, shattering instantly. The crimson wine splattered like blood, staining her starry blue dress and eliciting gasps from the surrounding guests.

"Oh dear! Sister-in-law, how could you be so careless?!"

Seeing her plan fall apart, Lila's fake smile vanished instantly, replaced by undisguised exasperation and anger, her voice rising several decibels.

Liam didn't speak, but his brows furrowed even more. He glanced at the mess of broken glass on the ground, then immediately stepped forward, took Clara's hand without a word, and carefully checked her fair fingers and wrists for any cuts from the flying glass shards. His tone was reproachful yet concerned: "How could you be so careless? Are you hurt anywhere?"

Seeing the genuine tension he exuded, Clara simply pursed her bright red lips and silently shook her head. If she hadn't overheard those heart-wrenching words in the private room, if she hadn't known what kind of sordid things were in that drink, she would have been completely captivated by this false tenderness, utterly moved.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs." All of this was just another act, a performance born from his superb acting skills. His touch only made her feel nauseous.

After confirming that Clara was not injured, Liam called over the hotel staff who were waiting nearby to quickly clean up the broken pieces and wine stains on the ground.

The banquet continued, the music remained melodious, but the undercurrents grew increasingly turbulent. Lila clearly had no intention of letting Clara off the hook; like a relentless viper, she repeatedly sought opportunities, both overt and covert, to force Clara to eat or drink the packet of "miracle drug." She changed glass after glass of wine, brought out various snacks, trying to find an opening in Clara's defenses.

However, each time, Clara deftly defused the situation in various seemingly unintentional but actually ingenious ways—either by being interrupted by others, by "accidentally" spilling the food, or by using the excuse of talking to an elder she hadn't seen in a long time. Clara always maintained that detached calmness, as if watching a clumsy farce that had nothing to do with her.

Finally, after repeated failures, Lila completely lost her patience, and her anger clouded her judgment. In a relatively crowded corner, while Clara was chatting with an old friend with her back to her, she suddenly became emboldened and forcefully shoved Clara from behind into a long table on the side of the banquet hall, where a row of crystal goblets were stacked into a champagne tower!

"Splash—!!!"

A deafening roar suddenly erupted! The towering champagne tower collapsed with a crash, and dozens, even hundreds, of exquisite stemmed glasses shattered instantly, with glittering shards of glass flying everywhere like exploding ice flowers! Wine, fruit, and desserts were splashed all over the place!

Clara was caught completely off guard. The enormous impact made it impossible for her to maintain her balance. She slipped and fell heavily to the ground amidst the horrified screams of the surrounding crowd. Her elbows and knees inevitably struck the cold, hard ground, which was covered with shards of glass!

"ah--!"

"Oh my god! What's going on?"

"Quick! Go check it out!"

This sudden turn of events plunged the entire banquet hall into chaos and silence. Everyone's attention was drawn to it, including Liam, who had been standing not far away, talking to someone.

When he saw Clara lying among the shards of glass, looking incredibly disheveled and vulnerable, his expression changed drastically. Almost instinctively, he hurriedly pushed through the stunned crowd, rushed forward, bent down, and reached out to help Clara up from the mess and check her injuries.

"Clara!"

"Honey! How are you? Are you alright? How could you be so careless?"

His voice was filled with genuine shock, anger, and urgency, and his hand had already touched Clara's arm.

But just then, Lila's sharp, panicked voice, like a razor-sharp blade, pierced through the chaos and rang in:

"Brother! Something terrible has happened! I just got a call from Vanessa! Vanessa is being bullied and surrounded at the airport. It seems like the situation is very serious. She keeps crying and calling your name..."

"What did you say?!"

Upon hearing the name "Vanessa" and the news of being "bullied," Liam's body stiffened abruptly! His expression froze for a moment, replaced by an unprecedented tension and worry. Almost reflexively, he instantly released his grip on Clara's arm and stood up abruptly!

Without any hesitation, without even a "wait for me to come back" or any arrangements for the situation, Liam seemed to have been pressed the only start button. Without hesitation, he pushed through the crowd and ran like an arrow towards the exit of the banquet hall, disappearing from everyone's sight in an instant.

Clara, who was suddenly released, was trying to stand up with his help, but the sudden loss of support left her completely without support.

"Thump—"

Amidst gasps and gasps of alarm around her, she was thrown back into that cold, damp, and chaotic place, littered with sharp shards of glass, once again, more heavily and thoroughly.

This time, the pain of her body hitting the ground was clearly felt, but even clearer was the sound of her heart being utterly crushed into dust. She lay on the cold ground, listening to the cacophony of sympathy and gossip around her, but felt only utter silence in the world. She slowly closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, the last glimmer of light in them had completely vanished, leaving only boundless, cold darkness and resolute despair.

"hiss……"

Sharp shards of glass once again pierced deep into the skin of her exposed palms and forearms, bringing waves of excruciating pain. Clara, who had just tried to prop herself up, couldn't help but gasp, and a fine layer of cold sweat instantly beaded on her forehead. This physical pain seemed so insignificant compared to the desolate wasteland in her heart that had already been crushed.

The surrounding crowd, still reeling from the shock of the collapsed champagne tower, was stunned once more by Liam's resolute figure as he walked away without a backward glance towards another woman. After a brief silence, whispers rose like a tide.

"Vanessa? Who is Vanessa?" A young guest who was not very familiar with the situation finally couldn't contain his curiosity and whispered the question to the person next to him.

"Eh? You didn't know?" A stylishly dressed lady next to him immediately lowered her voice, her tone filled with the excitement of sharing a secret, "That Vanessa, I heard, is the one Liam has held dear for many years, his white moonlight. If it weren't for that crisis with the Foster family..."

"Ah? Then...then Mrs. Foster, she..." The person who asked the question covered his mouth in surprise, looking at Clara, who was still sitting in the mess, with complicated eyes.

"Who in this circle doesn't know about this?" Another voice interjected with a hint of disdain. "Back then, it was said that Clara took advantage of the Foster family's downfall, and her father forced Liam to marry her with shares, causing that Miss Vanessa to leave home heartbroken. Now look at her, the Foster family has made a comeback, even more powerful than before, and Vanessa has just returned. I think this Mrs. Foster... humph, looking at her current pathetic state, how can she possibly manage?"

"Ah~ So that's how it is!" Several exclamations of sudden realization rang out around them, and the gazes directed at Clara instantly changed from initial sympathy to disdain, scrutiny, and even a hint of schadenfreude.

"I always thought Mrs. Foster was a very nice person, gentle and generous. I never imagined... she would use such methods to get ahead... tsk tsk tsk..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down, after all, she's still officially Mrs. Foster."

"So what? Didn't you see how fast Liam ran for Vanessa? She, the legitimate wife, fell like that, and he was no match for her with just a phone call..."

...

These comments, some high, some low, were like countless fine needles, relentlessly piercing Clara's eardrums and stripping away her last shred of ridiculous dignity. As she listened to the distorted facts and watched the direction where Liam's figure disappeared, a huge, absurd sense of ridiculousness welled up from the bottom of her heart, almost overwhelming her.

It turns out that the so-called love she had carefully cherished and devoted herself to for the past three years was nothing but a complete joke, a one-woman show in which she was immersed.

It turns out that in the eyes of everyone in the circle, she was the despicable one who destroyed other people's relationship and took advantage of their misfortune. Only she herself was using "love" as a fig leaf to deceive herself and maintain the precarious illusion of her marriage.

The surrounding guests whispered among themselves, looking at her with indifference or mockery, but not a single person stepped forward to help her up. She clearly realized that this was a banquet hosted by the Foster family, and most of those present were friends and business partners of the Foster family, not her Bennett family. The coldness of human nature was on full display at this moment.

Clara gritted her teeth, ignoring the stinging pain in her palms and knees. Using her uninjured arm to support herself on the cold, damp ground, she struggled to her feet, relying solely on her own strength, amidst the shards of glass and spilled liquor. The hem of her starry blue dress was stained and clung tightly to her body, highlighting her disheveled state and loneliness.

Ultimately, the grand banquet that was originally intended to celebrate her birth was abruptly ended due to her injury as the leading lady and this sudden farce.

It was late at night when Clara, enduring the pain all over her body, drove alone to the nearest central hospital. The emergency room was brightly lit but deserted, with only a few patients in the corridor, making it seem exceptionally empty and quiet.

She registered and had the deeper glass cuts on her hands and arms treated: cleaning, disinfection, medication, and bandaging. Throughout the process, she bit her lower lip tightly, not uttering a single cry of pain, as if the injuries weren't her own. When the nurse wrapped her right hand and forearm in thick gauze like a rice dumpling, she just watched expressionlessly, her eyes vacant.

However, fate always seems to play cruel jokes. Of all the hospitals in Beijing, she happened to be here, at this most vulnerable moment, when she encountered Liam, who had rushed over, and Vanessa, whom he was carefully protecting by his side.

As Vanessa helped Liam, whose lip was bruised, shirt collar was disheveled, and who had clearly been in a fight, into the emergency room, Clara, having just finished bandaging her wound, came out of the examination room. The three of them met unexpectedly in the corridor filled with the smell of disinfectant.

"Clara? What are you doing here?"