Darren looked up and saw nothing but an empty wall.

He pointed at the wall, his face darkening and the moonlight only deepened his suspicion. "Where's the painting?"

"I took it for repairs. It hadn't been taken down and cleaned in a long time and it had accumulated a layer of dust," Laura replied, not wanting to say much more. After all, whatever she said, it would always be her fault. Perhaps Darren had long been dissatisfied with her.

She just couldn’t understand why, despite his usual control over his alcohol, he had drunk so much tonight.

It must be because of Melanie. She was the woman he had once dated, the only woman he had ever been involved with.

Darren collapsed onto the sofa, one hand shielding his eyes as he muttered to himself.

"Laura, you must be upset after seeing me kiss Melanie today, right? So why don't you get angry? Are you following your mother’s second lesson: learn to tolerate?"

Laura’s steps faltered as she was about to go upstairs, a chill spreading through her heart.

"Laura, your methods are inherited well. Persistent confession, pretending to be pitiful and wronged, all to seduce men. After all, your mother succeeded in this way, didn’t she?"

With each word he spoke, Laura's heart grew colder.

Darren wanted to see anger or jealousy on her face. He didn’t want to see that expression of indifference, as if nothing mattered to her.

His tone grew sharper, his hand trembling slightly in the shadows as he spoke, each word cutting like a blade. "Back then, when your mother married into the Bill Family, we all saw her true intentions. It’s pathetic. She couldn’t just climb the ranks for herself. Now, she wants you to cling to me? Are you really that desperate to hold onto wealth and status?"

Tears slipped from her eyes in the darkness, falling one by one before fading into the night.

Everyone could blame her mother, everyone could curse her mother—but not her.

Her mother had schemed everything for the wealth and prosperity of the Bill Family.

But Laura? She had done it for herself for the chance to enter the prestigious family and enjoy a better life.

Her mother had once told her that her talent and abilities should not be confined by poverty, which was why she was willing to do anything, even sleep her way to the top.

"Darren... I will leave, no one is irreplaceable..."

Her voice trembled, every word feeling like an immense struggle. It was as if her heart was being torn apart from within.

"Really? Then why haven't you left? Laura... you think just by acting like your mother..."

"Enough!" Laura shouted, her face pale as she walked back to Darren's side.

"You can't stand me, so I'll leave. It has nothing to do with my mother! I'll do as you wish and never come back..."

Under the moonlight, Laura seemed so fragile, as if a gust of wind could shatter her into pieces. She stood there before Darren, tears glistening in her eyes.

"If you don't even cherish my own love, then so be it..."

Darren's tousled hair covered his eyes. He lifted his head slightly, staring at Laura, his voice growing even more somber.

"A person who said she wanted to be my wife at eighteen, what does she even understand about love? Or is it just about using me? Stop pretending. It’s been seven years, haven't you pretended enough?"

"Darren, the one who truly lacks courage is you!"

Laura's eyes turned red, her tears falling uncontrollably in large drops. All the accumulated grievances transformed into anger and hurt.

"My love is honest and clear, I don't have any hidden motives! There’s nothing up my sleeve! It's your pride, it's your own guilt! Even if you don't love me, you shouldn't trample on my sincere feelings. You are the true coward..."

Darren suddenly stood up, gripping Laura's wrist tightly. His gaze was intense, filled with a mixture of deep love and hatred.

"Laura, if you really had the ability, you wouldn't have stayed until now! On your eighteenth birthday, it was your mother who manipulated you into seducing me, wasn't it? You've been doing a great job of following through all these years!"

She had explained countless times before. She loved him even before that. She wouldn’t debase herself and chase after a man just to get into the Bill Family.

But she was exhausted, so this time, Laura didn’t argue anymore. Instead, she lifted her head to look at him and crystal-clear tears slid down her cheeks.

"Yes, it's a pity that the plan didn’t succeed over the years... Darren, I won’t bother you anymore."

She supported herself against the wall and stood up. Her eyes were filled with numbness and resolve as she continued to walk toward the stairs.

Darren seemed to snap back to his senses in that instant.

He looked down at his hand in disbelief, then let out a bitter laugh. In a slump, he collapsed onto the sofa, feeling as though all his strength had been drained away.

Laura spent the whole night awake, her mind constantly replaying the past, bit by bit.

She remembered that it all started when she was eighteen. Every year, her birthday wish was the same: she hoped that she and Darren would be together forever, growing old together.

Back then, Darren would sit at the table, watching her with eyes that carried emotions she couldn’t understand, remaining silent.

Until one day, Darren finally spoke up. "Laura, do you think I'm that easy to fool?"

Later, he discovered that Laura made the same wish every birthday and his gaze grew more and more disdainful. But he didn’t say another word.

The next evening, Laura looked at the room she had tidied up and suddenly realized how foolish and pitiful she had been.

There were very few things left in the house that belonged to her. Most of it consisted of the gifts Darren had casually given her over the years, or anything related to him. Laura cleaned up once more, letting the memories fade as she put everything away.

Just as she finished tidying up, the door was knocked on.

Quickly wiping away her tears, Laura glanced at the research applications she had gathered on the table and said, "Come in."

She thought it was Brenda, but the person didn't speak for a long time.

Darren hadn't changed his clothes. He looked around the room that was once filled with so many things and for a moment, a sense of unease crept into his heart. After a long silence, Darren finally spoke, his voice carrying a slight tremor that was barely noticeable.

"Why is the room empty?" Darren asked, his voice low.

"I felt those things were a bit old and the broken ones were thrown away. The rest will be sent for maintenance and repair this afternoon," Laura replied, her voice calm.

Darren, who had been tense until that moment, finally let out a sigh of relief. He nodded in agreement, "It's fine. You can get whatever you want, just swipe your card."

Laura instinctively lowered her head to look at the research applications, not acknowledging the card.

Suddenly, a hand reached around and snatched the paper from her. Darren's temple twitched as he frowned, his tone growing impatient. He scolded her, his face twisted with displeasure.

"Laura, do you think this will threaten anyone? Or are you just following the third step your mother taught you—acting distant with men? You’ve only said a few words, yet here you are, putting on this act. Who are you doing this for?" Darren's voice was filled with mockery and frustration.

Laura didn't have a chance to explain.

Before she could react, Darren directly tore the application form to pieces. The shreds of paper scattered down like fallen leaves, as if he had personally torn apart her dreams.

Brenda arrived at the door, breaking the tense silence inside with a timely knock.

"Mr. Bill, Miss Rush is looking for you."

Melanie appeared from behind Brenda dressed in a red dress with her voluminous waves of hair casually draped over her shoulders. She leaned against the doorframe, a charming smile on her lips.

"Alright, Darren, why does the family have to argue like this? It's well known that Laura likes you, how could she bear to leave? She just wants you to pay a little more attention to her."

She walked in with a smile, but when she saw Laura, she paused for a moment. A fleeting understanding flashed in her eyes before she quickly regained her smile.

"Darren, women understand women the most," Melanie said with a smile. "Laura is twenty-four this year, right? Let me have a heart-to-heart with her. It's raining outside, could you find me a change of clothes?"

Darren, who had been looking for an excuse to leave, nodded in agreement and turned to walk out.

The room was left with only Melanie and Laura.

The two of them exchanged a glance.

What had felt unreal in the dimly lit private room now stood before her, in the flesh.

Laura froze for a moment, surprised.

She realized that Melanie seemed to share a resemblance to her, maybe three or four points similar.

"Laura, you and I look a bit alike," Melanie said with a casual smile. "No wonder... Darren is so reluctant to let you go."

She walked slowly to Laura's side, picking up some application papers and chuckled softly.

"Are you using this to catch a man? You think he’ll panic because you’re about to leave? Laura, your mother really was a hostess back then, wasn’t she? Such lowly methods."

Laura didn’t like the way she spoke. She frowned and urged her to leave. "I have nothing to say to you. Please leave."

"Leave?" Melanie's tone was laced with mockery. "Laura, are you embarrassed now? Who doesn’t know that every year, you’ve been saying you want to be Darren’s wife? What a young, shameless girl, thinking about becoming your own uncle’s wife."

She casually tossed the papers aside, then picked up a nearby ornament, a rather ugly chubby doll.

"As expected, a pheasant can never become a phoenix. You rose to your position because of your mother’s body and you’re still keeping such trash!"

"Give it back to me! Melanie, get out! You’re not welcome here!" Laura's voice was sharp and cold.

"It’s pouring rain outside and the one who should leave is you," Melanie said, her voice dripping with disdain. "Go cleanse your filthy mind. You were just a substitute and now the real deal is back. Why haven’t you left yet? Do you really need to be kicked out like a stray dog before you’re willing to go?"

Melanie could clearly see the flicker of concern in Laura's eyes.

She seemed to be afraid that the clay doll would be harmed.

Step by step, Melanie retreated, until half of her body was outside the door. She then raised the doll high in her hand.

"What are you doing? Melanie! Stop it!" Laura shouted, panic rising in her voice.

The chubby doll had been a toy made by her mother before she married into the Bill Family and it had always been her emotional support.

"Sorry, but I’m going to destroy everything you care about," Melanie sneered, her voice cold. "Your man, your dreams..."

Melanie let out a soft laugh and smashed the doll onto the ground without hesitation.

The doll shattered instantly, the yellow clay mixed with broken grass turning into dust and debris.

Laura's hand was still suspended in the air, as if trying to stop it, but she could only watch helplessly as the doll was destroyed.

Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up at Melanie. How could she go so far, destroying something so important, just to provoke someone?