During the three days in the hospital, Liam hardly left her side.

Every morning, he would appear at the door of the ward on time with a thermos bucket filled with millet porridge that he had cooked himself, which was soft and dense .

He sat on the bedside, carefully scooped up the porridge with a spoon, blew it cool before handing it to Clara's mouth, his voice so gentle that it could squeeze out water: " Clara , eat it while it's hot, I've been simmering it for two hours."

Clara turned her head away, avoiding his hand, and said in a light voice: "I can do it myself."

Liam noticed her distance and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes, but he just thought she was still sad about the loss of her child.

During the day, he would sit by her bed and talk to her, telling her interesting stories in the company and how difficult a certain client was; at night, he would sleep beside her bed .

But she knew that it was just a show he put on for her. After all, this man was on the phone a few days ago, thanking everyone that she "would not be able to have children in the future."

Once, Clara was staring at the sycamore tree outside the window in a daze. Liam came over, hugged her gently from behind, rested his chin on the top of her head, and said in a flattering tone: " Clara , are you still blaming me? I shouldn't have let you go to the hospital alone that day. I will never leave you again, okay?" His embrace was very warm, with the scent of cedar he often used. Clara always liked to nestle in his arms, thinking that was the safest place, but now, she just felt stiff all over, as if she was entangled by something and couldn't breathe.

She gently pushed him away, her voice calm: "I'm tired and want to sleep for a while."

On the day of discharge, Liam woke up at dawn, helped Clara pack her things , and even brought her a thick coat: "It's windy in the morning, don't catch a cold." Clara sat by the bed, watching his busy figure in silence , feeling ridiculous. The man who pretended to love her so much had already had a child with another woman behind her back.

" Clara , wait here for a while. I'll go drive and be back soon." Liam handed the crutches to Clara and helped her tidy up the loose hair on her forehead .

Clara nodded but said nothing.

After he left, Clara sat on the bench at the door of the ward as the sun slowly climbed in . She waited for almost an hour but didn't see Liam .

She pulled out her cell phone and called him—no one answered.

The sky darkened, dark clouds rolled in, and soon a heavy rain began to fall. The large raindrops pounded the ground, splashing muddy water and soaking Clara 's clothes. She couldn't help but shiver. Her ankle hadn't healed yet, and she stood at the hospital entrance on crutches. The slightest movement caused excruciating pain.

She called Liam again , and this time, the phone rang for a long time before it was connected.

A woman's voice came from the other side .

" Liam , you really don't like me anymore?"

There was a moment of silence over there, and then Liam's restrained voice came:

" Vanessa , we agreed that we would just get married and not interfere with my feelings ."

"But you still came to pick me up, didn't you? Then tell me, why did you leave your girlfriend in the hospital and come pick me up from dozens of kilometers away?"

Clara's breath caught in her throat as she listened to their conversation .

She opened her mouth several times, but no sound came out. Although she should have known the answer, her throat was still choked and painful.

Liam 's voice was hoarse and weak. "Yes, I just can't forget you. Are you satisfied? Five years ago, it was because you cruelly left me that I went out to drink and met Clara, who looked exactly like you. "

Clara was completely stunned, as if she had been sentenced to death. She heard the sound of saliva mixing on the other end, and she quickly hung up.

It turns out that in the past five years, she just appeared at the right time, a substitute?

Even though she knew about Liam's betrayal and had already decided to leave, she still couldn't believe that the five years between them were nothing but lies and deception.

After a while, a friend request suddenly appeared on the phone. After it was approved, a message was sent.

"I'm Vanessa, Liam's childhood sweetheart and his wife. I know you've heard everything, Miss Clara. Face the reality. You and he are from completely different worlds. Leave him as soon as possible. You might even get a breakup fee that will allow you to live a better life away from the village . That would be the greatest compensation for you. Stop wishful thinking. "

" Liam told me a long time ago that you're just a girl with no family background, and you can only stay outside as a Kept Woman . He also said..." The woman paused, her tone full of sarcasm, "He also said that you can't even keep a child. It's just right, so I don't have to worry about it."

" You don't know yet, do you? He told you that when he went on business trips abroad, he was actually accompanying me. "

Clara stood in the heavy rain, leaning on a cane, soaked all over.

She took a deep breath and wiped the rain off her face. There were still four days before the end of the training, and she had to go back to Liam's house. There were some documents and a keepsake left in Liam's house.

No one came to pick her up, it was raining heavily and she couldn't get a taxi. It would take another four days for her to use the Bennett family's connections. Now Clara had no choice but to limp back alone on crutches.

She returned to Liam's house in a mess. As soon as she opened the door, she saw the house was in a mess.

Then I heard the female voice on the phone before -

" Liam , look how much our child Noah Cole looks like you."

Clara paused for a moment .

But Liam 's voice still broke into her ears:

" Vanessa , I don't want to hear that kind of talk anymore, especially when Clara 's around."

Vanessa 's smile froze for a moment, she lifted her hair and said okay.

Clara froze completely at the door. She turned around and wanted to escape, but she bumped into the shoe cabinet in a panic.

Liam , holding someone in his arms, appeared in front of Clara .

Clara looked up and couldn't help but agree with Vanessa , they really looked alike.

Liam saw Clara 's red eyes and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly put Liu Sheng down , squatted in front of Clara , and grabbed her hand.

" I'm sorry, Ranran . My car broke down suddenly , so I couldn't pick you up . Where were you? Why are you back so late? "

Clara laughed to herself as she watched the lies spill from his lips .

She thought she had accepted it all and would no longer feel sad, but unexpectedly, her heart still ached.

She turned her head and suppressed her emotions , "I'm going to find a friend."

Liam finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Just looking for a friend, that's all. When did you come in? I didn't even hear anything."

After hearing his words, Clara understood that his previous concern was just a prelude. He just wanted to ask her if she had heard anything she shouldn't have heard.

Clara turned cold for a moment, pulled her hand away, and said calmly: "I just came in and didn't hear anything."

Liam 's smile froze for a moment, and he shook the empty hand without saying anything else.

Clara shifted her gaze behind him, and Liam also stood up and introduced:

" Clara , this is my neighbor's sister Vanessa. Vanessa just returned to China and has no place to live, so I let her stay at my house temporarily. Don't get me wrong."

Seeing his protective attitude, Clara retracted her gaze and clenched her hands: "Okay, I get it. I'm tired and want to rest first."

Liam was stunned by her calmness, and a strange feeling arose in his heart.

But he didn't investigate further, just thinking that she was really tired, so he helped her go to the master bedroom.

Clara interrupted: "I want to go back to my room."

Hearing her words, Liam stopped where he was.

Clara was wondering why Liam stopped when Vanessa walked over with the child.

She pointed to a door and said, "Are you talking about that room? That was my old room. I was used to sleeping there, so Liam just let me move in."

She said it kindly, but Clara could hear the provocation in her words.

She turned to look at Liam .

"It's just one room. If Vanessa wants to stay, I'll give it to her. But if you want, I'll make you a guest room."

Hearing his words, Clara closed her eyes, unable to suppress the surge of grievances.

Liam had decorated and furnished that room himself when they first started living together , and it was a gift specifically for her because in the identity she fabricated, she was an orphan with no mother's home to return to.

He told her to treat that room as her safe haven, and if he made her angry and didn't realize it, he would know it as soon as she moved in.

But now, he has forgotten the significance of that room, and even said that it is just a room.

She pressed her chest, suppressing the blocked pain, stiffened her neck and said stubbornly, "No, I just want that room."

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere became a little heavy.

Liam also frowned, wondering why Clara was throwing a tantrum just for a room.

He was about to speak when Noah ran towards them.

Clara , arms waving , and punched her in the stomach .

"Bad guy! Cheap woman , don't bully my mother! That's my mother's room!"

Children's strength is very limited. Clara had just had a miscarriage, and her lower abdomen was hurt by his beating. She was about to shake him off, but he grabbed her hair again. She grabbed his wrist in pain.

Unexpectedly, he screamed first, and his crying echoed throughout the huge villa.

"Mom! My hand hurts so much! The bad guys are bullying me, wuwuwuwuwu..."

Clara was still soothing the pain in her scalp, and her eyes were filled with natural tears.

She reflexively looked towards Liam , only to see him looking at Noah worriedly .

She followed her gaze and was shocked to find that Noah's wrist was bleeding.

Vanessa also hugged Noah with tears in her eyes . Clara was confused and Liam 's scolding followed.

" Clara ! Noah is just a kid, why are you arguing with him? I already told you that Vanessa is only staying here temporarily, can you please stop dwelling on what happened before? It's just a room, why do you have to go against Vanessa ?"

Clara was irritated by his blatant partiality and became even more silent. She controlled her emotions and said, " Liam ..."

Liam interrupted her before she finished her words : "Stop talking! It's not your turn to decide on this house. I gave her that room. Even if you are angry, you shouldn't make a fuss with a child. You disappoint me so much. You should reflect on yourself."

Clara was still frozen in place, her knuckles white from clenching her fists so tightly. Noah's cries still echoed in the living room. Vanessa held the child and wiped away her tears, but her eyes would occasionally glance at her, as if to confirm the outcome of this "victory." Liam squatted beside Vanessa, carefully examining Noah's wrist. The so-called "wound" was just a shallow scratch made by the child himself, oozing a little blood, but he treated it as a big deal, his tone full of heartache: "Don't be afraid, Noah, Daddy will take you to disinfect it, it will be healed soon."

Just then, there was a sudden, crisp, creaking sound nearby —a nearly two-meter-tall walnut shelf, upon which sat the ceramic ornaments Vanessa had brought when she moved in, and the vintage clock that Liam had promised to "fix" a few days ago but hadn't gotten around to. Perhaps the child had bumped into the brackets while running around, or perhaps it was simply too full, but the entire shelf suddenly tipped forward, sending the ceramic vases and clock crashing down with a clatter.

"Be careful!" Clara's instinct was faster than her thinking. She even forgot about her ankle injury and staggered to hold the shelf, but before she touched the wooden edge, a dark shadow suddenly pushed her away.

It's Liam.

He acted as if he hadn't noticed Clara standing next to him. He threw himself at Vanessa and her son, one hand protecting the back of Vanessa's head, the other holding Noah tightly in his arms, using his back to block the falling ceramic shards. With a "bang", the clock hit his back, shattering the dial. The glass shards splashed on the back of Clara's hand, leaving a thin streak of blood.

Clara stumbled backwards, her back slamming against the cold wall. Her sprained ankle instantly sent a sharp pain through her, and she gasped in pain, barely able to stand, holding onto the wall. But she ignored her own injuries, her gaze fixed on Liam—he was bending down to check Vanessa's hair, his voice filled with panic: "Vanessa, are you okay? Are you hurt? Did the debris touch you?"

Vanessa shook her head, her eyes red, but with a hint of hidden pride: "I'm fine, I just scared Noah. Liam, thank goodness I have you..."

"It's okay, it's okay." Liam breathed a sigh of relief, turned to Noah in his arms, and gently wiped the tears from his face. "Don't be afraid, Noah, Daddy will protect you. Stay away from that guy from now on, okay?"

Noah nodded, but suddenly pointed at Clara and cried, "It's all her fault! She just had an argument with Mom and that's why the shelf fell! Dad, look at my hand, and Mom almost got hit!"

Liam followed the child's finger to look at Clara, his eyes instantly cold. He didn't notice the blood on the back of her hand, nor did he see her leaning against the wall, her face pale. He only saw her standing next to the pile of debris, like the "culprit." "Clara," his voice was full of disappointment, even with a hint of rebuke, "I told you not to lose your temper, why are you still holding it against Vanessa? Now you almost hit them and their child, are you satisfied?"

Clara looked at him, at his back as he protected Vanessa, at the disgust in his eyes for her, and suddenly found it ridiculous. She had clearly wanted to warn them, had nearly fallen down after being bumped by him, and her hand was bleeding, but in his eyes, she had become the one who was "deliberately causing trouble."

She looked down at the blood on the back of her hand, then at the gleaming silver object beside the shattered ornamental stand—the Bennett family brooch she'd kept on the top shelf. It had been her mother's coming-of-age gift, a token of her family's heir status. A precious sapphire nestled in a platinum base, the Bennett crest engraved on the back . Not to mention its value, that sapphire alone could buy half the Foster family's assets . When the stand toppled over, the brooch had also fallen to the ground, a crack forming on the edge of the sapphire, like her heart now, shattered beyond repair.

Clara slowly walked over, bent down, and picked up the brooch. When her fingertips touched the cold metal and the cracks, the last bit of her thought about Liam was finally extinguished. She didn't cry or argue, but simply gently stroked the cracks on the brooch with her thumb, her voice as calm as a pool of stagnant water: "Liam, you never believed me, right?"

Liam was stunned for a moment, seemingly caught off guard by her question. He frowned, his tone tinged with impatience. "I don't feel like talking to you about this right now. It's just a broken glass brooch from a street vendor. It's broken. Vanessa and Noah were frightened, so I need to take them to rest. Clean up this place yourself and reflect on your actions."

After saying that, he didn't look at Clara anymore. He carefully held Noah in his arms and helped Vanessa walk towards the bedroom. When Vanessa passed by Clara, she deliberately slowed down her pace and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "Ms. Clara, face the reality. Liam has always had only me and the children in his heart. You are just a superfluous person."

Clara ignored her, holding the broken brooch, standing amidst the debris. The blood on the back of her hand continued to flow, and the pain in her ankle became more and more severe, but she could not feel it - because the pain in her heart had overwhelmed all her senses.

She walked slowly to the entrance, picked up her canvas bag, and carefully placed the brooch in the inside pocket.

The cell phone suddenly dinged, and I received a text message: The crown of the mistress of the Ethan family is waiting for the return of its future queen.