Every time Seth and I went on a date, she tagged along.

I stumbled home and shoved the door open.

The scene on the couch hit me before I could brace for it.

Seth saw it was me and frowned：“You don't know how to knock?”

Leonora scrambled to fix her clothes. Her eyes landed on the handprint across my face, and panic flooded her expression：“Clara, who hit you?”

That show of concern made my stomach turn.

When I didn't answer, her eyes reddened instantly：“Clara, tell me. Who hit you? I'll go and……ah!”

“Leonora! Cut the act!”

I shoved her to the floor, my eyes burning red.

“Clara, what the hell is wrong with you?”

Seth strode forward and pulled Leonora behind him, his face dark as he turned on me：“She was worried about you. What are you doing?”

Leonora was still looking at me：“Clara, what happened? Just tell me, okay? Whoever hit you, I'll make them pay.”

I hurled my phone at her：“Still pretending?”

Leonora saw what was on the screen. Her hands went limp at her sides.

“Clara, it wasn't me! I would never do something like that!”

She came toward me crying, reaching for my arm. I backhanded her across the face.

“I treated you like my best friend. I gave you everything! And you slept with my fiancé and leaked the video of me being assaulted. Leonora, how could you? You……”

“Why should she owe you anything?” Seth cut me off, his expression cold. “You hear a few words from someone and turn on her just like that. Some best friend you are. Besides, hasn't she always been the one who was good to you?”

“On your birthday, she baked you a cake. When you got sick, she carried you to the nurse's office. When people trashed you online, she went after every single one of them. And now you accuse her? Hit her? Are you even human?”

“And besides, weren't they right? Didn't you hand them the condom yourself? Didn't you go along with it willingly?”

My whole body went cold, shaking so hard I couldn't stop.

Seth was using that against me too.

“Seth! How dare you say that to Clara!”

Leonora shoved him away, eyes brimming.

Seth frowned. “She attacked you first. Stop being so forgiving all the time.”

Leonora ignored him and pulled me close.

“Clara, don't listen to him. That wasn't your fault. You were the victim! Those animals are the ones to blame!”

My eyes were red. I said nothing.

Leonora broke into sobs. “Clara, say something. Please. Don't do this.”

She grabbed Seth and pulled him over. “You're the person she cares about most. Say something to her.”

Seth looked at the hollow emptiness in my eyes and realized he'd gone too far.

He reached for me, and pain cracked across his other cheek.

I put everything I had into that slap.

“I don't want to see either of you! Get out! Get out of my sight!”

Seth's face went completely dark：“Clara. Look around. This is my apartment. The one who needs to leave is you.”

I froze. Then I started laughing, tears streaming down my face.

“Fine. I'll go. I'll never set foot in this place again.”

……

Walking down the street in shambles, it finally hit me.

After all these years, after everything, I was still the one left behind. I didn't even have a place to go.

The best friend I thought I had. The fiancé I trusted. All of it was a joke.

I kept walking, numb, with no idea where I was headed.

Then a familiar voice cut through the air：“Clara's over there!”

Leonora ran up and grabbed my hand.

“Clara, there's a storm coming. Let's go home, okay?”

I shook her off coldly：“That's not my home.”

Seth frowned：“Clara, can you stop making a scene?”

I didn't bother responding to either of them. I turned and kept walking.

The next second, I was hoisted off the ground.

My face drained of color. I beat my fists against his back, “Seth! What the hell are you doing? Put me down!”

Seth's jaw was set, his voice flat：“You keep this up and when the rain hits, Leonora's going to get sick because of you.”

My eyes burned red as I screamed and thrashed：“I never asked you to come find me! Put me down!”

Mid-struggle, my dangling foot connected hard with his kneecap.

Seth hissed through his teeth. “Are you done? If Leonora hadn't insisted on coming after you, you think I'd bother?”

A bitter laugh tore out of me：“Oh, so I should thank the woman who nearly got me killed. How generous.”

Seth's expression darkened：“Leonora already told you it wasn't her. Why do you have to be so unreasonable?”

All that humiliation. All that pain. In his eyes, I was just being unreasonable.

I let out a hollow laugh. “Sure. I'm the unreasonable one.”

I turned and strode toward the road without looking back, without noticing the car barreling toward me from behind.

“Clara! Watch out!”

“Clara! Watch out!”

Two frantic shouts rang out at the same time.

Leonora lunged forward, trying to pull me out of the way, but it was too late.

The impact hit like a wall. Both of us were thrown through the air and slammed onto the pavement.

“Leonora!”

I lay on the ground, consciousness slipping fast.

Through blurred vision, all I could see was Seth sprinting toward Leonora, panic written across his face.

Then everything went black.

It was four full days before I woke up.

“Clara, you're finally awake.”

Seth's eyes lit up.

The moment I saw him, the image flooded back. Him running to Leonora. Not me.

I pulled the corners of my lips into something that wasn't a smile and said nothing.

Seth sighed and reached over to ruffle my hair：“If I'd known it would end up like this, I would've just kept it from you.”

“But Clara, I didn't want to lie to you.”

His eyes were earnest, as if what he was about to say was the most reasonable thing in the world：“I respect that you can't be intimate because of what happened to you. So can't you respect that I have needs and find someone else to meet them?”

“I swear, you're the one I love. With Leonora, it's only physical.”

Disgust crawled up my throat：“You're revolting.”

Seth's face fell, but then something seemed to occur to him and he tried again：

“Okay, okay, don't be mad. This one's on me. I promise I won't upset you again.”

When I didn't respond, he leaned in closer.

“Baby, don't be mad at me. Forgive me, okay?”

I swallowed back the nausea and shoved him away. “Does it even matter whether I forgive you or not?”

Seth nodded：“It matters.”

My face was stone：“Fine. I forgive you. Now get out.”

Seth stood up and left.

I watched him walk away without a second's hesitation. I got out of bed, intending to leave too.

As I passed a hospital room, a familiar voice drifted through the door.

“Leonora, you said once Clara forgave me, you'd let me stay by the window. Come on.”

I froze where I stood.

The voice inside continued：“What about the wedding the day after tomorrow? Can you skip it?”

Seth's voice came through, breathless：“No. I promised I'd marry Clara. I can't go back on that. But I swear, even after we're married, you can still be by my side.”

I clamped a hand over my mouth and rushed into the bathroom, retching until the room spun and my knees buckled against the cold tile.

When I stumbled out, a wall of bodyguards stood in the corridor.

“Miss Henson, the Ashford family has moved the wedding up. Mrs. Ashford needs you in Harbor City immediately.”