Chapter 4

For years, Bradley had swallowed every insult and endured every humiliation for what he believed was a rare and precious love. Along the way, he had sacrificed his dignity and even his good name.

However, Lilian did not love him. Why keep trapping himself in this misery?

When the taxi pulled up, Bradley pushed open the door and stepped out, only to find Lilian standing nearby.

Their eyes met. The exhaustion etched across his face caught her attention, and her expression softened slightly.

She lowered her voice and explained, "I’ll take care of those photos."

Bradley let out a silent, bitter laugh.

When she said she would take care of them, she probably meant burying the story, getting the posts taken down, and letting everyone slowly forget the latest gossip as time passed.

However, what about him?

He would still be the ex-boyfriend who had no official place in her life, a man who had to remain hidden from the public.

Would he not?

The insults and accusations would still be there, like sharp blades leaving wounds in his heart that time could never fully erase.

That was what he thought.

"If you only mean lowering the story's visibility and taking down the posts, then forget it. I'm going to explain that I'm not some shameless ex-boyfriend who refuses to leave you alone.

"I'm going to prove that I did nothing wrong!"

The moment he finished speaking, Lilian lunged forward and grabbed his wrist. Whatever softness had briefly flickered in her eyes vanished, replaced by a hard, unforgiving stare.

"Bradley, we still can’t make our relationship public. Can you try to understand that? Stop making a scene!"

He looked straight at her.

"Making a scene? After everything that has happened, you still think I'm the one being unreasonable?"

His eyes held disbelief, but beneath it lay a deep, bitter sorrow.

She had never truly cared about his pain or desperation. Everything he had endured was insignificant to Lilian, who stood so far above him.

His wounds, which had only recently been bandaged, began to ache again. The pain grew sharper until his body trembled faintly.

Lilian only frowned and ordered, her voice sharp with impatience, "Whatever happens, you have to wait a little longer!"

A few bodyguards immediately stepped forward and forced him into the car. Bradley struggled, desperate to break free from the pit he was sinking deeper into. However, he was outnumbered and powerless.

An hour later, the guards threw him into a room. Lilian followed him inside, slammed the door shut, and locked it.

Bradley instinctively tried to leave, but one of the bodyguards seized his arm and forced him to the floor.

Lilian's eyes were slightly red, and there was a threatening edge to her voice.

"Bradley, give me some time. I’ll clear your name. For now, you aren't going anywhere!"

Anger surged through Bradley as he glared at Lilian, yet beneath his fury, something far more powerful threatened to consume him. It was not rage, but despair. "Lilian, are you really willing to go this far for Matthias?"

Lilian's lips moved slightly, but she ignored his question completely. Instead, she let out a sharp laugh.

"Bradley, you used to be so easy to reason with. What’s gotten into you lately? Do you really have to keep pushing me?"

Bradley stared into her icy, beautiful eyes, his nose stinging as he fought back his emotions.

This time, he refused to back down.

"Lilian, I have had enough. Do you understand? I'm done playing the part of your secret husband while everyone else calls me a pathetic freeloader who lives off you. I don't want to play this game anymore."

Lilian gave another short, mocking laugh.

"But I’ve given you so much. You don't get to change your mind now."

She paused, then her expression hardened.

"If you keep refusing to cooperate, then perhaps the orphanage you care about so much should disappear."

Bradley stared at her.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Of course not." Her voice remained calm. "I just want you to listen and do as you are told. If you go out there and make a scene, Matthias and I will both be ruined."

She watched the despair in his eyes. After a long silence, Lilian let out a tired sigh. Her icy, elegant face slowly lowered toward him, and she silenced his protests with the warmth of her breath.

Then, she suddenly kissed him, pulling open his shirt as her touch carried a familiar tenderness he had not felt in a long time.

"All right, Bradley. Stop fighting me, okay?"

His heart ached, and his mind drifted into confusion.

In the past, whenever he had been misunderstood or treated unfairly, Lilian had always comforted him this way.

He had once believed it was love.

Now, looking back, he wondered if it had simply been another way for her to protect Matthias's reputation, even if it meant sacrificing herself.

Bradley's heart broke.

If she did not love him, why had he continued to lose himself in her?

However, he had no room to refuse her now. He wrapped his arms around Lilian, burying the last traces of his love deep inside himself.

Afterward, Lilian stepped out of the bathroom and changed into a tailored skirt suit. In moments, she had returned to her usual poised, elegant, and distant self. It was as if the woman who had just clung to him so desperately had never been her at all.

"All right. Let’s consider this matter settled. Stay home and think about what you’ve done."

Bang!

The door slammed shut, and the room fell silent once again.

Bradley slowly pushed himself to his feet. Then he heard voices murmuring outside the door.

"Are you sure we aren't going to do anything about Mr. Chapman's situation?"

The speaker's tone was light, almost teasing.

"There’s no need to worry about him. The worse his reputation gets, and the more viciously people attack him, the better.

"Spread those photos everywhere. Put them back in the headlines."

There was a brief pause.

"But isn’t that too cruel to Mr. Chapman? He’s already been seriously hurt several times because of this over the past five years."

Silence followed.

Then Bradley heard Lilian let out a helpless sigh.

"This is the only way to protect him completely. Stop asking questions and do as I say."

Bradley froze.

That was the truth.

"Lilian... All these years, the misunderstandings, the mockery, the endless humiliation... Was all of it because of you?"

He slowly leaned against the wall, clutching his aching chest as his breathing grew difficult.

He had never imagined that Lilian would go this far for Matthias.

She had been willing to use Bradley as a stepping stone, sacrificing his reputation and turning his suffering into publicity for her own benefit.

The beautiful memories of their youth, everything they had once shared, shattered completely inside him.

"Lilian, how could you be so heartless?"