Chapter 4

The sound of the slap still seemed to echo through the hallway as Claire stepped out of the CEO's office.

Employees on both sides of the hallway looked up from their desks. Countless eyes followed her, and hushed whispers filled the air.

Claire ignored them all and headed straight for the design storage room at the far end of the office.

Everything she'd created throughout her career was stored there. Years of original sketches, painstakingly perfected over countless late nights.

She pushed open the door.

A damp, musty smell hit her immediately.

The storage room was cold and poorly lit. Water had been seeping through the walls for years, leaving long stains that ran down to the stacks of drawings piled in the corner.

The papers were swollen and warped from the moisture. Hand-drawn lines and carefully applied colors had bled together.

Most of her early award-winning designs and unreleased original concepts had been ruined.

A young intern timidly approached her.

“Ms. Bennett, I'm so sorry.”

Her voice trembled.

“Miss Brooks told us to move all your sketches into this storage room a while ago. She said they were outdated and useless, and that the company wouldn't be using them anymore.”

Claire lowered her gaze to the water-damaged drawings.

She forced down the anguish rising inside her.

Without a word of blame, she said quietly, “You can go.”

The intern looked visibly relieved and slipped out of the room.

Not long afterward, footsteps approached.

Adrian pushed open the door and stepped inside.

His gaze swept over the ruined sketches scattered across the floor.

For a brief moment, uncertainty flickered across his face.

Then he spoke.

“Don't blame Lillian too much for this. You and I were married for ten years. It's only natural that she'd feel insecure about that and overthink things.”

Claire looked up at his hypocritical face.

She had absolutely nothing to say to him.

Instead, she crouched down and gathered whatever drawings she could still salvage, holding them tightly against her chest.

Then she turned to leave.

Outside, the rain suddenly intensified.

Heavy sheets of water battered the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Adrian watched her slender figure for a moment before hesitantly reaching out.

“It's pouring outside. Let me give you a ride.”

Claire firmly pushed his hand away.

Just then, Lillian appeared in the doorway.

She stopped in her tracks.

Her eyes immediately filled with tears, and her lips began to tremble.

Without waiting for an explanation, she covered her face and hurried away.

Within minutes, rumors were spreading throughout the office building.

Some employee had filmed parts of the earlier confrontations in the hallway and office and posted the footage on social media.

The videos spread rapidly.

Online opinion was sharply divided.

Some people, unaware of the full story, accused Claire of refusing to let Adrian go.

But plenty of others noticed the details and called Lillian out for getting involved with a married man and destroying his marriage.

The comment sections erupted into arguments.

Meanwhile, Adrian helped Lillian into a chair in the lounge.

As she scrolled through her phone, one harsh accusation after another appeared on the screen.

The flood of negative comments left her struggling to breathe.

Her gaze fixed on the words homewrecker.

Suddenly, she broke down.

Her vision went dark, and she fainted straight into Adrian's arms.

Adrian caught her in a panic, carefully protecting her belly as he shouted for an employee to bring some warm water.

It took quite a while before Lillian finally regained consciousness.

Her face was deathly pale, and her eyes were red from crying.

She clutched Adrian's sleeve, her voice thick with tears.

“Adrian, I don't care what people say about me. I can handle being criticized.”

She swallowed hard.

“But our baby hasn't even been born yet, and people all over the internet are already attacking us and judging our child.”

She looked toward Claire, who stood a short distance away, her eyes brimming with tears.

“I'm not a homewrecker. Adrian and I never did anything wrong. We only got together after your marriage had fallen apart and you were already going through the divorce.”

Her voice broke.

“We didn't conceive this baby until then. All I'm asking is that people stop saying horrible things about my child.”

Adrian stiffened slightly.

He glanced at Claire, whose expression remained completely indifferent.

There was an unmistakable pressure in his gaze.

Claire watched the pathetic performance unfolding before her and let out a quiet, mocking laugh.

Never did anything wrong?

Lillian had barged into her marriage and destroyed everything she'd built.

And now she had the nerve to stand there and pretend she was innocent.

Seeing Claire's reaction, Lillian's nose tingled, and her eyes filled with fresh tears.

She looked ready to burst into tears again.

The next moment, Adrian strode toward Claire and seized her wrist.

His grip was so tight she couldn't pull free.

“Claire, I'm begging you. I've agreed to every settlement demand you've made. The least you can do is release a statement clearing things up.”

His voice hardened.

“You're the one who's refused to let go for the past year. If you hadn't kept dragging out the divorce, Lillian and I would've been married long ago, and none of these rumors would exist.”

Pain shot through Claire's wrist.

She struggled desperately, but Adrian's grip didn't loosen.

Every eye in the room was on her.

Some watched with curiosity. Others with sympathy or open contempt.

The weight of their stares felt suffocating.

Claire was exhausted.

Too exhausted to keep fighting.

After a long silence, she lowered her eyes.

“Fine. I'll release a statement.”