Chapter 5

When Eric spotted me, his eyes lit up. "Aren't you good at making soup? Come teach me—I want to whip something up for Eunice. Nothing too complicated, just something to build her strength back up."

There was such a glow about him that I found myself staring without realizing.

I had seen that look on his face before. It was the exact same way he'd looked at me back when I agreed to hand over 5% of the shares.

But to think it was all for Eunice.

I glanced at the burns on the back of his hands and said icily, "We have a chef at home who specializes in making soup. There's really no need for you—"

I hadn't even finished speaking before he cut me off impatiently. "You don't get it. What matters most is the thought you put into making it yourself."

I looked up at him when I heard that. There was a light in them as he spoke.

There was a time when I, too, had put that same kind of painstaking effort into making soups for him. Even when the household staff remarked that I acted less like the lady of the house and more like a housekeeper, I never said a word of complaint.

However, Eric never appreciated any of it. Not only did he mock me for it, but he once flung a scalding hot soup directly onto my leg, leaving a scar that never faded.

I instinctively stepped back two paces.

He immediately took it as me putting on airs and refusing to teach him. His expression darkened in an instant.

Staring at me coldly, he said, "Claudia, don't tell me you're still upset about me making you apologize to Eunice. Haven't I already promised you that after the wedding I'll take you on a trip around the world?

"Besides, the wedding is coming. When the time comes, I'll make sure you have your moment."

I simply turned and made my way upstairs without a word.

Fuming, he hurled the spatula in his hand at me. It hit me square in the back.

After fussing around for a while longer, he not only failed to make the soup but also ended up burning himself.

When I came back downstairs, Oscar was carefully bandaging him up.

The moment Eric saw me, his expression darkened.

"Claudia, this is exactly why you'll never measure up to Eunice," he snarled. "Eunice would never treat me like this! She—"

Before he could finish, I cut him off coldly. "Then let's cancel the wedding. I'm not the one you want to marry anyway."

Eric shot to his feet, so agitated that the bandage slipped right off, revealing an arm covered in blisters.

Eyes brimming with tears, he said, "Claudia, I dare you to say that again!"

I was stunned—I never imagined he would go this far for Eunice. After taking a deep breath, I said, "We're done, and the wedding is off. Do you need me to say it again?"

Disbelief was written all over Eric's face. Convinced I was just playing hard to get, he said mockingly, "Claudia, you were the one who insisted on having this wedding in the first place, and now you're making a scene about canceling it?

"You think saying that will make me care about you more? Well, you can dream on."

Not wanting to argue with him anymore, I dragged my suitcase out the door and booked a flight abroad for that very night.

Before I left, I prepared a self-recorded video message to replace the wedding photo slideshow that was supposed to play before the ceremony. I then handed it to Oscar as my final gift to Eric.

Oscar thought it was a surprise I'd put together for Eric and gave his word that he'd play it at the wedding.

Then, recalling the moment Eric had struck me with the spatula, he hesitated briefly before asking with concern, "Ms. Sawyer, how's your back?"

I paused for a moment, then smiled and shook my head.

Whenever Eric got angry, he had a habit of throwing things at me without the slightest care for how hard he did it. Over the years, I'd long since gotten used to it.

Besides, the pain from that blow had long faded.

Looking out the window at the boarding crowd, I took the chance to send Eric a voice message.

"Eric, my early congratulations to you and Eunice on your marriage. I hope you'll like the gift I got for you."

I stared at the single grey tick beside my last messages, then remembered Eric had blocked me ages ago.

Just then, the announcement came over the speakers that the plane was about to take off.

As I watched the ground grow further and further away, I faced my phone screen and said with a smile, "Goodbye, Eric."