Chapter 4

That evening, when Laura returned home completely drained, Clarence greeted her with a bright smile and slipped a bracelet onto her wrist. A dazzling ruby glimmered in its center. Laura recalled it was the same bracelet she'd seen on the jewelry counter earlier. It was a gift that had come with Michelle's necklace. A hollow chuckle escaped her lips. She and Clarence had never belonged in the same world. He was the golden boy of high society, whereas she was a plain little nobody from the slums. Even the free gift was something she could never afford in her lifetime. Seeing that she hadn't reacted to his gift, a strange sense of unease crept into Clarence's chest. "Do you like it? I've been saving up my pay for half a year to buy this for you," he asked. "It's pretty," she replied flatly before heading to the bathroom. Clarence's gaze darkened as he watched her casually slip the bracelet off and leave it on the entryway table. She used to treasure the cheap, handmade trinkets he'd given her, but now she didn't seem to even care about the bracelet worth tens of thousands. Irritation clawed at him, and he went into the studio to light a cigarette. As Laura finished taking a shower, she received a new follow request on Instagram. After hesitating for a moment, she accepted it. In an instant, dozens of screenshots of chat logs flooded her phone. The chats dated back to the first day Clarence had begun pursuing her until three days ago when Michelle had returned to Ufrea. He'd messaged Michelle every day and begged her to come back. Even when she'd told him she was pregnant, he'd said that as long as she returned and came back to him, he would recognize the child as his own. "Clay really loves me. During the four years I was gone, he traveled abroad to see me countless times." Laura's body trembled with rage as she read the message. When a person was furious, their thoughts turned numb. "You probably don't know that every single painting he's made in his studio is of me." At that moment, Laura's mind drifted back to the time she'd spent three months begging him to draw her portrait. In the end, he'd given in and sketched her feeding a group of stray cats. "Oh, and I saw the tattoo of your initials on his collarbone. How disgusting! I'll have him remove it tomorrow. You'd better get ready for the gift Clay is about to give you!" Each breath Laura took felt like a thousand needles piercing her chest, leaving her overwhelmed by the ache. She closed her eyes, trying to catch her breath. But when she opened them again, Clarence was half-kneeling before her, cradling the back of her head and tilting her face up to kiss her. Her breath hitched as the faint scent of tobacco filled her nose. Something inside her snapped, and she shoved him away with all her might before wiping her mouth repeatedly, as though she were trying to scrub something filthy off. She didn't stop until her lips were bleeding. Clarence was taken aback by her reaction before realizing that she hated the smell of smoke. At that thought, he relaxed slightly. "I'm sorry," he apologized. That night was the first time they hadn't been on speaking terms in the four years they'd been together. The next morning, Laura woke up on the couch. After a simple breakfast, she turned to look at the door of Clarence's art studio. She would know whether Michelle had been telling the truth if she just went and took a look for herself. With that in mind, she pushed the door open. Even though she'd braced herself for it, the sight that greeted her still left her stunned. On the easel was a half-finished portrait of a beautiful woman, while many more canvases were stacked around the room. Some showed Michelle's face, while the others were faceless, but the canvases were stained with suspicious marks. Laura walked inside, feeling numb, and reached for the paintbrush in the corner, its bristles coated with a layer of dust. It was the limited-edition brush she'd spent months saving for. After countless late nights hunting down a seller, she'd gotten it as a gift for him two years ago. Her four years of devotion had been nothing but a joke. When Clarence came home and saw her staring at Michelle's portrait, anxiety struck him, and he rushed forward to cover the painting before pulling Laura into his arms. "Honey, I was just practicing drawing human anatomy. Don't overthink it," he explained and quickly changed the subject. "I bought you a new dress. Do you want to try it on? "Oh, and I found a high-paying job today, so you don't have to work so hard anymore. What do you want to eat for lunch? I'll take you out, and we can celebrate."