chapter 7

7.

Three days later, Liam's secretary, Lina, officially moved into his villa.

When Chloe heard the news, she smashed a window and slit her wrists with a shard of glass.

That night, Liam rushed home, kicked open the basement door, and found her lying in a pool of blood.

"Chloe." His voice trembled as he called her name.

Chloe slowly opened her eyes, her expression full of sorrow. "Liam… you're so cruel…"

Then her eyes closed again.

Liam panicked. He pressed a hand to her nose, his voice breaking. "Chloe, don't do this! I was wrong—I shouldn't have locked you up here. I'm a bastard…"

Tears leaked from Chloe's eyes.

Suddenly, she threw her arms around him. The two of them clung to each other, crying until their tears ran dry.

That same night, Chloe moved back into the villa.

When Lina saw that, her heart twisted with panic.

The next morning, she ordered the maid to throw out all of Chloe's clothes.

But Chloe wasn't one to back down. She secretly slipped something into Liam's milk, determined to keep him from spending the night with Lina again.

Caught between two women, Liam was driven to the edge of madness.

The silent war dragged on for over half a month.

Then one day, Lina received a message from a stranger—it claimed that years ago, Chloe had only pretended to be the one who saved Liam during the earthquake.

Lina felt as if fate itself were on her side. Wasting no time, she contacted a private investigator and set the investigation in motion immediately.

It didn't take long before she got her hands on the truth.

When she showed up at Liam's office with the evidence, Chloe was sprawled on the couch, lazily watching videos on her phone.

To keep Lina from stealing her husband, she had moved right into his office—entangling herself with him night after night, desperate to get pregnant and force Lina out of the picture.

"Liam," Lina said softly as she walked in, "do you really know who saved you during that earthquake all those years ago?"

Liam frowned. "Of course—it was Chloe."

"No!" Lina shook her head violently. "That's not true!"

She laid out the printed documents one by one in front of him.

Liam's face drained of color.

He remembered the chaos of that day—his fever, the world collapsing around him, the blur of heat and rubble.

Then, a pair of hands had dragged him to safety.

What happened afterward, he couldn't remember at all.

He lunged forward, grabbing Chloe by the chin and forcing her to meet his eyes. "Was it you… all along? Have you been pretending to be the one who saved me?"

Chloe's pupils contracted sharply. She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes.

With a sharp crack, Liam slapped her across the face.

Chloe clutched her cheek and gave a low, cold laugh.

"So you finally know. But even if it was Isla who saved you, what difference does it make? I could've done the same if I'd been there."

Liam kicked her hard, sending her sprawling to the floor.

"You bitch! The only reason I loved you was because I thought you saved me. If not for that, I never would've looked at you twice! The one I love is Isla!"

Chloe struggled to sit up on the ground. The tenderness that once filled her eyes was gone—replaced by a surging tide of hatred.

"You're right. I lied. But if I hadn't, would you have ever loved me? I've always seen it—you don't love me. It's her you want. Father chose her. And now you do too. Why? Why am I never enough? What does she have that I don't? Is she just born to be loved by every man around her? Fine—I couldn't change Dad, but I could change you. So I did everything I could to make you love me—and I won! You loved me, just like I wanted. But Layer? You broke her heart too, didn't you? You are not some good guy! You were the one whispering endless declarations of love—right before my eyes—while calling her worthless. You stood there and watched her sink beneath the water, never lifting a finger. And you…"

"Enough!" Liam roared.

Lina leaned lazily against the desk. "Liam, now you finally see her for what she is—a self-obsessed witch!"

"You homewrecker. Just die!"

Before the words even faded, a shadow flashed across the window.

A jagged rock came hurtling through the air, striking Lina squarely in the back of the head.

Blood splattered across the carpet.

She crumpled instantly.

"Lina!" Liam rushed to her side, gathering her in his arms and racing her to the hospital.

But it was too late. Lina and her unborn child didn't survive.

That night, Liam found Chloe, wrapped a belt around her neck, and dragged her across the floor again and again until she was barely breathing.

Chloe was sentenced to life in prison for intentional homicide.

That same day, I had just left the villa, walking along the quiet path when a familiar figure appeared before me.

It was Liam.

"Isla," he called softly. "I've been waiting for you for a long time. I came to apologize. I finally know now—it was you who saved me all those years ago."