Chapter 4

Elara Vance POV

I don't know how I got back to the villa.

The internet was flooded with insults; I was branded a "vicious woman" and a "murderer," my former honors trampled into the mud.

The villa was dark, silent.

Julian sat on the leather sofa in the living room, a lit cigarette clutched between his fingers. The crimson glow flickered in the darkness.

He never used to smoke in front of me, because I'd said I couldn't stand the smell.

But now, the entire living room reeked of choking tobacco.

"Why?" I stood in the doorway, my voice so hoarse it didn't sound like my own.

Julian stubbed out the cigarette and slowly stood up. He walked step by step towards me, looking down at me. His eyes held none of their former tenderness, only bone-chilling coldness.

"Why?" He sneered, then suddenly reached out and clamped my chin, his grip so strong it felt like my bones would shatter. "Five years ago, Chloe's reputation was ruined because of you, her legs were crippled, and she could never play cello again. You ask me why?"

"I didn't do that," I said calmly, looking at him. "It was an accident."

"Shut up!" Julian's eyes were bloodshot. He roughly pinned me against the wall. "Even now you dare to argue! If you hadn't bribed the judges, if you hadn't forced her, how would she have run out in the rain?!"

He leaned close to my ear, his voice laced with venom. "Elara Vance, do you know how disgusting I found it, looking at your face every day for these five years?"

I didn't struggle, letting him hold me.

I looked at his familiar yet strange face and softly asked, "So, the good morning kisses, the hot milk every night, the vows under the Northern Lights, the roses on the island… were all fake?"

"All of it was for today." Julian curled his lips cruelly. "I hired the top psychologists to analyze your every weakness. I knew you feared abandonment most, yearned most to be unequivocally chosen. So, I gave you the most perfect love, made you utterly fall for me, made you abandon your career, made you have nothing but me."

"Only by lifting you to the highest point will the fall be painful enough."

He released me, watching me slide down the wall to the floor, a flash of vengeful pleasure in his eyes.

"Elara Vance, this is just the beginning."

I sat on the cold floor, looking up at him.

I didn't break down crying, nor did I kneel and beg.

I just stared at him, the light in my eyes extinguishing little by little, finally becoming a desolate wasteland.

"Congratulations, Julian Reed," I pulled at my dry lips. "You won."

I was calm. My gaze now was like looking at a stranger.

"Don't pretend to be indifferent." Julian dropped a cold remark. "From tomorrow, Chloe will move in. You owe her, and you'll spend the rest of your life paying her back."

With that, he turned and went upstairs without another glance.

I sat alone in the darkness, listening to the wind outside the window.

My heart was dead, even the pain had dulled.

Julian, do you think you destroyed my reputation and my pride?

No, what you destroyed was a woman's unwavering, even self-sacrificing, genuine love for you.