The atmosphere inside the spacious black sedan was oppressive and suffocating.
Vanessa suddenly pointed to the corner of the back seat and exclaimed, "Oh my, what's this?" She bent down and picked up a faded amulet, which my mother had obtained for me by bowing and prostrating herself at the temple before she passed away. I had carefully hung it in Liam's car, praying for his safety.
"Why is this filthy thing still in the car?" Vanessa pinched the tassel of the lucky charm, pouted in disgust, then snuggled into Liam's arms, complaining sweetly, "Brother Liam, didn't you promise me you'd clean up all traces of her in the car?"
Liam hugged Vanessa and soothed her gently, "It's my fault, I should have thrown it away a long time ago. Don't be angry, Vanessa, I'll get rid of it right away."
As he spoke, he rolled down the car window and made a gesture as if to throw the amulet out.
At that moment, I finally lost my composure and reached out to stop them; it was the last thing my mother left me.
Seeing my reaction, Liam's lips curled into a smug smile.
He stopped what he was doing, fiddling with the amulet, and deliberately asked me, "What? You can't bear to part with it?"
Looking at the mockery in his eyes, I suddenly lost all the strength to fight.
If the mother were alive, how heartbroken she would be to see that the amulet she so earnestly sought has now become a tool for him to harm her daughter.
"Throw it away." I leaned back against the car window, my voice calm and even. "Some things, once they're dirty, shouldn't be kept."
Liam was stunned; he probably hadn't expected me to react this way.
Upon seeing this, Vanessa snatched the amulet and threw it out the window without hesitation.
At that moment, Liam felt a strange sense of irritation rising within him. It was like punching cotton, with nowhere to vent his frustration.
He was used to my care and my attention, and now my indifference made him very uncomfortable.
“Clara, you’ve been looking at your phone ever since you got in the car.” Liam’s tone turned unfriendly, with a hint of barely perceptible jealousy. “Were you chatting with your cousin, or someone else I don’t know?”
He remembered that after I married him, my social circle consisted only of female relatives. Apart from my cousin who would occasionally visit, I had almost no other friends. He thought that my world revolved around him.
I had just booked my flight to the UK. When I heard what he said, I turned off my phone screen and said casually, "Just browsing the news."
Liam frowned even more deeply. Taking advantage of my inattention, he suddenly snatched my phone: "What's the password?"
"It's my birthday," I said.
We've been married for seven years, and I've told him my simple six-digit birthday countless times. But Liam held the phone, entered the password again and again, and it always said wrong. He couldn't unlock the phone until the screen locked completely.
His face turned very pale.
He suddenly realized that he had never really understood me, and he couldn't even remember my birthday code.
The car arrived at the Foster family villa in silence. Liam got out first and carefully helped Vanessa, who was feeling unwell due to pregnancy nausea, out of the car. He asked softly, "Would you like to go back to your room and rest for a while? I'll have the cook make you your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs."
Vanessa nodded, leaned against him, and walked into the villa.
Liam only remembered me after he had settled Vanessa in.
As he came downstairs, he saw me dragging my suitcase toward the guest room.
That figure looked forlorn, yet it carried a hint of resolute determination.
He suddenly felt a pang of unease and said to the cook, "Make two more dishes that Madam often eats, and prepare three sets of bowls and chopsticks for dinner."
The cook paused for a moment, then nodded. It had been a long time since she had heard Liam call her "Madam".
I went into the guest room, grabbed my ID, and before I could even leave, Vanessa blocked me inside.
Vanessa stood at the door, her eyes full of disdain.
She looked me up and down as if I were a loser: "Clara, I didn't expect you to be so patient. Even after I've made my way into their home and become the laughingstock of the entire upper class, you still stubbornly cling to the Foster family and refuse to leave."
“That’s right. Anyway, you can’t have children. How can a woman without children stand firm in a wealthy family? So she has to shamelessly cling to Brother Liam, right?” Vanessa’s tone was full of sarcasm.
I also had a child once. That time, Liam forced me to donate blood to his friend. I was so weak that I had a massive hemorrhage and fell in the middle of the night, resulting in a miscarriage. When I called Liam, he said, "Vanessa is not feeling well, I have to stay with her." In the end, Gregory took me to the hospital.
Seeing that I didn't speak, Vanessa smiled smugly again: "Clara, guess what? If Liam knew you set fire to the house to kill me and his child, would he kick you out?"
Suddenly, she smashed the wine in her hand and set the curtains on fire, and a great fire broke out.
I had just been discharged from the hospital and was still very weak. I was quickly overcome by the fumes and collapsed to the ground. My hair was slightly singed and smelled burnt.
Just when I thought I was going to die here, I faintly heard the voices of rescuers outside, and a frantic male voice that I knew by heart—
"Let me go! My lover is still inside!"
"Sir, the fire inside is too big, it's too dangerous! You can't go in!"
It's Liam!
The next moment, Liam rushed in through the thick smoke and flames, disregarding everything.
His gaze searched eagerly, then settled on Vanessa.
Without hesitation, he rushed over, scooped Vanessa up in his arms, and said in a tone of relief and lingering fear at having her back: "Vanessa! Don't be afraid, I'm here!"
Throughout the entire ordeal, his gaze never fell upon me, who was not far from Vanessa and was also on the verge of death.
He held Vanessa in his arms and turned to leave.
As I watched his resolute back, an overwhelming sense of coldness and despair spread through me. Finally, I mustered all my strength and sent a message to Gregory.
However, Liam had only taken two steps when Vanessa weakly whispered something in his ear.
Liam paused, hesitated for a moment, and then turned back!
