Chapter 6

• Claire's POV
• When I arrived at Sunset Vista Dining, Emily was already waiting for me at the table.
• As soon as she saw me, she stood up immediately, a sincere look of concern on her face, and gave me a tight hug.But I couldn't feel any warmth, only furious and coldness.
• “My poor Claire, are you okay?” she asked with concern.
• Hypocrite, I cursed inwardly. But on the outside, I showed sadness and worry. “I'm okay as long as you're here, Emily. What should I do? I want to win Leo back. I don't want to break up with him. You know how much I love him. Last night must have been a mistake.”
• To avoid raising suspicion, I tried to appear dependent and trusting of her. “Can you help me? Can you talk to Leo for me?”
• Emily tilted her head slightly, her tone filled with sympathy and helplessness. “Of course, I want to help you, but you did betray Leo. I think...”
• I buried my head in my hands on the table, interrupting her with frustration and anger. “No! What the hell happened last night?! We were together the whole time—why did I end up sleeping with another man?”
• Emily repeated her previous answer. “I was too drunk last night. I only remember seeing you being intimate with a man in a corner. I don’t know what happened after that.”
• Lies. Deceit. I didn’t believe Emily’s words.
• I rested my head on the table with one hand, lost in thought.
• Not long after, Leo arrived.
• He seemed surprised to see Emily there, but quickly masked his emotions and sat across from us with a stern face.
• Looking at his face, the feelings of resentment surged in my heart again.How much I trusted and loved him, but he destroyed my trust and my love.
• This damn bastard!
• But before I could speak, Leo coldly said, “Where’s the ring?”
• Before meeting Emily, I had sent Leo a text message, telling him that I would give him the ring and the penalty fee, begging him to come see me one last time.
• I kept my head down and remained silent, pretending to be sad.
• Leo lost his patience. “We’re done, Claire. I don’t want to see you in court—don’t push me. I just want the ring and the penalty fee.”
• His attitude was aloof, his words unforgiving.
• As if our years of relationship meant nothing to him.
• Emily quickly said, “Listen, Leo, I know you're angry right now, but calm down first. Claire was just drunk and made a mistake. She’s really in pain. Everyone makes mistakes—maybe you should give her a chance.”
• Leo became even angrier. “She cheated! This bitch—a week before our wedding, she cheated! How can that be forgiven?”
• Emily spoke firmly on my behalf. “It was just a mistake. Claire loves you. She didn’t mean to.”
• Their acting was so brilliant, even better than professional actors on TV. I wanted to stand up and applaud them.
• I had been deceived by them, and I still didn’t know what they did to me.
• “Leo, I know I did something unforgivable. I’m willing to do anything to make it right. I don’t want to lose you.” I lifted my head, letting tears flow down my cheeks.
• They were acting, and so was I.
• Seeing me cry, Leo’s indifference and disdain didn’t change at all. There was even a hint of mockery on his face.
• I pretended not to notice, choking back tears.
• Emily tried her best to play the role of a good friend, comforting me and wiping away my tears.
• Leo continued, angry and disappointed, sighing in annoyance. “Enough. It’s over between us. Give me back the ring. Considering your father's bankruptcy, I’ll give you one more day to come up with the penalty fee.”
• I lifted my head from sorrow, a hint of unnoticed sharpness flashing in my eyes. “How did you know about my father’s bankruptcy being exposed? I haven’t told you yet.”
• His expression froze for a moment, but he quickly said, “I saw it on the news.”
• He glanced at Emily, casually adjusting his watch. “My family saw the news too. I won’t marry the daughter of a fraudster—a cheating whore.”
• I couldn’t help but retort, “My dad wouldn’t do something like that. The situation hasn’t been fully investigated.”
• Leo slammed the table, his patience wearing thin. “Shut up! I don’t want to hear anything from your mouth. The ring! Give me back the damn ring!”
• I leaned back in shock, eyes wide with disbelief.
• I smirked inwardly. He had finally shown his true colors.
• After Leo’s outburst, I showed a broken-hearted expression and remained silent for a long time before answering, “I understand. I promise you.”
• I stood up and said, “I’m going to the bathroom. My ring is at home—I’ll go back to get it in a moment.”
• Leo looked at me with a cold expression, without saying a word.
• As I wiped the tears from my face, feeling sad and pained, I walked toward the bathroom in a disheveled manner.
• Once inside, the pain on my face instantly turned into indifference and sharpness. Looking at myself in the mirror, I smirked, revealing a sly and shallow smile.
• Those two idiots must not have thought that I had already turned on my phone to record—and placed it in the bag on the table.