Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Nathan’s anger flared once more, and he slammed his fist into the wall with a force that echoed through the
room.
His eyes burned with a hatred so intense it felt like it could cut her to pieces. “Why don’t you just go and die? Just die already!”
Tia Clark gave him a bitter smile. As he wished, she was indeed nearing the end.
Just as she was about to respond, Nathan’s phone rang abruptly.
She glanced down and saw the caller’s name flash on the screen.
Sylvia Summers–his current fiancée.
Seeing Sylvia’s call made Nathan’s breath catch, and he turned away as if trying to gather himself.
When he answered, his voice was low and tender, transforming back into the composed Mr. Harrison that everyone knew.
“Hello, darling.”
Whatever Sylvia said caused a slight change in his expression. In the next moment, he released Tia Clark without another word and walked away.
Leaning against the wall, Tia watched him disappear from sight. Finally, unable to hold it back, she rushed to the bathroom and was violently sick.
She retched until she was dizzy, and when she finally lifted her head, she saw the toilet bowl filled with blood.
So much red…
She numbly pressed the flush, attempting to stand, but the effort was too much. She collapsed and lost
consciousness.
Tia Clark dreamt.
In her dream, she was back in college, walking under the sycamore trees with Nathan and his sister, Victoria
Harrison.
Victoria tugged at her arm, pouting, “Tia, there’s a mixer with the Law School this weekend. Will you come with me?”
Nathan, with a stern look, immediately pulled Tia to his side. “Victoria, did I say you could borrow my girlfriend?”
“You’re so stingy, brother!”
Those were such wonderful times.
Tia Clark, an orphan from a young age, found a best friend in Victoria during their school years.
Nathan, Victoria’s brother, was the enigmatic, aloof heartthrob of the campus. He was dignified, distant, and seemingly uninterested in romance, often discarding heaps of love letters. Initially, Tia didn’t dare speak to
him.
Yet Nathan was always there–helping her with notes, taking her to the library, driving her home.
One rainy day, he showed up to collect her when she had forgotten her umbrella.
Sharing the umbrella, Tia couldn’t help but ask, “Nathan, do you treat me so well because of Victoria?”
His expression turned serious as he cornered her against the wall. “Tia Clark, you really are dense. Let me tell you why I treat you so well!”
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Chapter 2
And with that, he cupped her face and kissed her.
From that day on, they were together.
&
Until five years ago, on the eve of their wedding.
Tia and Victoria had gone to see a movie. It was late when they passed through an alley and encountered a group of drunken thugs.
The men were clearly intoxicated, their words vile as they trapped the girls at the alley’s end.
Both were terrified, shaking. In the end, it was Victoria who mustered her strength, blocking the thugs and shouting, “Tia, run!”
Tia knew they couldn’t take on the drunken brutes, so she ran.
She ran to the street across to seek help.
But when she returned with others, the alley lay silent and desolate. The thugs had fled, leaving behind chaos and Victoria’s lifeless, battered body.
Nathan arrived to find his sister’s tragic remains.
Anyone could see what she had endured.
His mind went blank as he seized Tia’s hand, his voice filled with agony and despair, “Why did you run? Why did you leave her alone? Tia Clark, why did you run!”
Tia Clark couldn’t answer; she hated herself more than anyone else ever could.
Afterward, the Harrison family refused to forgive Tia Clark.
She lost her best friend and became estranged from the man she loved.
But now, thankfully, she was dying.
She could finally go down and seek Victoria’s forgiveness herself, and Nathan could finally be free.
Chapter 3
