"Tell me, Clara! Have you had sex with Leo? Did you enjoy it?" Sean shouted.
Clara didn't care. She went into her room after Leo left. Her breathing was normal, but her eyes showed a new awareness. She closed the door slowly, without looking back.
Sean stood in the middle of the hallway, his eyes burning. "Clara... answer me...!"
Clara didn't answer. Her eyes stared straight ahead, as if she hadn't heard her husband's question.
Sean took a few steps forward, his chest heaving. "You dare to play around with Leo?" His voice was low but sharp, containing a clear threat.
Clara smiled slightly. "Playing around with what? Sean, you're too frustrated."
"If you're cheating on me... I'll kill you! I'll kill you with my own hands!" he shouted, his voice echoing in the empty hallway.
Clara laughed at the threat, her laughter cold but confident. "Hahaha... Sean, are you serious? Are you threatening me? Do you think I'm afraid?"
Sean froze. That laugh... made his blood boil. He didn't like being laughed at, especially by a woman who still had feelings for him since high school.
He stepped closer, then grabbed Clara with a hand that was half angry, half lustful.
"I know you still love me," he whispered hoarsely. "And I won't let anyone—including Leo—take you away from me."
Clara looked at her husband, her gaze as sharp as a knife. But something inside her heart trembled—that feeling, which she had always hidden, resurfaced.
"Clara, only I can enjoy your body!"
Sean leaned forward, his lips pressing against Clara's neck. His breath was hot. He looked passionate. Clara resisted. She tried to push him away, but Sean moved faster.
In one swift motion, Sean took the tie around his neck and tied Clara's hands behind her back.
"You're mine," Sean murmured, staring into Clara's teary eyes.
He quickly locked the door. "I love you. I love you, Clara. You're the only woman who can make me happy."
Those words stopped Clara in her tracks. Her heart was torn, but also enchanted.
"I... love... you..." she thought repeatedly, her voice almost a whisper. Her romantic side emerged, swallowing all the logic and plans she had made for herself.
They fell onto the bed, kissing passionately, their breath mingling. Clara tried to resist, but Sean's strong hands and those words made her give in. Clara fell into her husband's arms. They made love.
However, just as they were about to reach orgasm, Sean's cell phone vibrated loudly. The screen displayed Moana's name.
Sean held his breath, his face tense. He answered the phone. "Moana?"
Moana's voice sounded panicked. "Sean... I fell! I need your help!"
Without looking back, Sean pulled away. He didn't continue their struggle on the bed. He hurriedly grabbed his clothes and left Clara, who was still panting on the bed.
"Sean, where are you going?"
"Moana fell. She's carrying my child. I'm afraid something might happen to her."
"Sean, but we were making love. We were about to reach the peak of pleasure together."
"Shut up! I just want to show you that only I can touch your body! We can continue later."
Sean snorted, then left just like that.
Clara stared at Sean's back as he disappeared into the bathroom, then to the door, then out. Her heart was broken again. The pain made her silent; she regretted herself.
She was easily deceived by those three words—"I love you"—and once again, Sean had pushed her to the edge of her heart.
Clara closed her eyes, holding back her tears. Once again, she realized that love and trust could be the most painful traps.
Clara cried alone in her room after Sean dumped her on the bed. She felt like a prostitute who was forced to serve men without love and then abandoned without anyone caring about her feelings.
But Clara wasn't going to wallow in this. She had to get up and heal her own broken heart.
"No! I won't be fragile! I can't be a crybaby!"
The woman wiped her tears. She stared at her naked body without a single piece of clothing.
"Sean, I thought you deserved a chance. It turns out you don't deserve a chance. Your chance is gone. I will no longer beg for your love." Clara screamed in her room.
Some of the maids in the house heard their mistress's scream. They knew how much Clara loved Sean and how Clara was always hurt.
"Poor Mrs. Clara. She loves Mr. Sean so much, but he always makes her cry."
"Yes. Mrs. Clara must be frustrated and heartbroken."
★★★★★
After showering and cleaning herself up, Clara sat at her desk, the desk she usually used to monitor her company's stocks. She was a hard worker and smart. But Sean didn't realize that.
She stared calmly at her laptop screen. Her hands played with a pen, but her mind was focused on one thing. Sean.
This time, she didn't cry. She had already forgotten what had happened on the bed earlier. This time, she was planning a subtle, neat, and painful revenge.
"My heart must be as hard as stone... it must not be soft and it must not be shaken," she whispered to herself.
She contacted several professionals to follow Sean. Clara's instructions were clear: nothing should be visible, no one should be suspicious. She needed enough evidence to shake Sean's ego and make his family angry.
"Don't worry. I have plenty of money to pay you. This isn't a free collaboration. There's a price I'll pay." Clara assured her friend on the phone.
"Okay. Don't worry. Everything will be fine!"
A few days later, Sean's phone at the office kept ringing. Harrison, his secretary, looked anxious as he received repeated calls from several business partners and journalists.
"Sir... there's something... important," Harrison said, his voice slightly shaken.
Sean furrowed his brow. "What is it, Harrison? I'm busy with the financialreport."
Harrison took a deep breath. "There's news circulating on the internet. Your photos when you were entering to Moana's apartment, your photos when you two were in Hawaii, photos of you and Moana when you two were kissing and making out in various places."
Sean gasped in shock. His eyes widened. "What the hell ...?!