Chapter Six: Clara's Pov

At two in the morning, I lay in bed unable to sleep.

The next day I went to the firm with dark circles under my eyes.

By the time I finished the work at hand, it was already one in the afternoon. Only then did I feel a bit hungry, so I got up and went to the break room to find something to tide me over.

Thorne had only been back for a few days, yet he was practically in the headlines every single day.

Even when I came to the break room, I could hear colleagues discussing him.

"Did you see? The young master of the Thorne family—not only is he rich, but he's so handsome too. I just wonder what he's like in bed."

Lucia raised an eyebrow. "Even if he's amazing in bed, it's not like you'd have a chance. Master Thorne has been married for ages."

"So what if he's married? Like he's only going to have one woman."

"Well, you don't know this, but Master Thorne is very good to his wife. A few years ago when they first got married, he even took his wife skiing in the Alps."

Lucia's tone made it sound like she was especially familiar with Thorne. I subconsciously looked up at her.

Lucia and I joined the firm in the same year, handling different projects, but Lucia always seemed to harbor some inexplicable hostility toward me.

When Thorne and I first got married, we did go skiing in the Alps, but aside from Freya, almost no one knew about it. How did Lucia know?

"Don't believe me? Let me show you the photos."

I also curiously craned my neck toward Lucia's direction. The photo was a bit blurry, but in the vast white snow, it was indeed Thorne teaching me to ski.

"The photo isn't very clear, but let me tell you, Mrs. Thorne is a great beauty."

"That's so blissful! I never imagined Master Thorne would even wear matching ski suits."

"Lucia, you're amazing! You actually went skiing with Master Thorne and his wife..."

Hearing the colleagues' flattery, Lucia seemed particularly pleased. "Well, it was alright. Master Thorne is indeed a bit cold, but he's really incredibly good to his wife. He even specially built little heart-shaped snowmen for her."

Heart-shaped snowmen. I froze for a moment.

I still remembered—it was the second day after we checked into the hotel. When I drew open the curtains, I saw a snowman holding a heart standing outside the window. Thorne embraced me from behind and asked if I liked the gift he'd given me.

But later, when I wanted to go to the Alps with Thorne again, he told me coldly that what he hated most in this life was snow.

"Hey, don't you think—I feel like Mrs. Thorne's profile looks a bit like... like Clara?"

The colleagues instantly looked in my direction. I said lightly, "You must be seeing things. The ski suit is so thick, how can you tell?"

"No, look at this figure, really..."

"Come on." Lucia interrupted the others, even rolling her eyes dramatically. "How could it possibly be Clara? The Thorne family's status—she'd have to crawl to even get close."

I looked deeply at Lucia. "I really couldn't crawl in..." I was carried in by Thorne's arms.

Leora knew that Lucia and I never got along, so she quickly came forward and put her arm around my shoulder. "Oh please, with Clara's face, what wealthy family couldn't she marry into?"

"Heh."

Lucia sneered. "Well, it's been three years—have any of you seen Clara's husband? If her husband were really outstanding, how could she possibly hide him from everyone? I bet she's someone's mistress on the side."

I didn't respond to Lucia's words. I was just seriously thinking about what kind of expression Thorne would have if he knew that someone was calling him my lover.

Seeing the atmosphere grow awkward, a colleague gently tugged at Lucia's sleeve and said softly, "Lucia, that's too much. How can you say that about Clara?"

"So what? If she wants to prove herself, let her bring her husband out for us to meet."

I looked at the cover of the financial weekly magazine on the table. Look! Look! Look! Haven't you been looking all morning? Why do you need to look more!

I shook my head. "Better not. He's too ugly—afraid he'd scare you all."

"..."

When I returned to my office, I received another message from my father reminding me not to forget to bring Thorne home for dinner tomorrow night.

After thinking for a long while, I decided to call Thorne and ask.

The phone rang for a long time. Just as I was about to hang up, it was suddenly answered.

"Hello, Mrs. Thorne, what's the matter?"

It wasn't Thorne who answered the phone, but Thorne's assistant Miller.

"Thorne... what is he doing?"

"The boss is chatting with Miss Shirley. He'll be very busy these days. Do you have something urgent, Mrs. Thorne?"

My hand gripped the phone tightly as I forced a weak smile.

"It's nothing. No need to tell him I called."

Shirley—a popular Hollywood actress, bright and lively. No wonder Thorne didn't come home last night.

Near the end of the workday, Freya called.

"Hey, my sweetheart, Linda's back in Manhattan. She told me I absolutely have to take you out for drinks tonight."

Linda was Freya's cousin. When she separated from her husband years ago, there was a property dispute. That man had practically swindled all of Linda's money and even tried to fabricate facts to send Linda to prison.

I was the one who helped her collect evidence and won that lawsuit.

After that incident, Linda left Manhattan to travel the world. We had agreed that when she returned, everything would start anew.

I didn't expect that a year would pass so quickly.

"Linda's fresh start is definitely worth celebrating. Send me the address—I'll head over right after work."

When I arrived at the bar, Linda and Freya were waiting at the entrance.

"Why aren't you going in?"

Freya smiled and linked her arm through mine. "It's all Linda—she insisted on waiting at the door to greet you."

This bar was quite far from both the firm and where I lived. I'd never been here before, but the atmosphere was nice and the snacks tasted good—just a bit crowded.

Linda ordered lots of drinks and told us about her travels around the world. I realized that when people go out and see the world, they really can let go of many things.

Midway through, Linda went to the restroom.

Freya suddenly leaned toward me with a gossipy look. "Tell me honestly—did your husband suddenly return to Manhattan to fight for leadership of the family?"

Fight for family leadership?

Thorne's image floated into my mind.

"Probably not. Thorne... he doesn't have that kind of ambition."

"Then why did he suddenly come back?"

I smiled and shook my head, taking a sip of my drink.

Probably... for a divorce. Thorne likely couldn't wait any longer.

Just then, Linda ran back with a look of surprise. "Oh my God, guess who I just saw?"

Freya randomly guessed, "Beckham."

Linda raised her finger and waved it in front of her. "No, I saw Thorne."

My movements froze. I didn't expect him to be here too.

Freya instantly looked at me. "What's your husband doing here?"

Linda's eyes widened as she quickly covered her mouth. "Oh my God, what am I hearing? Thorne is actually Clara's husband? But... but he seems to have another woman with him—that bastard!"

With that, Linda ran toward the VIP room.

I sighed. So traveling the world can make you bolder?

Anyone who could come to a bar with Thorne wasn't someone to mess with.

Sure enough, when Freya and I arrived, Knight was pointing a gun at Linda's head, and Thorne was leaning on the sofa, looking somewhat baffled at Linda.

"What did you just call me?"

"You bastard! If you're married, you should stay faithful to your wife..."

During our earlier chat, Freya had mentioned my marital relationship with my partner, and Linda felt sorry for me. I regretted not having had time to tell her when we first met that I'd already decided to end this marriage.

Click—

Knight cocked his gun. My eyes flashed as I quickly stepped forward, shielding Linda behind me and redirecting Knight's gun barrel toward myself.

Among Thorne's brothers, Knight was the wildest. As the only heir of the Reade family, he appeared to love playing around, but was actually the most ruthless.

His friendship with Thorne alone was one forged through life and death. He usually followed Thorne around calling him "brother."

Now that Linda had cursed Thorne like this, I believed Knight would really shoot.

"Clara... you..."

Knight looked at me, the anger fading from his face as he lowered his gun. The room instantly fell silent.

"If you're going to shoot, shoot me."

Knight pouted and unloaded the bullets, tossing the gun aside. "I... I could never shoot you."

My gaze went past Knight's shoulder toward Thorne. The woman sitting beside him first showed a look of shock, then something like secret delight, as she rubbed her half-exposed chest against Thorne's arm.

"Is this what you've been busy with?"

"Drinking and playing with women?"

Thorne's lips curved slightly with a somewhat mocking tone. "I just got here and you already caught me. Next time you want to check up on me, come find me yourself."

I didn't speak. Freya wanted to stand up for me, but I secretly pinched her, so she closed her mouth too.

Just then, that woman suddenly leaned on Thorne. "Darling, I'm feeling a bit dizzy. Can you accompany me to rest in a room upstairs?"

This woman was no fool. From our conversation, she already knew I was Thorne's wife, but she also knew I didn't have Thorne's love, which was why she dared to seduce him so brazenly.

Thorne's fingers tapped lightly on his knee. "What makes you think you're worthy?"

The woman froze.

She hadn't expected to be publicly rejected. Her expression turned unpleasant.

I suddenly remembered that before Thorne went to New York, he had also publicly humiliated me like this. My chest instantly felt suffocatingly tight.

That's just the kind of person he was—when he was happy, he could hold you in his heart, but he could also draw a blade at any moment and stab it into your chest. I was too naive to have fantasized about receiving Thorne's love.

"Thorne, I hope you can come home a bit earlier tonight. I have something I want to discuss with you."

"I won't disturb your fun anymore. I'm leaving first."