Chapter 8

<p>Seeing Edward like this, the crowd started whispering louder and louder. Harry's face turned ghostly pale with rage, and he kept pounding his cane on the floor.</p><p>"You bastard! What a damn mess!" Harry shouted.</p><p>"You know exactly what you've done," he continued. "Now you've driven Claire away, and you're here acting all lovesick? How did our family have an heir like you?"</p><p>Realizing the wedding was a lost cause, Harry ordered in a low, commanding voice, "Show the guests out."</p><p>The guests, knowing better than to linger, quickly turned and made their way out.</p><p>The place emptied out fast, leaving Sophie standing there, looking terrified and uneasy.</p><p>She always thought Claire had been lost at sea long ago, so when she saw the things Claire had delivered, she was completely shocked and uneasy.</p><p>But what really disturbed her was how Edward was reacting right now.</p><p>She'd always believed Edward didn't care about Claire at all. She figured that once Claire was gone and stopped chasing after him, he'd feel relieved, maybe even happy.</p><p>But instead, he looked like he was about to break down, as if he'd lost something he cherished more than anything.</p><p>"Edward..." Sophie called out.</p><p>As soon as the last guest left, Harry fixed his gaze on her, and Sophie felt a wave of dread wash over her.</p><p>Panicking, she shot to her feet and rushed toward Edward.</p><p>"Stop her," Harry ordered.</p><p>The moment he spoke, someone immediately stepped in and cut her off.</p><p>"Mr. Foster, I-I'm carrying Edward's child. You can't hurt me," Sophie pleaded, her voice shaking with fear.</p><p>Harry didn't even bother with her. In a harsh voice, he ordered, "Throw her out."</p><p>"Yes, sir," they answered.</p><p>Two men immediately seized Sophie, one on each side, and started hauling her out.</p><p>"Edward, help me! Please, save me. Save the baby, save me," Sophie cried out, her voice full of panic and despair.</p><p>But no matter how desperately Sophie cried out, Edward just stood there, completely numb, not reacting at all.</p><p>He was totally losing it, grabbing phones from everyone nearby and desperately calling Claire's number again and again.</p><p>He staggered over to Harry, and it wasn't until Harry smacked him hard with his cane that Edward finally snapped back to reality.</p><p>"She must've gone back home. She's been with me for so long and has lived in that house for years. There's no way she could just walk away," Edward muttered.</p><p>"There's still... There's still her..." he stammered, struggling to get the words out.</p><p>Edward almost said "the baby," but the words caught in his throat.</p><p>Everything Claire once loved most in that villa, everything she couldn't bear to lose, had been destroyed by him.</p><p>So now, that villa stopped feeling like home to her a long time ago.</p><p>Edward knew it too, but right now, he just couldn't bring himself to face the truth.</p><p>"Home?" Harry's voice was cold and merciless as he tore right through the lie Edward was clinging to. "You really think that place ever felt like home to her?</p><p>"Edward, that foolish girl loved you for years and stayed by your side all this time, even if you didn't marry her. She never once complained or asked for anything.</p><p>"You always knew all she wanted was to be with you openly, as your rightful partner, but how did you treat her?</p><p>"At your engagement party, you brought in another woman and humiliated Claire in front of her. And now, even at your own wedding..."</p><p>He was so overwhelmed with heartache that he could barely speak. "Honestly, that girl leaving was the smartest thing she ever did. Someone like you never deserved her."</p><p>After saying this, Harry seemed to lose all his strength. Shoulders sagging, he turned and walked away.</p><p>"Guess the Foster family just wasn't lucky enough to keep someone like Claire," he muttered, regret heavy in his voice.</p><p>As Harry's parting words hung in the air, Edward stubbornly shook his head, refusing to accept it.</p><p>"No, that's impossible. She wouldn't leave me. She's loved me for so many years. No matter what I did, she always stayed. She'd never walk away," Edward insisted, his voice thick with denial.</p><p>With that, Edward rushed out of the party hall and drove straight back to the villa.</p>