Chapter 2

Just when Claire thought life would go on like this in endless misery, Vivian came back.

Everyone had thought Vivian was already dead. Instead, she had been rescued, lost her memory, and spent three years recovering abroad. Now that her memory had returned, she came back to Northvale.

Vivian's return made Edward overjoyed, but Claire's situation even worse.

Vivian looked gentle and fragile, but she was calculating to the core. Her fall from the cliff had been a stunt she staged herself to make Edward hate Claire.

Now that she was back, she meant to get rid of Claire for good and secure her place as Mrs. Sterling.

She stuck to Edward all day, calling him "Ed" at every turn in a voice full of intimacy, and every look she gave Claire was dripping with challenge and disdain.

Edward indulged Vivian in everything. All the tenderness and patience he had went to the woman he thought he'd gotten back from the dead, while his disgust and hatred for Claire hit a new peak.

Vivian began stirring up trouble nonstop, creating misunderstanding after misunderstanding and framing Claire at every turn.

She would deliberately smash Edward's grandma Linda Sterling's precious emerald jewelry, then cry and claim Claire had shoved her out of jealousy and caused it.

She would slip a drug Edward was allergic to into his water, then accuse Claire of trying to poison him.

She would pretend Claire had bullied her, then run to Edward in tears and milk his sympathy and protection.

She would even loop herself around Edward's arm in front of Claire and act intimate to provoke her.

Edward never bothered asking what really happened. He trusted Vivian unconditionally. The moment Vivian cried, he decided it was Claire's fault, hurling cruel insults at her and even shoving her around.

Once, Vivian deliberately brought up the plain bookmark Claire had hidden away, which Edward had casually given her years ago, and mocked her for shamelessly pining after him.

Edward flew into a rage. He stormed into Claire's room, found the bookmark, hurled it to the floor, and ground it under his shoe.

Then he grabbed Claire by the hair, slammed her head against the wall, and snarled, "Claire, you shameless woman. Who gave you permission to keep something of mine? Are you still daydreaming that I could ever love you?"

The wall was hard and cold. Claire's forehead started bleeding at once, blood sliding down her cheek as she trembled all over in pain. Tears finally came rushing out.

Claire moaned in pain, "I didn't... I just thought it was pretty, so I kept it..."

"Still making excuses." Edward flung her away, his eyes like ice. "A vicious, fake woman like you will never deserve my love. All you deserve is a life of pain."

Lying on the freezing floor and staring up at the dim light overhead, Claire felt despair rise like a tide and drown her completely.

After that, she quietly started looking for evidence from that year. She wanted to prove her innocence. She wanted Edward to know she had never hurt Vivian and had never done anything to wrong him.

She went to the valley where Vivian had fallen, looking for witnesses, only to find they had already been bought off by Vivian.

She went to the hospital to look up the records from that year, only to find Vivian had already destroyed them.

She wanted to go to Leo and tell him her side of the story, but Edward stopped her at the door and wouldn't let her take a single step closer.

Every road had been cut off.

In Edward's heart, she had long since been found guilty. Every explanation, every piece of evidence, was powerless.

Claire's heart cooled bit by bit and broke apart little by little. Even so, she still loved him and clung to one last foolish hope that someday he would see Vivian for who she really was.