The Love That Withered

I had brought this up with Claire before.

Back then, Claire had only said, "It's such a small thing. Don't be so sensitive. If you're innocent, then you have nothing to fear. Just ignore that kind of pointless gossip."

At the time, I understood her need for strictness as a CEO.

After that, I never mentioned it again.

However, when similar rumors began to spread about her and Marcus, Marcus cried as he complained to her.

She immediately found an excuse to fire the employee who had been spreading the rumors, using that as a warning to the others.

From that moment onward, no one dared to gossip about Marcus again. They only said things he liked to hear.

After packing up, I went home.

I sat on the sofa in a daze, staring out the window.

Once again, it was past midnight when she returned.

Marcus followed behind her.

The moment he entered, he glanced at me. A provocative smile curled at the corner of his lips.

He deliberately leaned close to Claire and whispered something in her ear, making her laugh softly.

That laughter cut into my heart like a knife.

When Claire noticed me, her tone turned cold.

She said, "The company was busy, so things got delayed. Marcus is staying over tonight. He'll take your room. You'll sleep in the living room."

Marcus added fuel to the fire, feigning innocence as he said, "Claire, am I bothering you two? If so, I can leave."

As he spoke, his eyes were fixed provocatively on me.

"No need," Claire said, reaching out to stop him.

"Sit for a bit. I'll get you some water."

I could not be bothered to respond to his provocation and turned toward the bedroom.

As I passed him, our shoulders barely brushed.

Marcus suddenly and exaggeratedly leaned backward and fell to the floor.

He crashed into the coffee table.

A glass fell and shattered, and his hand slammed straight into the shards.

"Argh!" he cried out.

He quickly added with a trembling voice, saying, "Shayne, if you don't want me to stay, I can leave right now. Please don't hit me."

Claire rushed over and shoved me hard, her voice sharp with fury.

"Are you insane? You'd hit someone right in front of me?"

I staggered back several steps, staring at her in disbelief.

"You believe him? He fell on his own..."

"I only saw you make a move!" she said as she cut me off coldly.

She stood in front of Marcus, her gaze icy as she glared at me. "When did you become this unreasonable?"

Behind her, Marcus wore a smug smile, deliberately raising his bloodied hand.

I had no way to defend myself.

"I didn't touch him," I said hoarsely.

"That's enough!" Claire cut me off, her voice heavy with disappointment.

"I thought you were just petty. I didn't expect you'd actually dare to hit someone in front of me. Apologize to Marcus. Now."

"Why should I?" I forced myself to suppress the anger burning in my chest as I spoke calmly. "He fell on his own. I didn't touch him."

Marcus continued to sow discord between us, saying, "Claire, don't argue because of me. It's my fault. I'll apologize to Shayne."

He bent over and bowed deeply to me.

Seeing his aggrieved, considerate act only further fueled Claire's anger.

To vent it for him, she raised her hand and slapped me.

My face burned as swelling spread instantly across half of it.

"Apologize!" she shouted. "Otherwise, I don't see the point of this wedding anymore!"

She still thought I would lower myself and beg.

Instead, I covered my face and looked at her and said clearly, "Fine. Then, we won't get married."

Shock and disbelief flashed across her face, quickly replaced by anger and contempt.

"So, now you're getting bold, huh? Do you really think I wouldn't dare call this wedding off just because my grandfather arranged it?"

She picked up her phone and put it on speaker, dialing Preston's number in front of me.

"Dad, cancel tomorrow's wedding. Let all the guests know."

After saying that, she stared at my expression, waiting to see regret…panic…or desperation.

She said coldly, "Shayne Taylor, if you apologize now, maybe I can still..."

Just then, Preston's confused voice rang out from the other end of the line.

"Claire, the wedding was canceled a long time ago. Shayne came days ago to call off the engagement. Didn't he tell you?"