Yet the name felt hauntingly familiar!

A sudden pang of pain shot through my chest, nearly taking my breath away.

Mrs. Hannigan didn't notice my distress and continued, "President Riverton is a titan. Although they say his mental state hasn't been quite right since his wife passed away, it hasn't affected the prestige of his group at all."

I frowned. As the discomfort in my chest gradually subsided, my eyes darkened and I pressed my lips together.

Xavier...

Did I know this person? Why did I react like this to his name?

I was too tired today; I didn't want to let myself think about anything else.

Mrs. Hannigan checked the time. It was late.

"Clara, get some rest. We have to head to another region for a new show in a few days."

"Okay."

"By the way, don't forget to take your medicine. You look a bit pale."

I nodded. After watching Mrs. Hannigan return to her own room, I walked to the bedside table and picked up the white pills.

Over the years, my health had been poor and I often struggled to sleep; I relied on this medication just to drift off.

But tonight was different.

After taking the medicine, I felt incredibly drowsy.

I fell asleep shortly after lying down, but strangely enough, I dreamed.

For the first time in years, I had a dream.

And the scenes in the dream felt terrifyingly real—

A woman was locked in a pitch-black room, weeping and making desperate sounds.

The woman was a blur; I couldn't see her face.

I tried to get closer, only to find myself held back by invisible tethers. I could only watch as the woman huddled in the corner, sobbing.

"Ah—!"

I sat up abruptly in bed, clutching the duvet in terror.

The surroundings were just my familiar hotel room.

The sky was already bright; the night had passed.

"It was just a dream..." I whispered, getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

Looking at my pale reflection in the mirror, it felt as though I was the woman in the dream who had suffered those horrors.

I thought to myself: if I had to endure that, I would die.

Half an hour later, I had tidied myself up and sent a message to Mrs. Hannigan about going downstairs to the restaurant for breakfast.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Thinking it was room service, I opened the door without a second thought.

However, in the next second, I froze. Standing outside wasn't a waiter, but—

A man!

"Clara..."

The man's voice was incredibly raspy, and his dark eyes deepened with an intense, complicated gaze.

Looking at him, that inexplicable pain surged in my heart once more.

I bit my lip and frowned, hating this sensation.

But before I could ask who he was, the man pulled me into a sudden, crushing embrace.

"You—"

The move caught me completely off guard.

Was this man a predator?!

Thinking this, I began to struggle frantically—

"Let me go! You—mmph!"

Before I could scream, he leaned down and silenced me, cutting off all my protests.

My eyes widened in shock.

Damn it, was this man insane?!

My strength was nothing compared to his.

His tall frame loomed over me, pinning me into a small space from which I couldn't escape.

"Let me go!"

I had never faced a situation like this, and I was instantly moved to tears by terror.

Yet my strength was leagues apart from his.

The man just spoke to himself.

"Clara, I knew it. I knew you were still alive."

I was bewildered. "No! You have the wrong person!"

Chapter 14

In that moment, I tried to regain my logic, suppressing my fear to reason with him.

But clearly, he wasn't listening.

His warm fingertips brushed over my eyes and my cheeks. Then he chuckled softly and leaned down again—

"My Clara."

This time, I began to struggle violently, because I saw a dangerous light in his eyes.

"Get away! Don't touch me!"

A sudden wave of horror flooded all my senses.

"No—!"

Tears fell uncontrollably.

He just watched, unmoved.

"Clara, I was wrong. Forgive me."

He said he was wrong, he asked for forgiveness—yet his actions were violating and hurting me!

I broke down, screaming, "Help! Someone help!"

A flurry of hurried footsteps sounded outside, followed by a frantic pounding on the door.

"Brother!"

"Clara!"

The voices of Celine and Mrs. Hannigan rang out simultaneously.

"Let go of me!"

Finally, help had arrived. I lunged forward and bit the man’s arm as hard as I possibly could.

The man hissed and released his grip. I stumbled away and hid behind Mrs. Hannigan, sobbing hysterically.

"I’m sorry. I lost control for a moment."

The apology didn't sound sincere at all.

To my ears, it was just a pathetic excuse!

"Brother, I told you! She might not be her; she just looks like her. How could you..."

Celine explained helplessly, looking at me with deep apology and guilt.

"Clara, I’m so sorry. My brother... he misses my sister-in-law too much, so he..."

In front of me, Mrs. Hannigan’s body stiffened.

I didn't care about Mrs. Hannigan’s reaction; I knew what Celine was trying to say, but I wouldn't accept such an apology!

I didn't care who this man was or if he was sick.

I only knew that I had just been assaulted, and I was going to sue this shameless scoundrel!

"Mrs. Hannigan, I want to report him to the police!"

As soon as those words left my mouth, both Celine and Mrs. Hannigan turned pale.

After a long silence, Mrs. Hannigan said tremulously, "Um... Clara, there must be some kind of misunderstanding."

Misunderstanding?

I bit my lip, glaring at Mrs. Hannigan in fury. "He burst into my room and assaulted me! How is that a misunderstanding?!"

I was livid. I knew Mrs. Hannigan didn't want to offend powerful people.

But was I just supposed to let myself be bullied for nothing?

Ten minutes later.

Mrs. Hannigan took the man to the room next door.

In my room, Celine was still apologizing, insisting that Xavier didn't mean it.

But I didn't want to hear a word of it. I sat there with a cold face, staring out the window in silence.

Right now, I only hoped Mrs. Hannigan would stand by me. Anyone else... I didn't care about them at all.

Chapter 15

Half an hour had passed, and Celine was still apologizing with a face full of guilt, but I couldn't sit still anymore.

I was worried that something might happen to Mrs. Hannigan; I was afraid that man might hurt her.

"Clara, my brother really isn't a madman. He won't hurt your manager."

"But the news says he’s insane..."

I spoke in a low voice, glancing at her with a guarded expression.

I suddenly regretted it—regretted coming to Paris for this show.

If I hadn't met this Miss Celine, none of today's events would have happened.

Celine looked truly innocent, but no matter how she explained, I couldn't take any of it in.

Until the door was pushed open.

My body stiffened instinctively, and I looked over warily.

Mrs. Hannigan walked in, followed by the man who made the hair on my arms stand up.

He actually dared to show his face again!

Mrs. Hannigan walked to my side and slowly put her arm around my shoulders. "It’s alright, Clara. It’s over now. It was all just a misunderstanding."

A misunderstanding?

Hearing Mrs. Hannigan say this, a flash of disbelief crossed my eyes, followed by a sense of betrayal.

As I thought, Mrs. Hannigan had been "bought off" by this man.

"Mrs. Hannigan, didn't you..."

"It’s not what you think. Actually, Mr. Riverton... he was just missing his wife so much that he..."

I knew Mrs. Hannigan would say something like that.

"But I’m not his wife! What right does he have to treat me like that!"

Mrs. Hannigan was speechless.

Just as she was about to say something, the man's deep, low voice drifted over—

"You are my wife."

I was stunned.

Not just me, but Celine as well.

"What did you say?" Along with my shock, a wave of panic surged within me.

Strange—why did my heart ache uncontrollably the moment I heard this man call me his wife?

That sensation returned, making me feel miserable.

Xavier walked toward me, and this time I didn't resist. Instead, I looked at him with a mix of curiosity and bewilderment.

I wanted to know what he meant by those words.

He approached me, step by step.

When he finally stood before me, the distance between us was only centimeters.

In this moment, as our eyes met, the world seemed to go mute. Everything around us faded into nothingness.

In the entire universe, only the two of us remained.

The man gave a light smile, his words filled with such tenderness and doting.

He said, "You are my wife, Clara."