“What are you all doing?”

Just then, Sylvia walked back over, and the people who had originally wanted to make things difficult for Claire scattered.

“Are you okay, Miss Claire?”

Sylvia made a show of wanting to help her up.

Claire met her gaze and noticed the necklace around her neck.

It was indeed exactly the same as her own.

But hers was one that Julian had designed by hand—one of a kind in the world.

And now, he could actually give it to someone else as well.

Sylvia sensed her gaze, and her lips curled upward.

Instantly, she changed her face. “See that? Claire, I am now Julian’s publicly acknowledged girlfriend. And in the eyes of everyone, you are just an ex-wife who is clinging to him shamelessly. So even if we are wearing the same necklace, everyone will only think yours is fake.”

She leaned in one step closer, whispering in her ear with a light sneer, “He doesn’t love you anymore. No matter how much you struggle, what is the point?”

Claire gripped the necklace tightly, the metal chain hurting her palm.

But it was no match for the dull ache in her heart.

“We are not divorced yet.” She lifted her gaze, looking straight at Sylvia, her eyes cold and sharp. “As long as I haven't signed the divorce agreement for a single day, I am still his wife in the eyes of the law, and you are the one who is truly illegitimate.”

Sylvia’s smile froze, a flicker of viciousness passing through her eyes. Just as she was about to say something, a sudden “creak” sounded overhead.

The chain connecting the crystal chandelier had loosened, and it fell directly toward the two of them.

“Watch out!”

At the critical moment, a figure rushed over violently, using all their strength to push Claire away.

Chapter 5

The next second, a massive impact and the sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the entire banquet hall.

Claire was completely enveloped beneath a dark shadow, suffering almost no injuries except for some abrasions from shards on her exposed arms.

And the person who had shielded her.

Was none other than Julian.

The right side of his body had been struck solidly by the chandelier, and his forehead and back were now oozing blood.

“Julian, are you okay…”

Claire was suddenly seized by panic.

Her mind involuntarily recalled her previous life.

It was in this very same banquet hall that, due to loose decorative iron frames, Julian had pushed her away to protect her, only to be crushed and injured himself.

This time, she had specifically made sure that there were no iron frame decorations in the venue.

She had thought she could avoid it, but she hadn’t expected the accident to happen anyway.

And Julian’s reaction had been shockingly fast.

As if he had anticipated it long ago.

A thought flashed suddenly through her mind, and she grabbed Julian’s hand. “How could you suddenly rush over? Do you remember something? Is it…”

Remembering the previous life?

Before Claire could finish, Sylvia’s painful moans rang in her ears. “Julian, my hand hurts so much…”

Sylvia, unable to dodge in time, had also been caught in the incident, with shards lacerating her entire arm.

Julian took one look, then pushed Claire away violently.

“Don’t get any ideas. I just misidentified the person. Your gown is similar to Sylvia’s, and I originally intended to save her.”

Claire was pushed aside, one hand pressing directly onto the shards, instantly dripping with blood.

But Julian didn’t even look at her again.

He headed straight toward Sylvia, holding her in his arms and walking away with long strides.

After Claire went home alone to treat her wounds, she received a call from the Charity Foundation.

They thanked her for donating all the assets under her name previously and invited her to attend an event the next day.

At the event the following day, the organizers invited her to speak on stage, when a reporter in the audience suddenly posed a question to her.

“Miss Claire, we have received news claiming that you have ignored your biological father for many years, leaving him destitute and helpless, yet you are here making a high-profile show of charity. Is this just to build up a persona?”

Claire’s expression paused slightly, and before she could react, there was a sudden commotion in the crowd.

An old man with silver hair, leaning on a cane, walked out.

“Claire, my daughter, how could you be so heartless? I know my status embarrasses you, but you cannot abandon your own father for over a decade just to climb the social ladder. I have searched for you so bitterly all these years!”

Claire’s blood froze as she looked at the face that had trapped her in nightmare after nightmare, unable to stop shaking.

In her previous life, it was at around this time that he found her and used the same method to blackmail her for money in public.

Back then, it was Julian who had stood in front of her without hesitation, protecting her.

But this time, no one could protect her anymore.

Reporters swarmed in, surrounding her tightly.

“Miss Claire, is this old gentleman really your father?”

“Is this all true? Did you really abandon your biological father for over a decade?”

At the same time, her father continued to wail, “She hates that I’m poor, hates that I’m not presentable. Once she got into college, she cut ties with me and has ignored me for so many years.”

Claire glared fiercely at him. The memories of countless beatings and the terror of being sold to human traffickers surged like a tide, swallowing her whole.

Her face turned paler and paler, and she found it difficult to breathe.

In the end, she was only able to leave the scene under the escort of bodyguards who arrived upon hearing the news.

After that day, public opinion fermented rapidly.

“Explosive news” was released online one after another: photos of her at age sixteen acting as a drinking companion at a club, and rumors of her being cornered by loan sharks and involved with thugs.

It even pointed out that she was deeply scheming, using depression and suicide threats to keep Julian by her side just for his money.

For a time, overwhelming abuse swept over her.

Claire looked at those comments, feeling frozen to the core.

She was all too familiar with that feeling—just like the countless times in the past when she sought help from relatives, neighbors, or teachers after beatings, only for no one to believe her.

Instead, they blamed her for being ignorant and unfilial.

Even though she was clearly the victim, why was she the one nailed to a pillar of shame in the end, as if she were a heinous sinner?

Even worse, she was cornered when she went out.

A bucket of paint was dumped over her head, instantly drenching her from head to toe and leaving her in a miserable state.

A group of people who appeared from nowhere began pointing fingers at her.

“Unfilial daughter, an ungrateful wretch who abandoned her father, a liar!”

“We even donated money to that foundation; did you embezzle the money for yourself?”

Claire was shoved around. In the scuffle, her bag was torn away, and the peace lock her mother had left her fell out.

“My things!” Claire lunged over, wanting to pick it up.

A foot clad in an exquisite high heel stepped on the red string of the peace lock first, and with a light kick, sent the silver lock rolling further away.

Claire looked up, meeting Sylvia’s mocking face.

The people cornering her dispersed instantly, leaving only the two of them.

“How did Miss Claire end up looking like this?”

Sylvia’s tone was frivolous.

Claire had no intention of entangling with her; she only wanted to retrieve the peace lock.

But Sylvia got there first, picked the item up from the ground, and toyed with it casually in her hand.

“Is such a piece of junk worth you treasuring so much? Could it be that Julian gave this to you too?”

“Give it back to me!” Claire’s eyes widened slightly as she lunged at Sylvia. “That’s my mother’s!”

“Your mother?” Sylvia scoffed, her eyes malicious. “Are you talking about that short-lived mother of yours? Well, it fits—this is exactly the kind of thing she would give you. I think your mother just had terrible taste, which is why she ended up with that scum of a father, gave birth to a daughter like you, and left behind trash as worthless as she was.”

As she spoke, she raised her wrist and threw the peace lock fiercely onto the ground.

“No!” Claire screamed as she lunged to catch it, but she was a step too late.

She watched helplessly as it hit the hard ground with a crisp sound, and one of the bells on it broke off and rolled to the side.