The phone in her hand fell to the carpet with a "thud." The moment the screen went dark, she reached for the water glass on the table, but her fingertips trembled so badly that the glass slipped from her hand.
Clang—
A crisp cracking sound rang out as scalding hot water splashed onto the back of her foot, shards of glass piercing her skin and drawing blood.
But Clara felt no pain at all.
Seven years.
Seven years in total.
What she thought was a secret romance turned out to be a meticulously planned deception. The devoted boyfriend she believed in had long been married to someone else. Clutching her household registration book, she made twenty-one trips to the Civil Affairs Bureau, full of expectation, only to find that those so-called unexpected events were nothing more than a cruel twist of fate.
The air in the living room was stagnant, like damp cotton wool. Broken glass was scattered on the floor. Liam and Vanessa's laughter drifted from the dining room, hitting Clara's eardrums repeatedly.