Chapter 5 

Chapter 5 

Behind me came Musa’s hysterical scream 

“Stop pretending! You were with Liam for money, weren’t you? Playing hard to get now?” 

“You poor people are nothing Init parasites, society’s trash, just looking to latch onto us rich families and suck us dry!” 

“Claire, you can’t leave til I give you permission to leave? Come back here I’m ordering you to come back 

theard her words but didn’t argue or retaliate, Instead, I walked forward with steady steps into the pouring rain. 

qught this would all end with a peaceful breakup between Liam and me, but I never expected they wouldn’t let me go so easily. 

Headlines like “Top University Graduate Student Uses Marriage to Secure Thesis Approval, Seduces Her Professor” exploded across social media 

Photos of me and Liam in the lab, entangled, were leaked online. His face was meticulously blurred, but mine was exposed entirely. 

I was summoned by the dean of my program. 

“I understand you were in a relationship with Liam, but this situation has escalated too far. The school has decided you must withdraw.” 

When I left the school, my mind was numb. Somehow, I found myself on a bus back to my long neglected home. 

When I arrived, I saw the front door vandalized with red paint, large words scrawled across it: “Mistress, Go Die.” 

I unlocked the door and stepped inside, only to be grabbed by my perpetually drunken father. 

“Where’s the money? The breakup money! Give it to me!” 

He began groping me without any regard for decency, searching for hidden cash. I shoved him away forcefully. 

There’s no 

no money! None!” 

“I loved him freely. We broke up peacefully. I didn’t take any money!” 

Ablap landed hard on my face. 

gat me, my father roared, “Nonsense! All nonsense! The internet says you got millions from him. Do you think you can fool me?” 

Pointing 

*If it wasn’t for money, why would you get into his bed? 

With that, he stormed into the bedroom and came back holding a whip. 

My body began to tremble instinctively. Memories of childhood abuse Eashed through my mind 

The sound of the whip slicing through the air, the desperate cries, the agony of the lash tearing into my skin. And the final torment, when he’d rub salt into the wounds, leaving me in unbearable pain, caught between life and death. 

“Dad, please don’t.” 

As he approached me, whip in hand, I panicked and hurriedly pulled out the pregnancy report, dropping to my kn 

“Dad, you can’t hit me. I’m pregnant. It’s Liam’s child.” 

He stopped in his tracks, staring blankly for a moment before snatching the report from my hand. 

After reading the test, he kicked me in the shoulder with full force, 

“Shameless slut, just like your filthy mother who ran away! 

“Thoard Liam has fertility issues. How could the child possibly be his? Tell me–besides him, who else have you been with?” 

17:06 

Love, a Hollow Promise 

Chapter 5 

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. The whip was raised to strike. 

“Today. I’m going to beat you to death, you disgraceful little whore! 

I pushed him away 

way and scrambled to grab a fruit knife from the coffee table, pressing it against my neck. 

The blade cut into my skin, drawing thin lines of blood. 

Anguish and fury consumed me, and my trembling hands struggled to maintain control. 

“Fine! You want money, don’t you? If die now, you’ll get nothing!” 

At last, my father calwed down. 

qquinted at me and asked, “Is it really Liam’s child?” 

I had no choice but to nod. 

Immediately, his demeanor changed. He laughed and pulled me to my feet, insisting we go to Liam’s family to claim my place as their daughter–in–law. 

“You stop right there!” 

“What now? What are you trying to puli?” 

I pressed the knife harder against my neck, the blood flowing more freely. 

I smirked bitterly. “I go alone. If you come with me, it’ll turn into a fight. Only if I go alone and play the victim can I get more money.” 

Hearing that I could secure more money, he relented and let me go. 

But I had no intention of finding Liam. 

I took out my phone, searched for bus tickets, and planned to leave for a new place–to start over and escape this suffocating environment completely 

As I stared at the ticket details, I felt the sharp, judging gazes of passersby. 

When I looked up people on the street were casting disdainful looks my way 

Just then, my phone buzzed. Opening it, I saw Liam’s social media post–a digital wedding invitation featuring him and Anna 

He even publicly acknowledged our past with a single dismissive line: 

“Please don’t harass Miss Claire online; she just liked me too much.” 

A wave of nausea rose from my stomach 

I chatched my mouth, overwhelmed by despair and fury. 

Liam’s post seemed like a gesture of support, but- 

It only cemented the narrative that I was the mistress!