Chapter 4

Even though the public didn't know all the messy details, the internet turned on Chloe in an instant, flooding her comment sections.

Backed into a corner, Chloe had to delete every single video mentioning me.

Back when I called Julian to come to my dad's funeral, he had simply laughed coldly:

"Fabricating your dad's death just to keep me from taking care of Chloe? You're heartless."

Then he turned off his phone.

I handled my father's burial completely alone.

Standing at the cemetery that day, I swore to myself: I would divorce Julian, and I would make Chloe pay in blood.

For the past month, I had been quietly gathering dirt on Chloe.

My dad died of an illness, and legally I couldn't pin his murder on her directly, but without her, he would still be here.

The butterfly effect was real.

Chloe had to pay.

After kicking Julian out of my apartment, I moved to the next step.

Over the following month, Chloe harassed me non-stop. She showed up wherever I went, making public scenes, screeching that I was a home-wrecker.

Whenever she got exposed, she pulled the "I have a mental illness" card.

She even sent me daily photos and videos of her and Julian together—even explicit clips of them in bed.

I swallowed it all.

The day of the Grand Sculpture finals arrived—and it happened to be the day our divorce decree was finalized at the courthouse.

Julian dragged his feet, refusing to show up. He called me: "Chloe doesn't want you in this contest. If you go on stage, she'll kill herself!"

"Then let her die."

What the hell did that have to do with me?

Always with the "I'm gonna die" crap.

Hearing my icy reply, Julian sounded deeply hurt:

"Are you even human? Where is your basic empathy?!"

"Julian, I’ll ask you one thing: are we finalizing this divorce today, or not?"

"No!"

Julian was stubborn. I let out a low chuckle.

"Fine. Then I'm walking straight onto that stage right now."

"Wait!"

Julian blocked my path. "What will it take for you to drop out of the contest?!"

"Sign the final decree at the courthouse, and I'll drop out."

I looked him dead in the eye, utterly confident.

He froze.

After a long silence, he choked out, "You... you really want to get rid of me that badly?"

"Yes."

"Fine. I'll give you what you want!"

Julian agreed out of pure spite.

I, however, meant every single word.

Holding the official divorce decree in my hands, a smile spread across my face for the first time in ages.

Julian glared at me, his face thunderous. "Now that we're divorced, you stay away from that competition."

"Julian, oh Julian... are you sure? Does me missing the contest really make you that happy?" I smiled warmly.

My calm smile unnerved him even more. "What are you smirking at?"

"Julian, do you honestly believe Chloe is sick? Do you really think she loves you?"

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Seeing him panic, I raised an eyebrow. "Check your SnapChat."

While Julian looked down at his screen, I turned on my heel and walked straight to my car.

This time, Julian didn't stop me.

I made it to the auditorium just in time.

The moment Chloe saw me walk in, she jumped up from her seat. "What are you doing here?! How dare you show your face?! Riley, I'm the one who belongs in this competition! Why are you here? You just want to see me die, don't you?!"

Before anyone could react, she pulled a utility blade from her bag and pressed it against her throat. The hall instantly erupted into panic.

I stood there, completely unbothered. "I am participating in this contest today. If you've got the guts, go ahead and cut."

The people around us immediately began pointing fingers at me.

"How can you be so callous?! That's a human life!"

Seeing the crowd rally behind her, Chloe could barely hide the smug gleam in her eyes.

Right then, Julian shoved the double doors open.