Chapter 2
Without saying a word about the divorce, Lilibeth walked away. She then got into the car and drove straight to the embassy.
Applying for permanent residency in Gindara wasn’t complicated, especially with her family background.
The Quimby family had moved their businesses overseas a few years ago. In turn, Lilibeth’s parents and Lorenzo had relocated with them. She was the only one who stayed, and it was because of Clifford.
But now, she was leaving too.
“The process should take about a week,” the staff member said with a polite smile.
Lilibeth nodded, took the receipt, and left the embassy.
It was finally coming to an end. For six whole years, she had tried to win Clifford over, convincing herself she could pull him down from his pedestal. In the end, she realized he had never been hers to begin with.
Lilibeth had given up so much for him. She had become a vegetarian, suppressed her desires, and even toned down the boldness that had once defined her.
Every little thing she had done had been an attempt to get closer to Clifford. And yet, she had never come close to touching the deepest corners of his heart.
She glanced down at the receipt in her hand. Though a faint smile tugged at her lips, a bitter ache spread through her chest.
“Forget it, Clifford. I know you don’t love me, but plenty of others do,” she murmured.
…
That evening, Lilibeth went to a nightclub with a group of friends. Since she had married Clifford, places like this had become foreign to her.
She wore a black spaghetti-strap dress, and the hem swayed with each step, revealing her long legs. Even the way she carried herself felt different. It was as if she were gaining the confidence she had lost.
“Beth, what’s gotten into you tonight?” her best friend, Amelia Lowe, asked.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she grabbed Lilibeth’s hand. “Ever since you fell for that aloof priest, you’ve been all about him. You haven’t set foot in a place like this in ages!”
Lilibeth took a sip of her drink, smiling as her vision turned slightly hazy.
“Who cares about him? Tonight, I’m going to enjoy myself.”
With that, she turned and made her way onto the dance floor. Her body moved to the rhythm, as if something inside her had finally been set free.
Then, her gaze drifted over to the male escorts nearby. With a smirk, she reached out and lightly ran her fingers across one’s abs. The escort let out a low chuckle in response.
Right then, Amelia rushed over and yanked her back. “Beth, are you out of your mind? You just touched a male escort’s abs and danced all over them. Aren’t you worried Clifford will lose it?”
“He’s not even here,” Lilibeth retorted.
“That’s not—” Amelia hesitated before leaning in closer. “I was going to tell you earlier. Clifford is in the booth at the back. He’s been watching you this whole time.”
Lilibeth froze upon hearing that. Moments later, she slowly looked up.
Through the shifting lights, she spotted him immediately.
Clifford sat in the corner booth. He was dressed in a black suit that looked out of place against the wild scene around him. His slender fingers rested on the rim of his glass while his unreadable gaze locked onto her.
Lilibeth had no idea how long he had been watching her.
At that moment, the music cut out, and she overheard one of his friends chuckling.
“Clifford, Lilibeth’s been dancing there for a while now. She even put her hands on another guy. If she were my wife, I would’ve flipped. How are you just sitting here?”
But Clifford’s expression didn’t change. He took a sip of his tea before replying coolly, “She knows her limits. She won’t cross the line.”
His answer struck her like a knife, sharp and painful.
She knew her limits, huh? Was he so sure she loved him too much to do anything reckless? Or did he simply not care?
Or perhaps it was both.
Clifford’s friend clicked his tongue and said, “I have to hand it to you. Your level of composure is something else. But seriously, what would it take to actually make you ang—”
His voice cut off abruptly before rising in pitch. “Hey, Clifford! Where are you going?”
Lilibeth instinctively lifted her gaze just as Clifford stood up, his eyes locked onto something across the dance floor.
For the first time, she caught a flicker of jealousy in his usually indifferent expression.
Lilibeth followed Clifford’s line of sight, and sure enough, she spotted Tiffany.
Dressed in white, Tiffany stood at the edge of the dance floor, exchanging contact information with a man.
Without hesitation, Clifford strode over and seized her wrist. “Who said you could come to a place like this? And who gave you permission to hand out your number to a stranger?” he demanded.
Tiffany was caught off guard, and a chill ran down her spine at his biting tone. But before long, tears welled up in her eyes.
“Why can’t I be here? Why can’t I give my number to someone else?” she shot back. “Didn’t you stop caring about me? If that’s the case, then what I do is none of your business!”
Clifford’s knuckles turned white from how tight his grip was. His voice dropped lower as he hissed, “Since when did I stop caring about you?”
Tiffany’s voice cracked with a sob as she replied, “That’s a fact! You avoid me every day and won’t even look at me! Cliff, you used to treat me like I was your entire world. Why did everything change overnight?”
Clifford swallowed hard at those words. “That’s because…” he mumbled, sounding like he was suppressing his emotions.
Nearby, Lilibeth watched the scene unfold, and her heart faltered.
She knew very well Clifford couldn’t say the truth out loud.
How could he admit he loved Tiffany so much that he had to stay away? That every time he saw her, he would lose control?
Worse, how could he explain that his obsession ran so deep, he had never once touched his wife of two years? That instead of sleeping with her, he had commissioned a life-sized doll that looked exactly like Tiffany, using it to relieve his longing for her in the dark?
A self-deprecating chuckle escaped Lilibeth’s lips.
Just as she turned to leave, Tiffany’s tearful voice rang out. “Cliff, can we go back to how things used to be? I want the old you, the brother who only had eyes for me!”
“I’m married, Tiff. My life can’t revolve around you anymore,” Clifford answered, his voice deep and hoarse.
“Does that mean if your wife disappeared, we could go back to how we were before?”
Having said that, Tiffany lifted her head, her eyes gleaming with something unhinged.
Lilibeth, on the other hand, had just picked up her bag and was ready to leave. That was when she saw Tiffany grab a bottle from the table and march toward her.
In the next second, the bottle smashed against Lilibeth’s head. The sound of shattering glass echoed loudly in her ears, and soon, warm liquid trickled down her forehead.
“Beth!” Amelia’s scream cut through the chaos.
Lilibeth stumbled back. Before she could steady herself, Tiffany raised another bottle.
“Go to hell!” she shrieked.
The second blow landed even harder. This time, Lilibeth lost consciousness. She lay in a pool of blood as the chaos and screams filled her ears.
