Chapter 7
Over the next few days, Clifford stayed home, which was completely out of character. It was as if he had finally noticed that Lilibeth hadn’t been in the best of moods.
Not only that, he even made Tiffany apologize to her.
Standing in front of Lilibeth, Tiffany muttered without much sincerity, “I’m sorry, Lilibeth. I was out of line the other day.”
But Lilibeth simply shot her a cold glance and didn’t say a word. Instead, she went back to her room, slamming the door shut behind her.
Tiffany flinched at the sound. A second later, she threw herself into Clifford’s arms. “You don’t think she’s going to hit me, do you?” she asked in a shaky voice.
Clifford patted her back reassuringly. “With me around, no one’s going to lay a hand on you.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud clatter echoed from behind the door. He could hear drawers being yanked open.
Clifford furrowed his brow and was about to knock when the door suddenly flew open.
Lilibeth stormed out with a large box in her arms. She didn’t even glance at him as she walked straight to the living room.
Without hesitation, she dumped its contents into the bin.
Clifford narrowed his eyes as he watched her do all of it in one swift motion.
That box contained things Lilibeth had kept for years, and each piece was tied to him in some way from scribbled notes to a cup he had once drunk from and a string of prayer beads she had begged him for. In fact, it was the only gift he had ever given her.
And now, she had thrown them all away like garbage.
“What does this mean?” Clifford asked coldly.
Lilibeth dusted off her hands and said flatly, “It means I don’t want them anymore.”
She was done with him and everything about him. She marched away without so much as another glance.
Tiffany, who had seen the whole thing unfold, couldn’t help noticing the change in Clifford’s expression. A flicker of jealousy crossed her face, but she still asked sweetly, “Cliff, don’t you want to go after her?”
Clifford went quiet for a moment before replying, “There’s no need for that. She’ll cool off and come back for them.”
Just like she had done for the past six years, relentlessly pursuing and loving him.
But on the other side of the wall, Lilibeth overheard every word. She nearly laughed out loud. This time, Clifford couldn’t have been more wrong.
That evening, Clifford wanted to take both Lilibeth and Tiffany to a charity gala. Yet, Lilibeth. refused to go.
Clifford said lightly, “Your best friend will be there. You’ve been cooped up in the house long enough. Don’t you want to see her?”
She went quiet. After a long while, she finally got dressed.
Everything that had happened lately had left her feeling stifled. Now, all she needed was a drink and someone to talk to.
On the drive there, Lilibeth didn’t say a word to either Clifford or Tiffany. She simply kept her eyes closed, resting in silence.
Then, halfway to the venue, a deafening crash shattered the quiet.
Headlights blazed through the windshield. All Lilibeth had time to see was a car spinning out of control and barreling straight toward them.
In the blink of an eye, everything turned into chaos.
When Lilibeth regained consciousness, the sharp stench of metal and rust hit her.
She opened her eyes with difficulty, only to find that she and Tiffany were tied to chairs in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Their hands were bound behind them, and strapped to their chests were bombs.
Right then, she vaguely recalled someone stepping out of the other car just before everything had gone black. It had been the second son of the Burke family, Sinclair Group’s rival.
Had he abducted her and Tiffany to get revenge against the Sinclairs?”
Next to her, Tiffany wailed uncontrollably, her voice shrill and piercing. “Somebody help! I don’t want to die!”
With only a few minutes left on the timer, Lilibeth forced herself to stay calm and began working on the bomb’s wiring. However, Tiffany’s sobbing made it nearly impossible to
concentrate.
“Stop crying!” Lilibeth snapped. “If you don’t want to die, start figuring out how to defuse it.” But Tiffany only cried harder. “Why are you yelling at me? I don’t know how to do this! Cliff,
Choose?
where are o
I’m scared…”
The words had barely left her mouth when the warehouse doors burst open.
In an instant, Clifford came charging in.
