Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Roxie is staying over tonight. You can sleep in the guest room."

Just as I finished cleaning up the mess on the floor, I heard Oliver's voice coming from the intercom on the coffee table. It was meant for the household staff.

I pressed my lips together. He was treating me like a maid.

If people outside knew that the young heir of the Harris family brought his lover home while his legitimate fiancée diligently cleaned the floors and washed the dishes, giving up her bedroom, I would be utterly humiliated.

I lowered my head and let out a mocking laugh. No one would ever know. I was just a powerless orphan, and our engagement was a private agreement, not accepted by the Harris family. I didn't even have the right to be photographed with him by the reporters.

Being in my position was the height of humiliation.

But I didn't expect I could stoop even lower.

I had just walked into the bedroom and lay down when Sylvie pushed open my door. She was wearing a sexy nightgown, holding a basket of dirty clothes, and tilted her head with a smile.

"Sorry, Verena, I don't know how to do laundry. Silk garments can't be machine washed, and Oliver said you keep the house cleaner than a maid. He told me to give these to you to wash."

I sat on the bed, staring at her expressionlessly.

She put down the basket and flicked her hair, exuding charm.

"Verena, it's important to know one's place. If you don't belong, don't force it. It makes everyone uncomfortable, don't you think?"

"If I were you, I'd leave tonight and never come back."

"At least I wouldn't be as pathetic as a doormat, right?"

She smiled sweetly and turned to leave.

I looked at the basket filled with sexy lingerie and intertwined men's and women's underwear. I couldn't stay any longer and walked out.

In the yard, there was a swimming pool, a place Oliver and I used to love. When we bought this villa, the pool was a major factor.

Back then, when Verena went abroad, we were more harmonious than ever.

We planned to go surfing in Shuehull next vacation, but I didn't know how to swim.

Oliver taught me how to swim here. From floating like a pumpkin to floating, standing, breathing, and kicking.

He taught me step by step, never thinking I was stupid, and never letting me slack off.

"Verena, teaching you to swim is to ensure your safety. I can't let you be in danger. You have to stay with me for a long, long time."

I lay on the lounge chair, staring at the starry sky in a daze.

The person who was once so gentle and concerned about me could now coldly take my life and give it to someone else.

People really are despicable and fickle creatures.

Even the eternal stars rise and fall, let alone insignificant humans.

I had been greedy, wanting to live and also wanting a love that never changed.

"I thought you had some dignity and left. Didn't expect you to be hiding here."

Sylvie walked over, her face no longer showing that fake gentle innocence. The malice and mockery on her face seemed particularly genuine.

"Verena, I made it so clear, yet you're still so shameless?"

"What will it take for you to leave Oliver? Do you want money? I heard your parents are dead, and you relied on student loans for college. You must be desperate for money, right?"

"How much do you want? A hundred thousand?"

She crossed her arms and looked down at me, just like Oliver did.

I shook my head. "I'm not leaving him."

Though it was humiliating, who would choose death if they could live?

Sylvie's lips tightened. She must have been tired of pretending all day and didn't expect that even such humiliation couldn't drive me away. She lost her patience.

"Verena, I gave you a chance."

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me up. "Tell me, if we both fell into the water, who would Oliver save?"

I frowned. "This pool is only five feet deep. How stupid would I have to be to think I could drown you here?"

A smug smile curled her lips. "I'm not stupid."

With that, she suddenly jumped into the pool, the splash echoing loudly in the silent night.

She gave me a sinister smile and then slammed her head against the pool's edge, instantly causing a bloody wound.

I stared blankly as the blood spread in the pool, turning the clear water a dark red.

For some reason, I felt that some things could never go back to the way they were.