Ficorpio
Chapter 1
On the day Adrian Cross took his company public, he kept it from Clara Bennett and proposed to his executive assistant, Vanessa Hale.
His partners tried to talk sense into him.
“Adrian, aren’t you afraid Clara will leave you if you do this?”
Adrian only shook his head, utterly sure of himself.
“Vanessa has suffered too much with me these past few years. Her health is ruined from all those business dinners and drinks. No one else will want her now. I have to take responsibility for her.”
Then, as if Clara were no more than an afterthought, he added, “As for Clara, she loves me more than anything. The only thing I can’t give her is marriage. What else could she possibly be dissatisfied with?”
Clara stood outside and listened to every word.
She did not scream. She did not break down.
She simply turned and left.
Because her parents had already found her a marriage prospect—one better than Adrian Cross in every possible way.
…
When Clara got home, she began packing.
She was folding clothes into the bottom of her suitcase when her phone rang. It was Mia Parker, her best friend.
“Clara! You were getting married and you didn’t even tell me? Do I mean nothing to you anymore?”
Clara’s hand stilled. “What are you talking about?”
She had never told Mia that her family was arranging a marriage prospect for her.
Before she could make sense of it, Mia’s excited voice rushed on.
“Don’t play innocent. Your Adrian just posted the marriage certificate photo on his social media feed.”
Clara opened Adrian’s profile almost by reflex.
There was nothing there but a black line under his name—visible for only the last three days.
As usual, Adrian was the kind of man who couldn’t even be bothered to post a holiday greeting, let alone an update about his personal life.
“You must have seen it wrong,” Clara said.
On the other end of the call, Mia immediately sent over a screenshot and kept talking.
“Girl, congratulations! I swear I’ve never seen a pink diamond ring that huge in my life. It nearly blinded me.”
“CEO Cross really went all out, didn’t he? Didn’t you used to talk about loving that ring all the time? Looks like your dream finally came true.”
The screenshot had no caption.
Just two marriage certificates and two hands clasped tightly together, both wearing rings.
Clara’s gaze locked onto one of those hands.
At the base of the thumb was a crescent-shaped scar.
She knew that mark.
Chapter 2
Years ago, when she had been helping Adrian secure investment for Farshore Technologies, she had drunk with potential investors until her stomach bled. The pain had been so unbearable that she had bitten down on his hand and left that crescent behind.
And now, on the day Adrian achieved everything he had fought for, he had proposed to another woman one moment and registered a marriage with her the next.
Then he had posted it online to celebrate—while blocking only Clara from seeing it.
“Clara? Are you listening to me…?”
Mia was still speaking, but Clara no longer wanted to hear any more.
She only said, “The person who married him wasn’t me. But I will be married soon too.”
Then she hung up.
A moment later, there was movement at the front door.
In the entryway, Adrian changed his shoes and spoke in his usual flat tone. “You’re home. Why didn’t you come to the company today? It was our IPO.”
Clara looked at him, the emotions she had been holding back surging despite herself.
“Did you really want me there today?”
Adrian paused, then walked in.
His eyes fell on the open suitcase she had been packing. Only then did his voice soften a little.
“Stop making a scene. I know I’ve been too busy with the IPO lately and haven’t spent enough time with you. That’s my fault. After today, I’ll have more time to be with you.”
As he spoke, he reached out to pull her into his arms.
Then Clara saw the lipstick mark on the collar at his neck.
A vivid rose-pink shade.
The exact color Vanessa Hale, his executive assistant, liked to wear.
Clara’s whole body went rigid.
She was just about to pull free when Adrian’s phone rang first.
He glanced down at the screen, and almost instantly, he released her.
“All right, put the suitcase away,” he said in a hurried attempt at explanation. “It’s a work call. I’ll take it in the study.”
With that, he strode toward the study.
Clara watched his tall, straight back and still couldn’t stop herself from calling after him.
“Adrian Cross…”
He turned around.
In that instant, countless questions swept through Clara’s mind.
But when she saw the urgency on his face as he waited to answer the call, her heart sank, inch by inch, until there was nothing left to hold on to.
Forcing down the sob caught in her throat, Clara said, “It’s nothing. I just realized I hadn’t congratulated you yet.”
Adrian stilled for a second, then managed a smile. “You mean congratulated us. What’s mine is yours.”
He went into the study. Before long, laughter and cheerful voices drifted out from behind the door.
Clara stood where she was and smiled silently.
A long while later, she zipped her suitcase shut, closed the door behind her, and left.
The night wind was cold. Clara had only thrown on a thin cardigan.
She stood alone on the quiet street, and the stubborn smile she had been holding together finally vanished.
Her phone chimed.
It was Mia.
Chapter 3
“Clara, what do you mean the person Adrian got a marriage certificate with wasn’t you? Then who was it?”
Clara stared at the screen. Her throat felt blocked. After a long pause, she typed only two lines.
“Vanessa Hale. His executive assistant.”
“Adrian and I broke up. I moved out. You may have to take me in.”
Back then, Clara had followed Adrian to Northbridge without hesitation.
Aside from Mia Parker, her college friend, she had no one in this city to lean on.
Clara took a deep breath and hailed a cab to Mia’s apartment.
The city’s nightscape slid past the window. In the blur of lights and rain, memories of everything she had endured with Adrian flickered through her mind.
Seven years and one hundred twenty-three days.
She had built the company with him, stayed up late writing business plans with him, gone with him from client to client. She had taken his dream and fought for it as if it were her own.
She had never imagined there could be any ending for them other than marriage.
But Vanessa had only been at the company for three years.
Three years had outweighed the seven Clara had given him. Vanessa had become the woman standing at his side.
The moment he reached the shore, the first blade he raised had been aimed at Clara.
Rain began pattering against the cab window, soft and steady, but every drop seemed to strike her heart until she could barely breathe.
After a long time, Clara slowly unlocked her phone and removed Adrian’s number from the top of her favorites.
Then she moved him to her blocked contacts list.
Seven years of love was not easy to let go of, but she would not cling to him.
A perfect man might be hard to find, but men were everywhere.
In this world, anyone could survive losing anyone.
Half an hour later, Clara arrived safely at Mia’s apartment.
The two of them drank and talked through most of the night.
Clara told Mia everything from beginning to end. With the help of alcohol, she finally poured out all the hurt she had been holding in.
After that, she couldn’t remember how she fell asleep.
When she woke again, it was almost noon the next day, and a brutal hangover throbbed through her skull.
Seeing that she was awake, Mia leaned close. “Clara, do you know who called me before you woke up?”
From Mia’s expression, Clara could already guess, but she still asked, “Who?”
Mia rolled her eyes. “Adrian Cross. He actually wanted me to persuade you for him. Said he knew he was wrong and wanted to beg for your forgiveness.”
“And the most ridiculous part? He said he wasn’t the one who posted that social media update. Someone else did it. Who would believe that garbage?”
Clara was quiet for a moment. Then she said faintly, “Don’t bother with him.”