No one truly shared anyone's pain. At best, they treated it as gossip to fill idle hours. One's misfortune was nothing more than fuel for someone else's curiosity. Claire fell quiet. She wrapped her arms tightly around Anastasia, her eyes full of pity. "Anna, my love, my heart aches for you..." After that car accident that had taken her father and two brothers, Anastasia had been left to shoulder the Abbott family all on her own. If they had still been alive, they would never have allowed their beloved little princess to be treated this way. "So, what are you going to do now?" Claire asked softly. "And your mother... Does she know about any of this?" "I'll focus on work, of course. I can't let one failed relationship ruin me. My father raised me better than that. His daughter isn't someone who lives her whole life for love." Anastasia gave a faint smile, grabbed a throw pillow, set it across her knees, and rested her cheek against it. "As for my mother..." Her gaze dropped. "She probably doesn't care much about me anyway. I won't bother her with this." At the mention of her mother, there was a flicker of unmistakable loss in Anastasia's eyes. Claire wanted to say something more, but she worried about upsetting her, so she let it go. The two friends talked late into the night, drifting from heartbreak to entertainment gossip, until eventually they fell asleep mid-conversation. Anastasia slept fitfully, her mind trapped in restless dreams. In them, she was curled up in the dark with nowhere to go, until Sebastian reached out his hand with a warm smile. "Anna, this will be your room from now on." The dream shifted. On her eighteenth birthday, dressed in a gown, she descended the spiral staircase in crystal heels. Sebastian, in a sharp suit, broke away from his friends to meet her at the bottom. "Anna, be my girlfriend. I'll treat you well for the rest of my life..." Their friends cheered, and Anastasia's cheeks burned red all the way to her ears. But then the scene changed again-that night. Sebastian stood protectively in front of another woman, his face cold as he glared at Anastasia, terrified she might hurt Juliana. Her eyes stung as she fought for breath. Even knowing it was only a dream, she still felt crushed, suffocated by the weight of it. Just as she sank into despair, another man's face appeared. 'Want to use me to get back at Sebastian? 'Or maybe I should join in. What do you think?' 2:01 pm D She sat up, her hand pressed to her racing heart, struggling to calm herself. When her gaze fell on the unfamiliar surroundings, she remembered she was at Claire's apartment. Early the next morning, Claire had already left for work. Anastasia was about to get out of bed when her phone rang. "Anna, where did you go? Why didn't you come home last night?" It was Sebastian. The moment she heard his voice, she hung up. Seconds later, he called again. This time, Anastasia didn't even bother to answer. She was about to block his number when a text message popped up first. 'Anna, don't make me worry. Are you at Claire's? I'm coming to find you.' It seemed she couldn't stay with her best friend for long. Otherwise, she'd only end up disrupting Claire's life. Anastasia quickly packed up and left the house. On her way, she passed by a real estate agency and walked in. "Hello, I'd like to sell a house." The billion-dollar villa gifted by the Kairos family had been listed online at half price. After all, it had been her betrothal gift-she hadn't spent a penny. Whatever price it sold for, she wouldn't lose. Turning it into cash was better than letting it sit there collecting dust. She had no intention of ever setting foot inside again. Sebastian and Juliana had already defiled it; just the thought of that place made her sick. She hadn't expected it, but less than two hours after the listing went up, her phone rang. The number was unfamiliar, yet when she answered, Juliana's voice came through. "You're really selling the villa the Kairos family gave you?" Anastasia frowned and was about to hang up when Juliana hurried on. "Don't be so hostile. I've slept there a few nights already, and honestly, the place is perfect. Are you really willing to let it go for half price? I'm very interested in buying." Anastasia could hear it clearly-this call was nothing but a way to taunt her. She let out a cold laugh. "What, planning to have Sebastian buy it for you?" Juliana didn't deny it. "And if I am?" "Then, you're only fit to scavenge what I've already thrown away." Anastasia's tone was ice. "You want it? Three billion. Not a penny less." Juliana was stunned. "What? But it's listed for 800 million! Anastasia, are you insane?! That villa isn't worth more than one billion at best! Do you take me for a fool?" "If I were selling to a normal person, it'd naturally be 800 thousand. But are you human? A perfectly good house, about to be tainted by animals-I'd say the neighbors deserve some compensation for the mental distress." 2/4 2:01 pm Juliana's voice rose with anger. "You-who are you calling an animal?!" Anastasia couldn't be bothered to listen any longer and hung up. She booked herself into a luxury hotel and stopped by the nearby mall to pick up some clothes. Her company had granted her half a month of wedding leave, with three days still remaining. But sitting around in a hotel was pointless. She decided to cut her leave short and return to work the next morning. After all, this so-called wedding leave had turned into nothing but a joke. Exhausted from the night before, she slept through half the afternoon, and when she finally stirred, her phone was buzzing with a call from Terrence. "Anna, is it true you're selling the house?" Anastasia paused before answering. "Mr. Kairos, I told you when I last went home-I don't want to be with Sebastian anymore." She had once changed how she addressed him, calling him "Dad." But now that she said "Mr. Kairos," Terrence was caught off guard. "You think you can just walk away? Married one day, divorced the next? Anna, you need me-you can't just walk away from me." The voice that came through next was Sebastian's. So that was it. Unable to reach her, he had used family to pressure her instead, thinking she wouldn't have the heart to say no. But she had already made up her mind. Terrence added, "Anna, come home for dinner tonight. Whatever misunderstanding there is between you and Sebastian, talk it through properly." Anastasia had no desire to speak with Sebastian, but she did need to go back once more. There were things at the Kairos Residence she couldn't leave behind-mementos left by her father and brothers. At 5 p.m. sharp, Anastasia returned to the Kairos Residence. The moment she stepped out of the car, Sebastian grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the back garden. "Even if we quarreled, you shouldn't sell the villa! That was my family's betrothal gift to you-it's supposed to be our home!" Sebastian had waited there all day. When he heard the door unlock at noon, he thought it was Anastasia coming back. Instead, it was a real estate agent, camera in hand, moving through the rooms to photograph the property, Sebastian turned grim on the spot. Sell the house-what was she thinking? If she really went through with it, where were they supposed to live? He had imagined a quiet life with her here, not dragging her back to the Kairos Residence under his parents' roof. All they'd done was have one argument, and she was already ready to put the place on the market. That was pushing it way too far. 3/4