"Reasons?!"
Hearing these words, Serena immediately furrowed her brows.
Her mind instinctively went to Clint's father's death, which Poppy had mentioned several times before, and she felt a surge of resistance.
Shaking her head, she said, "You should just swallow your reasons and keep them to yourself! If you had real reasons, you had countless opportunities to tell me when we were still married, but you didn't! You never once sat down and talked to me calmly."
Serena looked at him, her expression neither sad nor happy. "In all those years of marriage, I can't even remember a time when we just relaxed and chatted like ordinary couples. Soon after the wedding, you seemed like a different person, treating me even colder than you treated your servants. I loved you, so I silently endured it. Every time you lost your temper at me, I reflected on myself, trying to find the reason in myself. But later, I realized, no matter how understanding I was, you remained indifferent, and your attitude towards me became even colder."
"In the end, what completely broke me was when you brought Poppy back home! How you behaved with her outside, I could pretend I didn't know, after all, it was just hearsay, I never saw it with my own eyes."
Clint lowered his head, his face shadowed, his expression unreadable.
But Serena seemed to feel his shoulders tremble slightly.
The room fell into an unprecedented silence, and after a moment, his pained voice broke the stillness. "Serena, I'm sorry! I... I know I've done many things to hurt you. I... used to think that by distancing myself from you and treating you badly, I could close off my heart and control my feelings for you. I thought that by divorcing you, I could completely get rid of you, never again being influenced by you. But, it turns out I was wrong! Every second after you left me, I've been tormented! Only now do I realize, I... I truly love you. I... can't live without you!"
"Ha!" Serena sneered coldly, staring at the face she once loved so deeply.
It had been love at first sight back then. But now, when she looked at him, her heart was calm-untouched, unshaken.
The greatest sorrow is when the heart dies. The true opposite of love isn't hate-it's indifference. And that's exactly what she felt for him now. No anger. No pain. Just silence.
The Art of Revenge was never about rage-it was about letting go. She didn't need to destroy them. Her joy was the masterpiece. And they would suffer, helplessly, watching her shine.
Taking a steady breath, Serena looked him in the eye and said,
"Clint, we're already divorced. Do you really think I'll believe anything you say now?"
"Serena, it's the truth!" he pleaded. "Every word I said came from the heart!"
"Enough!" Serena raised her hand to stop him. "It doesn't matter whether it's true or not! I don't care, and I don't want to waste time figuring it out! The only thing is, the way you are now, you're honestly beneath my contempt!"
Clint lowered his head even more, his entire face showing a defeated expression. He laughed bitterly. "Contempt... not just you, I can't even stand myself! If I could have endured it, I would have never come to find you today!"
Taking advantage of his relaxed vigilance, Serena quickly stepped back and broke free from his hold.
Coldly looking at him, she asked indifferently, "I'm curious, when you cheated with Poppy back then, did you say similar things to her too?"
The man shook his head with a bitter laugh. "Cheat? If I'd actually cheated, maybe I'd feel less guilty than I do now."
"At this point, I don't understand why you're still pretending!" Serena snapped. "You and Poppy..." She paused, biting her lip, trying to steady herself. "What more is there to explain?"
"It's not what you think!" Clint's voice cracked. "Yes, I slept with her-but it was a mistake. It happened before we got married. I was drunk. I never meant for it to mean anything."
Serena stared at him, stunned. So he and Poppy had already crossed the line long before. Her voice dropped, quiet but sharp. "Clint... whether it happened before the wedding or not, the fact that you kept her around all this time-that's enough to kill whatever love I had left for you. But honestly? It's not even my problem anymore. Just leave."
"It's not what you think!" Clint insisted. "I... I never had that kind of relationship with her! I chose not to explain before-"
"You chose not to explain?!" Serena's voice rose, her composure finally snapping. A surge of anger burned through her. "How much did you hate me to keep quiet on purpose? If you never loved me, why did you even come into my life? You let me fall for you, then shattered everything without a second thought. Don't you think that's cruel?"
"I..." Clint clenched his hands tightly at his sides, standing there defeated, his figure looking as lonely as a leaf blown by the wind.
"Enough, I've said everything I needed to say. From now on, don't come looking for me again! When we signed the divorce agreement, you personally said that once the agreement was signed, we'd have no further connections!"
With those words, Serena stepped back, opening the door and motioning for him to leave.
Clint finally raised his head, and his eyes seemed to lose all light. "Serena, really... can't we... can't we...?"
"Sorry!" Serena turned her eyes away. "I'm a bit tired, I want to rest!"
His lips pressed tight, his handsome face taut with despair, Clint struggled for a moment, but finally dragged his heavy feet and walked out the door.
As he stepped out, Serena slammed the heavy steel door shut with a force that echoed like thunder in his heart.
Inside, Serena leaned weakly against the door, clutching her chest, breathing heavily.
The calm and decisiveness she had shown during the confrontation with Clint seemed to have vanished with his departure.
Her mind replayed every scene with him-how they had sweetly met, her patience after marriage, his indifference, his double standards for her and Poppy... Each event felt like a blade carving itself into her mind, unerasable.
He was the first man she had ever loved in her past life, and even though it was the wrong love, it was still a part of her life.
If he hadn't come and said those words to try and win her back, maybe she would have continued to hate him, resent him, or even forget him.
But he came, and said the things she once longed to hear, but now didn't want to hear.
His words were like sharp knives, repeatedly slashing at the wall she had painstakingly built around her heart.
Slowly, she slid down to the floor, feeling like a hole had been torn in her chest, making it harder to breathe.
At that moment, she felt like a small beast about to drown, desperately hoping someone would reach out and pull her from the mire.
"Beep..." The ringtone of her phone sounded like a heavenly melody in her ears.
Serena quickly crawled over to her handbag, which had fallen to the floor during her confrontation with Clint.
Taking out her phone, she saw the name "Xavier" on the screen, and tears suddenly fell uncontrollably.
***