CHAPTER 7: False Accusation

Eleanor realized that Sebastian had just seen her with Alexander and misunderstood. She felt disappointed.

“Do not look at others with those filthy eyes,” she said.

“Are you telling me you have no interest in Alexander?” he shot back.

“I can say I am only friends with him. Can you say your relationship with Claudia is innocent?”

Sebastian felt uneasy.

“Whatever I do with Claudia does not change the fact that you are my wife. After all these years of marriage, you would not really leave me. Once you have finished making a scene, come home. There is no need to make a fool of yourself with an art exhibition.”

Sebastian added awkwardly, “I… Teddy misses you.”

Eleanor smiled.

Sebastian felt pleased. It seemed she still loved him. One word from him, and she returned to his side. All her talk of divorce was just a way to hold him back.

“You are disgusting, Sebastian,” Eleanor said. Then she stepped aside and let him leave.

Sebastian stood frozen for a moment, watching her back, clenching his fists in anger and shame.

At home, he rushed into the room and threw all of Eleanor’s remaining belongings into the trash.

Claudia came upstairs and saw this. She smiled faintly. “What happened?”

“I am throwing everything that belongs to Eleanor away. I do not want to see her or anything that belongs to her again,” Sebastian said.

Soon, the trash was full but only half the bin.

Looking at the pile, Sebastian remembered Eleanor had only taken a small suitcase when she left. He realized that after all these years, this was all she had. His anger rose at her words from earlier.

“Call Mary and have her return everything to Eleanor. Since she refuses to come back, she will never return,” he ordered.

Claudia was thrilled and ran to call Mary. When she returned, she saw Sebastian place a photo album in the pile.

She recognized it as their wedding photos.

Claudia frowned. What did Sebastian mean? Did he want Eleanor to see this and change her mind?

She clenched her fists and stayed out of the room.

After Mary left with the items, Claudia followed her and took them back. She looked at the wedding photos and felt a surge of jealousy.

An hour later, Claudia returned to the villa, holding the box and sobbing.

Sebastian was in the living room reviewing documents. He hurried over. “Claudia, what happened? Your face…”

Her left cheek was red and swollen, a clear handprint on it.

“I… I thought your issues with Eleanor started because of me, so I wanted to deliver her things and apologize. But I did not expect… she tore up your wedding photos, hit me, and said…”

Claudia buried her face in Sebastian’s chest, looking pitiful and upset.

“What else did she say?” he asked anxiously.

“She said she already has a new boyfriend and that we should not bother her anymore.”

“What?” Sebastian’s anger flared. “We are not divorced yet and she already has a new boyfriend? I need to go see her!”

“Sebastian, do not!” Claudia grabbed him.

Her clothes slipped slightly, exposing her full chest against him. Sebastian noticed she was not wearing a bra. Normally he would be tempted, but now he was only furious about Eleanor’s supposed new boyfriend.

He pushed Claudia away. “I have to go out.”

Claudia almost fell, staring at his hasty retreat.

In the suburban villa, Eleanor was painting in the garden. She was so absorbed that she did not notice a car stopping nearby.

Sebastian watched the villa from the car, smoking without pause. He did not see any man inside. Had someone left, or was Claudia lying to him?

He dialed Eleanor from a new number.

Eleanor picked up after thinking for a moment. “Hello?”

“It’s me,” he said.

Her voice turned cold. “What do you want?”

“Why did you hit Claudia?”

Eleanor was puzzled. “When did I hit her? Do you blame me for everything?”

“Not only did you hit her, but you also tore up our wedding photos and claimed… you have a new boyfriend?” Sebastian probed.

Eleanor laughed, realizing Claudia had staged everything.

“I do not take responsibility for what I did not do. By the way, ask Claudia to show me this new boyfriend, since even I do not know what he looks like. I want to meet him.”

She hung up.

Knowing Eleanor had no new boyfriend, Sebastian felt relieved. He put out his cigarette, drove away, and made a show of noise to catch her attention.

Hearing the sound, Eleanor looked up and recognized his license plate. She frowned, unsure what he intended.

In the evening, Eleanor bought paints for her work.

Walking along the street, someone handed her a rose. Then another, then dozens more, until she was surrounded.

The scene felt familiar.

She turned and saw Sebastian in a formal suit, holding many balloon strings and walking toward her.

The moment reminded her of his proposal seven years ago. Tears welled up in her eyes.

She had loved Sebastian deeply and shared countless nights of warmth and closeness.

Those memories surged back. By the time Sebastian reached her, Eleanor was in tears.

“What are you doing?” she choked.

Sebastian smiled and handed her the balloon strings. “Do you remember what you said when I proposed?”

She recalled being overwhelmed with emotion, holding him and crying, promising never to leave.

Her tears fell harder.

Sebastian wiped them away. “I thought you forgot and wanted a divorce. Calm down and come back. Theodore misses you.”

Eleanor was about to answer when her phone buzzed.

She looked down and saw a message from Claudia.

The photos stopped all her tears. Claudia wore revealing lace lingerie, covered in kiss marks, with Sebastian shirtless beside her.

The message read: “Eleanor, you have never surpassed me. Even the husband you loved most is now mine.”

Eleanor froze, all her emotion cut off.