Chapter 100: Scars of the Past

Clifford's steps halted. He turned his head slowly, not even bothering to face her fully, giving her a sidelong glance.

"If my wife hit you, you must have brought it on yourself."

Aurora's eyes went wide. "What did you just say?!"

"I said you deserved it."

He didn't waste another breath, just tightened his grip on my hand and moved to walk past her.

Aurora blocked his path, each word bitten out as if she wanted to tear him apart. "Clifford, a man as filthy as you doesn't get to talk to me like that. Maybe I should remind your wife what you did back in school… how you raped a girl."

Her words sliced through the air like a blade.

I felt the hand holding mine clamp down hard.

Aurora saw the rage flash in him and turned her smirk on me. "You didn't know, did you? Your husband forced himself on a girl, and it was his father's money that buried the story. A rapist… and you married him. I can't imagine what you see in—"

She never finished.

Clifford moved like a predator unleashed, a blur of speed and shadow. Aurora's scream ripped through the room.

His hand was locked around her throat, lifting her clean off the floor.

I had never seen him like this—his eyes weren't just cold or angry, they burned with murderous fury, veins standing out at his temples, his handsome face twisted into something savage.

Aurora's skin flushed dark with the lack of air, her hands clawing at his arm, legs kicking helplessly, eyes rolling back as a strangled rasp tore from her throat.

"Clifford! Stop!" My pulse was out of control. I grabbed his arm, pressing myself into him. "Don't let her stain your hands. She's not worth it!"

Goli burst in at the sound, his face draining of color. "Clifford, let her go!"

Between Goli's pull and mine, his grip loosened—barely.

Aurora dropped like a rag doll, hacking and gagging, clutching her neck.

I dragged Clifford back two steps. His chest heaved, those bloodshot eyes still locked on her, the urge to kill still burning in them, the kind that could lunge again without warning.

"Come on, Clifford. We're going home."

I wrapped my arm around his, every muscle straining to steer him toward the door.

Finally his gaze shifted down to me.

Reason bled back into him. He turned his hand over to grasp mine, silent.

We walked straight out of the station.

Emma was right behind us.

I caught the edge in Clifford's posture and turned to her. "Emma, go on ahead. Be careful."

She glanced at him, nodded. "Okay."

The ride back was suffocating.

Clifford didn't speak. He stared out the window, the sunlight carving his profile in stone, jaw locked tight.

I didn't know the details, but Aurora's words had cut straight into something deep.

I laid my hand over his, gently stroking, trying to ease him.

He didn't answer, only squeezed harder.

His fingers were still ice-cold, the tremor in them unbroken.

When the car rolled into the estate, he stepped out fast.

I followed him all the way to our room.

He pulled me into him suddenly, crushing me against his chest.

"Honey… what's wrong?" My arms locked around him.

His face buried in the curve of my neck, his breath hot and heavy.

After a long moment, his voice came, low and ragged, almost breaking. "Violet… it wasn't like that… it wasn't me… they set me up…"

"I know." I slapped my hand firmly against his back. "I believe you."

It took a long time for him to calm.

He never spoke of it again, and I didn't ask. I wouldn't rip open a wound like that.

By morning, Clifford seemed himself again. He kissed my forehead, said he had business at headquarters, and left early.

After he was gone, I went to find Clinton.

"Clinton, do you know about the rumor Clifford raped someone?"

Clinton shook his head. "I don't know the details. I wasn't with the boss back then. I only heard about it later."

"It was when he was young, before he became head. Because of his status, he was treated like dirt in both family and school. Back then, he, Goli, and Aurora were all at the same school."

"Aurora was the golden girl—rich family, spoiled to the bone. She bullied students constantly. One of them was a girl named Leah. Aurora made her life hell."

"One day, the boss walked in on Aurora and her clique locking Leah in an abandoned sports equipment room. He forced the door open."

"What happened next… there are a lot of versions. But the next day, Leah and her family went to the police, accusing the boss of rape. Aurora and her friends claimed they saw it."

My breath caught, my chest tightening like a fist.

Clinton's voice dropped, thick with anger. "It blew up fast. Mr. Cameron Gutierrez wanted it gone, so he used money and influence to make it disappear. But to most people, that looked like guilt."

My nails dug into my palm, pain blooming beneath my ribs.

I could picture it—Clifford, young and already carrying the weight of prejudice, then being smeared with something this vile. The despair, the rage… it made sense why he had lost control yesterday.

"What happened to Leah?"

"She took the money. Her whole family left the city overnight. No one's seen her since."

Just then, the butler approached. "Ma'am, there's a woman at the door insisting on seeing Mr. Clifford Gutierrez. She says… her name is Leah."