Vanessa''s eyes widened.


    The mention of Xavier sent a jolt of panic through her, as if all her secrets and schemes had beenid bare for Henry to see.


    "Henry, what are you talking about? Xavier and I have only ever been friends!"


    "Even now, you still think I deserve to be yed like a fool, wrapped around your little finger?"


    An icy chill ran through Vanessa. What did Henry know? How could he have suddenly seen through everything?


    "No, that''s not it. Henry, let me exin. My rtionship withn is purely transactional, and Xavier and I are just friends. But you know my feelings for you... they''re real. I''ve never denied that I like you." Vanessa rushed forward, trying to grab Henry''s arm to pour out her feelings for him.


    But Henry recoiled in disgust. "Don''t touch me." He stepped back, putting distance between them, his eyes brimming with loathing. "Vanessa, from this moment on, I have no desire to be liked by you. Don''t ever appear in front of me again. Otherwise, don''t me me for humiliating you, regardless of our past."


    Henry suppressed his rising fury. He would ept the seven years of foolishness and being yed for a fool. All he wanted now was topletely sever all ties with Vanessa.


    "Henry!" Vanessa cried out, tears instantly flooding her eyes. This time, she wasn''t acting; she truly felt the despair and indignation of being abandoned by Henry. "You can''t do this to me, not after all these years we''ve had together—"


    "Together?" Henry scoffed as if he had heard the world''s biggest joke. "Was there ever an ''us''? It was nothing more than my one-sided devotion and your


    shameless exploitation. Now, the game is over. I can let the past go, but you need to stop pestering me."


    Henry turned his back, determined to draw a clear line with Vanessa once and for all.


    Vanessa stared at Henry''s cold, unforgiving back. She had never imagined a day like this woulde, a day when even the man who loved her most would treat her this way.


    Suddenly, Vanessa''s purse dropped


    to the floor, She rushed forward and wrapped her arms tightly around Henry''s waist, tears streaming down her face. "I''m sorry, Henry, I''m so sorry But really, really can''t live.


    without you!"


    Henry''s body tensed. He spun


    around, pried her hands off him, and pushed her away. Vanessa stumbled back a few steps, lost her footing, and copsed weakly onto the floor. She didn''t get up immediately instead curling into a ball her shoulders trembling with


    suppressed sobs.


    After a few moments of crying, she lifted her tear-streaked face, deliberately showcasing her most vulnerable and helpless side. In the past, this look had always been enough to soften Henry''s heart.


    "Henry, I know I was wrong. It''s my fault, I was too greedy-" She bit her lip and continued to sob. "But... but you''re all I have left. If you leave me too, I really don''t know what I''ll do "


    Henry narrowed his eyes, watching her resort to her usual tactic of ying the victim. In the past, it would have immediately triggered his protective instincts and pity.


    Now, however, seeing through her true nature, he only found her pretense utterly fake.


    What welled up in Henry''s heart was not sympathy, but an even stronger sense of revulsion and impatience.


    "Vanessa, save your tears," Henry said, his voice hard, without a trace of emotion. "That trick of yours doesn''t work on me anymore."