Chapter 306

Now that he knew her muteness wasn't congenital, all he offered was to have another one, without a single trace of remorse.

Clifford was suddenly silent.

*Why?* she signed, her fingers moving with difficulty in the cold wind. *Why can you be so hot and cold with me? Why did you follow me off that cliff?*

*Why can you be so intimate with Yesenia one moment, and then so calmly tell me we can just have another child the next? Clifford, what am I to you?*

He remained silent, his deep eyes fixed on her. With the light behind him, his expression was impossible to read, while the same light illuminated her own wretched state for all to see. They stood in light and shadow, like people from two different worlds. Though only a step apart, it was a chasm she could never cross.

Latisha reached out and grabbed his arm. Tears streamed down her face as she forced the words from her lips, one by one. "Have..... have....."

Her breathing grew ragged. The more anxious she became, the harder it was to speak, her mouth refusing to cooperate. "Have... have you ever..." *loved me?*

She strained with all her might, but before she could get the last two words out, he cut her off.

"Don't say it."

His voice was cold, devoid of emotion.

And that, Latisha supposed, was her answer. Her fingers went limp, and her hand fell away from his arm. It had always been her, wishful thinking, unrequited love. How laughable that she was still naive enough to seek an answer from his lips.

He had never once said he loved her. She had been blinded. His defiance of Polly for her sake, his reckless leap from the cliff—she had mistaken these as proof of his love. They had allowed her slowly freezing heart to reignite, to fall once more into the abyss that was him.

But if she thought about it carefully, his defiance of Polly was just a rebellion against his mother's control. And when he jumped from the cliff, he already knew there was water below, that he wouldn't die. All this time, she had been searching for traces of his love within his carefully constructed traps. Like a person lost in the desert, digging in the sand for water, mistaking a few drops of dew for a hidden spring.

Her desperation had become the very tool he used to control her. He was too smart not to see how she felt about him. Nikita was right: a man could solve ninety percent of his problems by playing dumb. And he was playing durrin Astong ashe never said the words, he could walk away at any time, pretend he had never loved her at all.

At that moment, Latisha was truly tired. She didn't even want his love anymore. He

could give it to whomever he pleased. She looked away and turned to leave.

Clifford didn't follow. He just stood there, watching her back until she disappeared into the night.

Just then, Polly found him, grabbing his arm excitedly. "Clifford, you're back!" Clifford glanced at her.

"What are you going to do about Renata?" Polly asked. "You're not really going to let her spend her life in prison, are you?"

Reuben Vaughn held most of the evidence, and Wallace had no intention of helping. The only person who could save Renata now was Clifford.

"I'm leaving."

With that, Clifford pulled his arm free and strode away.

Polly chased after him, grabbing his arm again. "Clifford! What do you mean by that? You're not going to help her, are you? That's your own sistert Why have you become so cold-hearted? Look what you've done! You've turned this perfectly good family into a chaotic, broken mess! Do you even see me as your mother anymore? Do you care about this family at all? Are you not happy until you've driven us all to our graves?!"

Clifford stopped and turned to face Polly. His gaze was so frigid that even his

mother couldn't help but shiver.