The Bar Encounter

Clara stared down at the tear-streaked face of her half-sister, listening to the echoing sobs in the police station corridor. Disgust roiled in her stomach at the theatrical, helpless facade. Lila’s grip on her sleeve felt like crawling insects, her manicured nails digging into the fabric in a manufactured display of victimhood.

"Don't touch me," Clara commanded, her voice dripping with ice.

She forcefully shrugged her arm to break the hold. She did not use much strength, merely enough to dislodge the clinging fingers, but Lila took immediate advantage of the moment. Lila let out a sharp gasp and deliberately stumbled backward. Her arms flailed through the air. She threw herself to the hard tile floor, her knees hitting the ground with a loud thud, and let out a piercing, fragile scream.

"Lila!"

Elias shot forward like an arrow. He dropped to his knees, sliding across the floor, and wrapped his arms protectively around the crying woman. He hoisted her up against his chest, shielding her. Then, he tilted his head, fixing his deeply disappointed, furious eyes onto Clara.

"Clara! What are you doing?" Elias growled aggressively. "I saw that push with my own eyes!"

"I didn't..." Clara parted her lips, profound shock freezing her facial muscles as she subconsciously tried to explain the truth. The blatant manipulation unfolding right in front of her was staggering.

Before the words could leave Clara's mouth, Lila buried her pale face into Elias’s shirt. "Elias, please don't blame Clara. It is my fault to begin with that I have fallen in love with you. Now she just pushed me, but how could I say she is wrong? Even if she wants to scold me, slap me, or kick me, I deserve it all!"

Clara’s pupils dilated. She stared at the pair, unable to process the sheer audacity of the lie.

Elias tightened his embrace around Lila, glaring up at Clara. "I didn't think that you would be like this. This is my fault, so you should vent your anger at me! Why did you even hurt Lila? I always thought you just had a cold heart, but you were still kind. Only today do I realize that you are ruthless and vengeful. After all these years, I finally see who you really are!"

Clara stood perfectly still. The explanation choked in her throat like a jagged thorn.

"You think that... I pushed her?" she asked.

"Do you think I can be wrong about what I saw?" he spat.

A biting chill seized Clara's heart. She looked down at Lila and caught a brief, unmistakable hint of malice and pride flashing across her half-sister's teary eyes. The man she once planned a future with was glaring at her as if she were a monster. The agony threatened to suffocate her, but she swiftly masked the pain. An ironic, impenetrable sneer formed on her lips.

"Elias Thorne," Clara retorted, staring down at the man she once loved. "Only today do I realize how incredibly stupid you are."

"What did you say?" he snapped.

She refused to stoop to the level of defending herself against such a pathetic frame-up. She decisively threw away their six-year relationship without a shred of hesitation.

"It is nothing. Aren't you two in love? Alright. I will give you my blessings," Clara mocked coldly. "Just remember, no one would willingly eat from a bowl that has been filled with sh*t, no matter how hard it has been washed."

Elias’s expression darkened. He clearly did not expect the cool, well-mannered Clara to use such vulgar words. "Clara! Don't push your luck!"

Clara ignored his outrage. She pulled a folded tissue from her pocket. Slowly and deliberately, she wiped the exact spot on her hand where Lila had touched her. Her eyes held absolute disdain.

"I don't have time to waste here with you," Clara stated. She dropped the crumpled tissue onto the floor near their feet. "From now on, please just take this canary beside you and get out of my sight. I wish you both all the best."

She let out a harsh laugh. "A b*tch and a dog. You are truly a perfect match after all."

She turned her back on them, refusing to give them another chance to speak.

"What did you say? Stop right there!" Elias shouted, scrambling to stand.

"Elias..." A hand suddenly grabbed his arm.

Clara paused and glanced over her shoulder. Lila was clutching her stomach, her manufactured tears replaced by genuine panic. She looked deathly pale.

"Elias, my stomach hurts," Lila whimpered.

"Lila, what is wrong?" his anger vanished, replaced by confusion.

"I don't know..."

A crimson stream of blood trailed ominously down Lila's bare leg, dripping onto the pristine floor tiles.

Elias froze, his eyes widening in terror. Panic-stricken and frantic, he scooped the bleeding Lila into his arms. "Don't be afraid, I will take you to the hospital right away!"

He rushed frantically out of the station doors, his footsteps fading into the night, leaving Clara alone in the quiet aftermath.

Clara walked out to her car and watched Elias's vehicle speed away. A sarcastic smile touched her lips. She did not drive home. The thought of returning to her quiet, empty apartment felt suffocating. Instead, she navigated through the night traffic until she reached the Rosewood Hotel.

The first floor of the hotel housed a massive bar. The dimly lit hall was chaotic, strewn with patrons spending money and killing time. Neon lights flickered over the crowded dance floor, casting long, distorted shadows.

Clara found a vacant stool at the corner of the counter. She ordered a glass of hard liquor. When the bartender slid it across the wet counter, she downed it in one gulp. The burn seared her throat, but she did not stop. She ordered glass after glass. She was not someone who usually drowned her sorrows in alcohol, but right now, she desperately needed to numb the devastation tearing through her chest.

She had maintained her indifferent, gracious front at the station, but inside, she was crumbling. Six years of a relationship, lost to a single lie. She had been determined to grow old with Elias. Meanwhile, he was rolling in the sheets with her half-sister.

Her phone vibrated aggressively against the sticky surface of the counter.

Clara blinked her hazy eyes, staring at the flashing screen. The caller ID displayed Lila’s name.

She answered the call and pressed the device to her ear. "Who is this?"

"Clara, you lost again!" Lila’s voice rang out.

Clara curled her lips in mockery. "Did you call me just to tell me how proud you are?"

A laugh of pure, malicious satisfaction echoed through the speaker. Lila was gloating from her hospital bed. "Clara, did you know that I am pregnant?"

The words struck Clara's chest, but her expression turned ice-cold. She stared at the dancing crowd in the distance. "Why are you telling me that? I am not the one who f*cked you."

"It was Elias," Lila boasted. "He just told me that he will marry me immediately. You have been with him for six years, but he has never touched you. Sure, you can say he only has platonic love for you. But to put it bluntly, it is simply because you did not interest him sexually. Just the sight of you makes him nauseous."

Clara’s free hand clenched into a tight fist on the counter.

"You know what?" Lila continued. "As long as we are together, we do it every day. He said he never felt so relaxed and happy with anyone as he was with me. He told me you are as cold as a corpse. Not interesting at all."

Lila paused to let the cruelty sink in. "Other women know how to be gentle and sensible to serve men. But if you peel off your skin and enter the crowd, you would just be a man! What is the difference between being with you and being gay?"

The deep betrayal tore at Clara's heart. The pain was excruciating, as if her chest was being pulled apart piece by piece. The pride she carried was trampled into dust by the man who once claimed to cherish her boundaries.

She took a deep breath, forcing her vocal cords to remain steady. She scoffed into the receiver.

"Lila Vance, here I thought you were quite something. Is that all you wanted to say?"

"Sister, you can tell me if you are angry. I won't laugh at you," Lila mocked.

"Why would I be angry?" Clara asked, her voice dropping to a chilling register. "After all, you are merely treating the garbage I threw away as a precious treasure."

She delivered a crushing metaphor, determined to ruin Lila's triumph. "A cloth used to wipe one's *ss will always smell foul, regardless of how much you wash it. Tell me, won't you feel disgusted when you wipe your face with it?"

"You!" Lila gasped in outrage.

"Anyway, I don't have time to talk nonsense with you," Clara warned. "I am warning you now. Don't try to provoke me again. You cannot afford the consequences if you piss me off."

She abruptly hung up the call.

She dropped the phone back into her bag. Despite her strong front, hot tears stung the corners of her eyes. It was not that she could not feel the pain. Lila’s words undoubtedly pierced her soul.

The cruel irony of Elias's former promises echoed in her mind. When he was wooing her, he constantly claimed he adored her clean, purely platonic nature. He said he liked her coldness and indifference, comparing her to a snowy mountain flower that could only be viewed from afar and not tainted. He claimed it made him want to protect her. He preached that the best love should be detached from the flesh.

Now, those sweet promises felt like a suffocating, deeply humiliating joke. He was praising her purity to her face while finding his physical release in her sister’s bed, resulting in a child.

Her quiet moment of grief was shattered when a hand tapped her shoulder.

"Yo! Aren't you the eldest daughter of the Vance family?" a loud, mocking voice rang out over the thumping bass of the bar.

Clara turned around on her stool.

Standing behind her was Bianca Thorne, Elias’s hostile sister. Bianca was flanked by a mean-spirited group of provocatively dressed girls. They wore tight mini dresses and heavy makeup, their expressions twisted into identical sneers.

Ever since Clara was a child, Bianca had loved to do everything against her, never failing to pick a fight.

"Why are you here alone at this late hour?" Bianca sneered, leaning in close. "Are you making deliveries again?"

Clara was exhausted. Her head throbbed from the liquor, and she was in no mood for a fight with these brats. She reached into her bag, pulled out several cash bills, and threw them down on the counter to cover her drinks. She grabbed her bag and attempted to leave.

However, Bianca aggressively stepped up. She physically blocked Clara’s path, thrusting her shoulder forward to trap Clara against the bar.

"Why are you leaving?" Bianca demanded, making a sudden grab for Clara's bag. "Come on, show me. Is it condoms or lube today?"

Clara jerked her bag away and took a step back. She glared fiercely at the younger woman.

"Bianca Thorne," Clara warned, her eyes turning cold. "Don't go overboard."

Bianca threw her head back and laughed maliciously, acting as if she had heard a great joke. "Overboard? Clara Vance! Do you think you are still my brother’s girlfriend? You are nothing now! How can you still put on such airs?"

Clara’s jaw tightened. She remained expressionless, refusing to give them the reaction they craved.

Bianca waved her hand toward her entourage. "You! Go grab her bag!"

One of Bianca's friends stepped forward with a sneer, loudly pointing out Clara's side job to the surrounding patrons.

"What is the point of just looking at her bag?" the friend asked maliciously. "Doesn't she sell adult products? It is already so late, yet she is still out making deliveries. I wonder if she is delivering an item or a person."

The group of girls erupted into vicious giggles, boxing Clara in further.

"That is true," another friend chimed in, eyeing Clara up and down. "But look at how much of a dead fish she is. No one would want her anyway. Why don't we just strip her down right here and check if we can find any 'evidence' on her body? Wouldn't it help clear your brother’s name?"

The danger in the air shifted instantly. The girls began to close the circle, their stilettos clicking against the floorboards as they trapped Clara against the counter.

Bianca's eyes brightened with cruel, unrestrained delight at the vicious idea. A twisted smile stretched across her face as she looked at her vulnerable former future sister-in-law.

"Oh!" Bianca agreed eagerly, stepping closer to Clara. "Let's do that!"