My Future Self Begged Me to Walk Away Chapter 10

His face turned completely white.

“I didn’t mean it like that…”

“I don’t care what you meant.” I cut him off smoothly. “This is the last time I’ll say it. If you appear in my line of sight tomorrow, I won’t hesitate to contact the media in Port City to have a detailed chat about the Vanderbilt CEO’s infertility.”

Every final trace of color drained from Ulysses Vanderbilt’s face. He had likely never imagined that Claire Sterling, the woman who had once loved him so desperately she lost her own identity, would one day pierce his absolute weakest spot so calmly, delivering the most ruthless blow of all.

“Do you… hate me that much?”

“Hate?” I pondered the word for a moment before shaking my head. “No, I don’t hate you anymore.”

“Hate consumes far too much emotion. Ulysses, right now, I feel absolutely nothing toward you.”

The evening breeze swept through the historic streets, rustling the fallen leaves on the pavement. He stood frozen in his tracks, not moving a single inch. He stayed there until the sky turned pitch black and the streetlights began to flicker on one by one. Only then did he give an incredibly slight, microscopic nod.

“Fine,” he whispered. “I’ll leave.”

The woman floated over to my side, watching the direction where Ulysses’ car had vanished. She let out a long, sweeping sigh of relief, as if a thousand-pound weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders.

After that day, Ulysses genuinely disappeared from my life.

I continued my daily routine—reading my books, strolling along the riverbank, and molding my pottery clay. Summer arrived in South City, bringing a thick, humid heat, and egrets frequently glided across the wide river surface. I

gradually adapted to this slow, peaceful rhythm that belonged solely to me.

That was until a month later, when my phone chimed with a bank deposit notification.

Fifty million dollars.

The sender was Ulysses Vanderbilt. The attached memo line contained only seven words: [Wasted your youth, drowning in endless regret.]

I stared at the long string of zeros on the screen for a very long time. Then, opening my shopping app, I immediately placed an order for a premium set of professional pottery tools I had eyed for months but hesitated to buy. Next, I booked a long-distance vacation to a destination I had always wanted to visit.

Payment authorized, reservation confirmed. The entire process was executed in one smooth motion.

My heart didn’t experience a single turbulent wave; in fact, it felt entirely natural. This was money I rightfully deserved. Call it compensation for wasted youth, or spiritual damages—it didn’t matter.

I set my phone down, but the moment I looked up, I froze.

The woman who had been quietly staying by my side all this time was fading. Like a bleached, vintage photograph, her edges were starting to blur, turning completely translucent.

“You…” Panic flared inside me. I reached out to grab her, but my fingers simply sliced straight through her empty shadow. “What’s happening?”

The woman looked down at her own evaporating hands. There wasn’t a trace of terror on her face; instead, a serene, profoundly relieved smile graced her lips.

“Claire, you changed everything,” she whispered softly. “You didn’t get trapped in the shadow of Ulysses and Melody like the old me did, getting tortured by vile rumors for decades only to die completely isolated in a hospital bed.”

“Because of that, the version of Claire Sterling who was trapped in that living nightmare for twenty years is finally ceasing to exist.”