Traces in Snow When Strangers Meet Again

Raymond Sanchez, unless you make Bella Vance suffer so much she'd rather be dead, there is no future for us.

Elisa Long left those words behind like a curse before fleeing the country.

And Iblind, trusting fool that I wasbecame the weapon Raymond used to win back his beauty's heart.

He drew me in. Made me fall desperately, hopelessly in love. Then he dismantled me, piece by piece. Again and again, he orchestrated my ruin, painting me as a slut the world could spit on, driving me to the edge of madness until I was nothing more than a hollow shell drowning in clinical depression.

When I attempted suicide for the hundredth time, he finally got what he'd been waiting for: the return of the woman he actually loved.

Upon hearing news of my pathetic death, he offered only a smile to the media cameras. "I thank my ex-wife. Her sacrifice fulfilled our love."

I had smiled bitterly then, closing my eyes, waiting for my consciousness to scatter into nothing.

But a cold voice cut through the darkness.

"Bella Vance, are you truly willing to die like this?"

*I am not.*

Why do those who trample on sincere hearts get their happy ending while those who love with purity are condemned to die?

My eyes snapped open.

White light flooded my vision, forcing my hand up to shield my face. Through the gaps between my fingersfamiliar decor. The master bedroom.

My head turned toward the mirror. Twenty-five years old. The makeup was flawless, an exquisite mask that couldn't quite hide the exhaustion carved into my features.

I had been reborn.

Today was the day. Raymond was going to take me to a business banquet. He would force me to drink drugged wine, arrange for me to be found in a hotel room with a stranger, and expose my "adultery" to the world.

Steady, rhythmic footsteps echoed from the hallway.

The door swung open. Raymond entered, tall and imposing, bending to press a kiss to the crown of my head.

"Bella, are you ready?"

That gazeso gentle it could drown a person. In my past life, I had willingly let those waters consume me, oblivious to the fact that I was swimming toward my own damnation.

"Raymond."

"Hm?" One brow arched. His fingers toyed idly with a strand of my hair.

"Let's get a divorce."

The smile on his face froze. The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.

"What did you say?"

"I said, I want a divorce."

He stared at me for a long moment, searching my face. Then a low chuckle escaped him.

"Bella, is this some kind of joke? Everyone in River City knows I value you more than my own life. If anyone were to divorce, surely it wouldn't be us?"

A pink diamond necklace emerged from his pocket. He moved to fasten it around my neck himself.

His cologneonce my favorite scent in the worldnow sent bile surging up my throat.

"Raymond, I don't want a marriage that's perfect on the surface but rotten at the core."

"Bella, are you being sensitive again? I've told you, I don't care about those rumors. Why can't you just let it go?"

After the first time he'd plotted against meleaving me to lose my virginity to a strangerI had felt too filthy to let him touch me. The guilt had been suffocating.

He'd played the understanding husband beautifully, agreeing to abstain from intimacy.

Today, I wanted to test how far his acting could stretch.

"If you really love me, then prove it."

I held his gaze. Leaned in.

As my lips drew closer, his body betrayed him. He flinchedan instinctive, uncontrollable recoil.

I shoved him away and scoffed.

"See that, Raymond? That is your 'love.'"

"I want a divorce!"

Caught off guard, he stumbled backward. The undisguised contempt in my eyes cracked his mask wide open, and rage flooded in to fill the fractures.

"Bella Vance, do you know what you're saying? Divorce? Without me, what are you? You're the daughter of a notorious homewrecker, a bastard your own biological father won't acknowledge! You're nothing but"

There it was.

His truth.

It only took a little provocation for the venom to spill out.

In my previous life, I had been blind, my heart clouded by foolish devotion.

"You're right. I am nothing."

"So let's part ways. We can both go find our own happiness."

I grabbed the suitcase I'd already packed, turned on my heel, and walked toward the door.

Raymond's expression darkened instantly.

He clearly hadn't expected that Ithe woman who had always been as docile as a lambwould suddenly grow claws.

His hand shot out, catching my wrist before I could reach the threshold. His grip was a vice, squeezing until my bones screamed.

"Bella, what exactly is this tantrum about?" Low. Dangerous. A warning threaded through every syllable. "I don't care what kind of madness has possessed you today. Change your clothes. You're coming to the banquet."

"Don't make me say it a second time."

He didn't wait for an answer. He practically shoved me into the evening gown and dragged me to the car.

I stared at his icy profile as he drove. "I hope you won't regret this," I murmured.

He didn't hear me. His attention was fixed on his phone, fingers flying across the screenlikely reporting the upcoming "surprise" to Elisa Long.

The business banquet was a gathering of wolves. Celebrities and tycoons packed the hall; the air hung thick with perfume and money.

The moment Raymond wrapped a possessive arm around my waist and led me inside, the malice hit like a physical wave.

The whispers weren't even trying to be subtle.

"As expected of a homewrecker's daughter. I can't believe she manipulated Mr. Sanchez into bringing her here."

"What kind of spell did she cast on him? With so many pure, high-born ladies available, he insists on parading around with that damaged goods."

"Who knows? Maybe she's just incredible in bed."

Raymond shot a glare at the gossiping circle. "Do you all have nothing better to do?"

He leaned down, his breath warm against my ear, playing the protective husband to perfection. "Bella, ignore them. No matter what they say, it doesn't change the fact that I love you."

"Is that so?"

I hooked my arms around his neck, rose onto my tiptoes, and pressed my lips to his.

The crowd gasped. But amidst the spectacle, only I caught the flash of panic and disgust in his eyes.

His gaze darted instinctively toward a corner of the room.

I didn't need to look to know who was standing there.

Elisa Long.

Fighting back my own nausea, I deepened the kiss, pressing my body flush against his.

Raymond wanted to shove me awayevery muscle in his body seized with the effort of restraintbut the charade had to hold. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

His face flushed. Not with passion. With stress. He half-dragged, half-carried me into the nearest changing room just to break contact.

"Bella, are you crazy?" he hissed, wiping his mouth like I'd left poison on his lips.

"You said you love me. I responded with a kiss. How is that crazy? Unless..." I tilted my head. "The love you keep proclaiming is all a lie?"

"No, I justpeople were watching. Have some dignity."

"If you want, I can prepare." My voice dropped, turning sultry. "Shall we do something exciting?"

He froze. Then nodded quickly. "I'll get us some drinks. To set the mood."

He bolted out the door.

I knew exactly what he was doing. Just like in my past life, the wine he brought back would be drugged. My little performance had likely enraged his precious Elisa, and now he couldn't wait to accelerate my humiliation.

The moment he was gone, I stripped off the gown, changed into a server's uniform I'd stashed earlier, and slipped out the back exit.

Ten minutes later, the phone on my passenger seat vibrated violently.

I didn't need to look. Raymond.

In my past life, I had never disobeyed him. The perfect wifegentle, obedient, humble as dust. I believed the world when they said I was lucky to marry him, that I was somehow redeeming my mother's sins.

But the real homewrecker had been Elisa Long's mother.

Not mine.

The phone kept buzzing, dancing across the leather seat.

Annoyed, I picked it up and blocked his number.

Silence.

I scrolled through my contacts until I found a number that had been gathering dust for years.

*Professor Mason, you once said that if I ever changed my mind, I could always come back. Does that offer still stand?*

Less than a minute later, my phone rang.

Joseph Mason's voice boomed through the speaker, just as I remembered.

"Bella? Is that really you?"

"It's me, Professor."

"Good. Good, good." He repeated the word three times, relief palpable in every syllable. "Next Monday. Be at the studio. We have a major restoration project starting, and we need hands."

Joseph Mason was my university advisor and the country's foremost expert in cultural relic restoration.

In my previous life, I had been his prize student. He often said I had a giftdexterous fingers and a mind as meticulous as a surgeon's.

A natural, he'd called me.

But for Raymond Sanchez, I had thrown it all away.

*"A lawyer's wife doesn't need to work,"* Raymond had said. *"Stay home. Support your husband, raise our future children. That is enough."*

So I had locked myself in a gilded cage, becoming the canary he kept on a shelf.

Now, the canary was snapping the bars.

After hanging up, I let out a long, shaky breath. The engine roared to life, and I drove toward a small apartment I had secretly purchased before the weddingbought with the inheritance my mother left me. Raymond didn't even know it existed.

In my past life, this apartment had sat empty, gathering dust.

Now, it was my sanctuary. The starting point of everything.

I took a scalding shower, scrubbing the phantom feel of Raymond's touch from my skin until my flesh turned raw, then collapsed onto the bed.

Sleep pulled me under like a black tide. I didn't surface until noon the next day.

When I powered on my phone, notifications flooded the screen. Dozens of missed calls, all from numbers I didn't recognize but knew belonged to Raymond.

And countless texts.

The last one was timestamped 3:00 AM.

*Bella Vance, I'll give you one last chance. Come home now, and I will pretend nothing happened.*

I scoffed and blocked that number too.

Then I opened social media.

Sure enough, the trending topic blazed across my screen:

**#RaymondSanchezWifeMissing #SuspectedAffair #Runaway**

Right below ita photo of Raymond and Elisa Long, looking frantic as they "searched" for me.

They stood side by side. A talented man and a beautiful woman. The visual match was undeniable.

It stung.

The comment section was a cesspool.

"Now THIS is what a true couple looks like! Perfectly matched in status and looks."

"That homewrecker's daughter better keep running. Just looking at her makes me sick."

"Honestly, Attorney Sanchez should just divorce her and marry Miss Long. That legitimate heiress has way more class than Bella Vance ever will. It's time to put that illegitimate brat in her place!"

No doubt Raymond had paid for these trending spots. He was weaponizing public opinion to crush me, casting me as the villain to make Elisa shine brighter by comparison.

I swiped past the insults, expression stony.

Liked the top post.

And typed a comment:

*Congratulations to Attorney Sanchez for finding his true love. I have already drafted the divorce agreement. Please check your email.*

Send.

I logged out and tossed the phone aside. The explosion I'd just detonated online? Not my problem.

I had more important things to do.

Monday morning, I arrived at Joseph Mason's studio at nine sharp.

A standalone brick building in the old districta quiet island amidst the city's chaos.

Professor Mason was waiting at the entrance. When he saw me, his eyes lit up, though concern shadowed his smile.

"You've lost weight." His gaze was sharp. "But you have fire in your eyes again."

A lump formed in my throat. Three years. His temples were greyer now, but he looked just as formidable.

"I'm sorry, Professor. Back then, I..."

"We don't talk about the past here." He waved a hand, cutting me off. "Come in. Let me brief you on the project."

A handful of students were already insidehis current disciples. The moment I walked in, the atmosphere shifted. Guarded expressions. Borderline hostile.

I knew what they were thinking.

Three years ago, I had abandoned my studies to marry into wealth. In this circle, that was selling out. Some called me a gold digger; others called me a fool for throwing away my talent for a man.

And now, here I was. Crawling back.

To them, I was a joke.

"This is Bella Vance, your senior," Mason announced. "Starting today, she's part of the team."

A boy with thick-rimmed glasses muttered under his breathloud enough for everyone to hear.

"A rich young madam who loves to cheat... does she even remember what hard work looks like?"

Professor Mason spun around, glaring at him.

"Bella is not that kind of person. I won't tolerate that gossip in my studio." He paused, gaze sweeping across the group. "FurthermoreBella's fundamentals are more solid than any of yours."

I didn't say a word. Just rolled up my sleeves and walked to the workbench.

A Qing dynasty blue-and-white vase rested on the table, its once-flawless surface marred by fractures. Beautiful. Broken. A tragedy in porcelain.

"Jiangcheng Museum sent this over," Joseph Mason said, voice heavy with gravity. "Exhibition opens in a week. Tight deadline, heavy workload." His gaze settled on me. "Bella, you're leading the restoration."

I nodded, pulled on my gloves, picked up the tweezers.

And for the first time in years, something inside me went quiet.

In my previous life, anxiety had been my shadow. My stomach churned daily*When will Raymond stop loving me? Why does misfortune follow me everywhere? When will this marriage finally shatter?*

Now, my entire world narrowed to a single crack in the glaze.

*So this is what it feels like,* I thought, *to lose yourself in something you love.*

For the next few days, I practically lived in the studio. Late nights bled into early mornings, my vision filled with nothing but the delicate lines of cultural relics.

Old Mason was rightI was made for this.

The work demanded tremendous patience. Meticulous attention to detail. And if there was one thing I didn't lack, it was patience.

Five years of Raymond's scheming had taught me that. Cold glares. Public mockery. I had weathered it all without breaking. Now, channeling that endurance into restoring history became my greatest strength.

On the fourth day, Raymond stormed in.

"Bella."

His voice could have cut glass.

I didn't look up. My focus stayed on the artifact in my hands.

Ignored, he marched over, face carved from ice, and seized my wrist.

"Come home. Now."

"Let go," I said.

"Are you done with this tantrum?" He lowered his voice, the menace rolling off him in waves. "Do you have any idea what the last three days have been like for me? All of Jiangcheng is laughing at me!"

I finally raised my head and met his bloodshot eyes.

"Raymond, I didn't make you a laughingstock."

I yanked my arm free. "You did that yourself. You wanted to play the devoted husband, but you couldn't cut ties with Elisa Long. Whatdid you play the game too hard and now it's backfiring?"

He choked on his own words. Silence stretched between us like a wire about to snap.

"When have I ever been tangled up with Elisa?" he finally managed. "If you hadn't suddenly disappeared that day, I wouldn't have even known she was back in the country"

"Raymond."

I cut him off. Voice flat as a blade.

"Do you actually believe the lies coming out of your own mouth?"

I stepped closer. "Need me to remind you where you spent Valentine's Day last year? Or how on my birthday, you claimed you were working overtime while you spent the entire night at Elisa's apartment?"

His expression fractured.

"You... you knew?"

I turned back to the workbench.

"Have you signed the divorce agreement? If you have, we can head to the Civil Affairs Bureau right now."

He stared at me like he was seeing a stranger. The submissive doormat he'd known was gone.

After a long moment, he let out a cold, incredulous laugh.

"You think divorce is that simple?" He sneered. "Don't forget the prenup. You divorce me, you walk away with nothing. Not a single cent."

He stepped closer, looming. "And without my permission, who in Jiangcheng do you think would dare hire you?"

I kept my gaze on the porcelain. Indifferent.

"Believe it or not, with one word from me, Old Mason's studio could shut down tomorrow."

My heart sank.

I had almost forgotten. Raymond wasn't just my husbandhe was the power behind Fu Law Firm, with tentacles reaching into every corner of this city. Blacklisting me would be as easy as flipping a switch.

But he had miscalculated one thing: Joseph Mason's background was far more formidable than Raymond imagined. A simple threat wouldn't close these doors.

"So what?" I challenged, pulse quickening despite myself. "What do you want?"

Raymond bent down, lips brushing my ear, voice dropping to a whisper meant only for me.

"Come home with me. From now on, you will never mention divorce again. You will cut all ties with Old Mason. If you don't" his breath was hot against my skin, "I won't hesitate to expose your sordid affair with a man thirty years your senior."

The accusation hit me like a physical blow.

"Raymond, you know perfectly well that Joseph and I have a purely professional mentor-student relationship"

He scoffed. A cruel, dismissive sound.

"Whether it is or not, I get to decide the narrative. Come back, play the dutiful Mrs. Sanchez, and I'll pretend none of this happened."

His eyes narrowed into slits.

"Otherwise... I don't mind showing you what it really means to have no way out."

He straightened, smoothed his cuffs, and walked out without another word.

A chill settled deep in my bones.

I knew Raymond. He would do exactly what he threatened.

His methods couldn't touch Joseph Mason, but they could easily destroy my reputation. Obliterate any chance I had of starting over. It would be just like my previous lifetrapped in a gilded cage until he wore my spirit down to dust.

*No.*

*I will not repeat the mistakes of the past.*

I took a deep breath, forcing the panic down.

Then I dialed the number of the man who had never acknowledged me as his daughter.

The phone rang for what felt like an eternity. Leo Long's voice, when it finally came, sounded weary.

"Who is it?"

"It's me. Bella."

Silence. Heavy. Suffocating.

It stretched so long I thought he'd hung up.

"What do you want?"

"I want to make a deal."

A humorless laugh. "A deal? What could you possibly have to offer me?"

"Five percent equity in the Xia Group."

I heard the hitch in his breathing.

"What do you want in return?"

"Help me leave Raymond Sanchez. Get him to sign the papers. In exchange, I transfer the shares to you."

He let out a derisive snort. "Bella, you're naive. That tiny percentage? I can take it or leave it. Whether you see a dime in dividends depends entirely on my mood. Why should I help you?"

"Because of Evelyn Gilbert."

The words landed like a grenade.

"You know exactly how that mistress drove my mother to her death. Now her daughter is trying to do the same to me."

My grip on the phone tightened until my knuckles went white.

"Leo, my mother is already dead. I have nothing left to lose. And someone with nothing to lose is dangerous."

I let the silence breathe.

"If I go down, I'm taking everyone with me. Before I die, I will let the whole world know the truth about what happened back then."

A loud clatter echoed from the other endsomething falling.

I'd hit a nerve.

Years ago, Leo Long had abandoned his wife and daughter for his career, marrying Evelyn Gilbert to climb the social ladder. To maintain his image as a successful, moral entrepreneur, he couldn't afford a scandal.

"How do you want me to handle it?" His voice was tight.

"Make Raymond sign the divorce agreement. Get me the certificate. I know you have the leverage."

"Fine. Give me three days."

Those three days felt like three years.

The restoration work was nearing completion, but my mind was chaos. I made frequent mistakes, my hands betraying what my face wouldn't show.

Joseph noticed. His hand settled gently on my shoulder.

"Bella, if you're in trouble, tell me. I can help."

I shook my head, forcing a smile.

"It's okay, teacher. I can handle it. It's just... I might not be able to work here with you in the future."

His expression hardened with resolve.

"Bella, as long as I'm here, no one can bully you. You do what you need to doI have the power to shield you from their malice."

His eyes softened.

"If you're willing, I'd like to formally take you under my wing. Let me be your godfather."

The genuine concern in his eyes nearly broke me.

*In the end,* I thought, *there are still good people in this world.*

*There are still people who believe in my innocence.*

I told Joseph everything. Held nothing back.

Immediately, he mobilized the Mason family's resources. Digging. Hunting. Searching for any evidence that could protect me.

The reach of the Mason family in the capital was far beyond anything I had imagined.

In just two days, I held in my hands enough evidence to bury Leo Long, Raymond Sanchez, and their entire corrupt circle.

Before I could decide how to deploy this weapon, a text from Raymond lit up my screen.

*Seven o'clock tonight. I'll be waiting at home. Don't keep me waiting, or you'll bear the consequences.*

Attached was a screenshota frame from the humiliating video of me being bullied.

I had known for years that he was cold-blooded.

Seeing it still caused a pang of heartache.

Fortunately, the pain lasted only a second.

Compared to the physical and emotional scars he had inflicted on me, these photos were nothing. They could no longer paralyze me with fear.

In my previous life, I had given everythingeven my lifeand never received a shred of mercy. Now that I no longer cared about my reputation, these "threats" were useless.

They became fuel.

Just as I steeled myself, Leo Long called.

"The papers are ready. Tonight at seven. Sign the equity transfer, and I'll hand over the divorce certificate."

"Okay."

I hung up and slumped into my chair, physically drained but mentally electric. A strength I had never known surged through my veins.

I replied to Raymond.

*Seven o'clock tonight. Xia Group conference room. I'll be waiting for you.*

*I have a surprise for you.*