Harem app-Chapter 234: The End of Her

Third Person POV

So, as Karen wandered aimlessly, feeling defeated by everything that was happening, she saw Liam approach with a confident smile.

"I’d like to talk with you for a moment," he commented with a sadistic smile.

Karen stopped in the middle of the hallway, her heart racing. Those eyes, full of confidence, stared at her as if he had already won before he even started speaking. Liam seemed to enjoy every second of the scene, like a predator toying with its prey.

"Look, Karen," he began, his voice low, almost seductive, but with a cruel weight in every syllable. "I could continue destroying your life. And, frankly, it wouldn’t be difficult at all. But... I’m going to give you a chance."

She arched an eyebrow, trying to maintain her composure even as she trembled inside.

"A chance?" she repeated, her voice faltering. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Yes," Liam smiled, but it wasn’t a kind smile; it was a sadistic smile, meant to remind her that he was in control. "If you apologize, if you kneel right now, beg for forgiveness, and admit you were wrong... I won’t lift another finger against you. Things will stop here. No more revenge, no more scandals. Just silence."

Karen felt her body tremble with rage. The thought of humiliating herself before him, especially in public, burned like fire in her throat.

The truth was, from the beginning, Liam wasn’t offering salvation, because he knew it was impossible for Karen to accept it at that moment.

What he had done was like telling a snake he would spare its life if it could fly for an instant. Just as a snake was incapable of flying, Karen was incapable of admitting her own mistakes.

The only reason for saying it was so that, in the future, she would remember that moment and regret it deeply.

"Are you sure you want to waste this chance?" He leaned in toward her and whispered this in her ear.

Karen bit her lip, feeling the tears about to roll down her face, but she didn’t look away.

"I will never submit to you," she said confidently.

Liam pulled back, satisfied, as if he had read her like an open book. His smile only widened.

"That’s what I thought. So... see you later, Karen. Enjoy the rest of your fall."

And with that, he turned his back, leaving her alone in the hallway, surrounded by the curious gazes of students who didn’t know anything about what was happening.

The silence of the hallway was still echoing in Karen’s mind when she arrived home that afternoon, her heels clicking on the marble as she walked with irritated steps.

But as soon as she opened her father’s office door, she found only emptiness. The leather armchair was turned toward the window, the desk was too clean, without a single paper out of place. On the gleaming surface, there was only a letter, folded with precision.

With trembling hands, Karen opened the envelope and read the short, dry words, written with the same usual firmness: "Forgive me..."

There was no explanation, no other words, just a simple and direct apology.

But soon Karen and her mother discovered the reason for that request: the man had decided to leave. He could no longer bear the pressure Lee Hua was putting on him, so the man fled, leaving everything behind.

In that instant, she felt her world had collapsed, and she felt a deep fear as she remembered Liam’s words.

Antonieta was also shaken by the news, but she still tried to remain calm, confident that she could change everything. Largely because she arrogantly believed her husband’s job was simple.

"Shhh, my dear..." Antonieta’s sweet and firm voice came from right behind her. Her mother wrapped her in a warm hug. "Nothing is going to change. We will get through this. You’ll see, soon everything will go back to normal."

Karen clung to the hug, but her body was trembling. What was "normal" now? Her father had fled, the family business was in ruins, and her name was spat with contempt on every corner of the city.

Antonieta, however, seemed oblivious to it all. Her eyes shone with an almost childish confidence.

"I’m going to take over the business, dear. Don’t worry. We are Tapus, aren’t we? We’ve always been on top, and we always will be."

But Karen knew. She just had to look at her mother’s impeccably painted fingers, holding a wine glass as if it were a trophy.

She had no idea what she was talking about. Antonieta could run a beauty salon or a gala, but face enraged shareholders and an avalanche of debt? That was beyond any illusion she still held.

The tightness in Karen’s chest only increased. For the first time, she didn’t just see enemies on the outside. The danger was also inside her home, and her own family couldn’t save her.

But for now, she wouldn’t think about it. She just wanted to believe that things would work out and that her life would go back to normal. So she went to sleep, but during the night, the fear continued to haunt her.

That said, in the following days, her life seemed to improve a little. People weren’t paying as much attention to her anymore, and no one seemed to know that her family was on the verge of bankruptcy.

In fact, it seemed that not even Karen herself realized this fact, as she and her mother continued to live their lives normally.

Of course, this normalcy couldn’t last forever. But, at least at first, the world wasn’t ending.

And surprisingly, Antonieta was having an easy time at her job, even though she had no idea what she was doing.

All this thanks to a great deal of help she received. That said, this help came with a high price, which, at first, she chose to pay reluctantly. Or rather, at first she paid this price reluctantly, but after a while, she began to desire it intensely.

And so it was that on a random day, Karen tried to open her front door, but it was locked. So she rang the doorbell.

A long silence followed, and the only thing she could hear was something that sounded like a muffled moan.

Then, with slow steps, a woman finally approached to open the door, but...