And Kyle? Blinded by pride and ambition, he didn’t just fall for the trap. He dove in headfirst.

Jack and Diane tried to warn him. Claire pleaded with him. But Kyle, in his arrogance, called it overprotective nonsense. He told her to back off. To stay out of his business. And then he slammed the door in the face of the one woman who had fought to protect his name, his future… and his heart.

---

Until Claire couldn’t take it anymore.

She returned to his loft for one final confrontation — a desperate plea to see reason. But Kyle only met her with accusations and contempt. He claimed she didn’t trust him. That she was holding him back. That she was the problem.

And then, with a cruel dismissive wave of his hand, he told her to leave.

That’s when it happened.

The sound echoed through the loft. Her hand met his cheek with a crack that split more than silence — it shattered the very foundation of their love. Claire slapped him. A mix of heartbreak, rage, and unbearable disappointment drove her to cross a line she never imagined.

Kyle staggered back, shocked.

And Claire? She fled into the night, sobbing into the cold Genoa City air, not as a woman scorned — but as a warrior broken.

---

But what she didn’t know was… the slap woke him up.

Left alone, staring at the failed prototypes Audra had handed him, Kyle felt the weight of his mistakes settle over him like a storm cloud. The realization hit: Claire had been right all along. Audra had played him — masterfully, ruthlessly. And he had pushed away the one person who had fought to save him from it.

His cheek still burning, Kyle collapsed onto the sofa — not from the slap, but from the unbearable guilt that followed. The silence of the loft, once a symbol of his freedom, now echoed like a prison of his own making.

---

But it wasn’t too late. Not yet.

He found Claire crumpled in tears, the light of dawn catching the streaks down her face. And in that moment — for the first time in weeks — he didn’t talk. He listened.

Kyle knelt beside her. No more pride. No more defense. Just raw, trembling remorse.

“I was wrong,” he said, voice breaking. “I was wrong to doubt you. Wrong to choose ego over us. You tried to save me, and I threw it back in your face.”

Claire, still aching, met his eyes. There was pain… but there was also love.

And in that fragile silence, they began to find one another again.

---

But what about Audra?

While Claire and Kyle reconciled in the golden light of forgiveness, Audra moved swiftly. Her plan may have faltered, but she walked away with the upper hand — temporarily. The damage was done. The faulty products were already seeded into the market. Kyle’s reputation teetered on the edge.

And Claire knew this was only Round One.

But now? They would face it together. Stronger. Smarter. Unbreakable.

---

Would YOU have forgiven Kyle… or walked away for good?
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