Hearing Richard's uncompromising tone, Claire merely glanced up at him before lowering her head again, idly fiddling with her nails. "I'm not going back. What are you gonna do about it?"
Her eyebrows arched slightly as she spoke, her expression defiant.
Richard's anger boiled over at her brazen attitude. The veins on his forehead bulged, and his fists clenched tightly.
Noticing Richard's unusual expression, Edward frowned and scolded sharply, "Claire, how can you talk to Mr. Hawkins like that? Where are your manners?"
"What do you mean, 'talk like that'?"
Faced with Edward's stern fatherly act, Claire couldn't help but find it ridiculous.
As the adopted daughter of the Ashford family, she had never received much kindness from them. And now, Edward wanted to pull rank as h
