Chapter 8
1252 Words
"She complained to you again?"
The word "again" immediately told Franklin that something was wrong.
Claire couldn't help frowning. "Ethan, I'm not as awful as you think I am. What happened last time was just a misunderstanding."
Franklin was displeased as well. "Ethan, what kind of thing is that to say? You're married. Of course you should care about your wife!"
"I'll figure something out."
With that, Ethan turned and walked away without another word.
Franklin wanted to stop him, but Claire gently raised a hand to stop him. Her expression was calm. She'd long since stopped caring about things like this.
Instead, Franklin looked at her apologetically.
"Franklin, let's finish our game."
What he didn't know was that, after being hurt over and over again, Claire's heart had finally gone numb.
She was already gathering evidence of Ethan's affair. And earlier that day, she'd received a job offer from a design firm called Azure Design. She was starting tomorrow.
Her life was finally moving in the right direction.
As for Ethan, she simply didn't care anymore.
Once Henry's situation was resolved and she had some free time, she'd take the evidence to a lawyer.
By then, even if Ethan refused to divorce her, he wouldn't have a choice.
"That's okay. Don't force yourself. Go up to the conservatory and find Grandma. She talked about you all night."
In the Conservatory.
Claire picked a handful of sunflowers and carefully trimmed them one by one.
Margaret sat nearby in a wicker chair, watching her with a warm smile.
"What else do you like? Grandma will plant more for you."
At night, the glass-walled conservatory offered a perfect view of the star-filled sky. The fragrance of flowers filled the entire room.
Claire had always loved coming here.
"I like whatever you plant, Grandma. I'll pick a few more later and put them in our bedroom."
Margaret smiled even wider.
"Those lilies should bloom in a few days too. We'll pick them then and dry them. They'll look beautiful in your bedroom."
The bedroom Margaret was talking about wasn't the one Claire currently shared with Ethan.
The Sterling family owned plenty of properties, but to show how much they valued Claire as their daughter-in-law, they'd bought the couple another mansion before the wedding.
It had been newly built and wasn't finished being decorated yet, so they had never moved in.
Thinking about that house made Claire's heart ache.
She had designed the entire interior herself, exactly the way she'd wanted it.
For three months before the wedding, she'd spent every day working on the design.
She hadn't followed any of the latest trends. Every detail had been carefully thought out, making the house completely one of a kind.
That home had once been filled with all her hopes and dreams.
Now she'd never get the chance to live there.
"Okay."
She still forced herself to answer with a smile.
After finishing the sunflowers, she picked a few more flowers and trimmed them before accompanying Margaret back to her bedroom.
About half an hour later, dinner was ready.
Claire and the others took their seats. The mother and son, who had been discussing work, arrived a while later.
"Mom."
Claire had initially felt awkward around her mother-in-law, Vivian.
Especially during their first meeting, Vivian had looked her over as though evaluating whether she was worthy of becoming part of the Sterling family.
Claire had expected her to be the stereotypical difficult mother-in-law.
But after the wedding, Vivian rarely interacted with her.
And whenever they did meet, Vivian was merely reserved. She never deliberately made things difficult for Claire.
Over time, Claire had gotten used to her and stopped feeling intimidated.
"You look like you've lost weight."
Vivian noticed how much sharper Claire's already delicate jawline had become.
"Eat more. You need to put some weight back on."
"Vivian, you've been working hard too. Eat more."
Ethan emphasized the words "working hard" as he served food onto Vivian's plate.
Then he casually added, "As for the next project, let Eliana handle it."
The conversation abruptly shifted from family chatter to business.
Whenever Ethan and Vivian were together, they could somehow turn almost any conversation into work. It was nothing unusual.
But the sudden mention of Eliana made Claire's chest tighten.
She couldn't help reading into his earlier comment about how hard his mother had been working.
As if a woman like Claire, who had no job and apparently nothing better to do, didn't even deserve to eat.
And considering the expression and tone he'd used, Claire was actually being generous in her interpretation.
"Her last two projects received excellent feedback and brought the company significant profits. I trust her with this one."
Vivian rarely praised anyone, but she went on to praise Ethan as well.
"You were right to promote her. She certainly lived up to your expectations. You have a good eye for talent."
A faint smile touched Ethan's sharp features.
"She really is impressive."
"If you two want to talk business, take it back to the study."
Margaret clearly didn't approve of discussing work at the dinner table.
She'd also noticed the subtle change in Claire's expression.
The Sterling family took table manners seriously.
The dining room fell silent except for the soft clinking of silverware.
Near the end of dinner, Ethan's phone suddenly rang.
He immediately picked it up.
He moved so quickly that Claire couldn't even see who was calling.
"Don't go anywhere. I'm on my way."
Claire was sitting closest to him.
She could hear the woman's voice on the other end.
A voice she knew all too well.
Eliana.
"Grandma, Dad, Mom, you go ahead. I have something I need to take care of."
Ethan stood and gave a slight nod, as though apologizing for leaving dinner early.
Yet he completely ignored Claire.
He didn't say a word to her.
He didn't even spare her a glance.
Franklin frowned.
Margaret's expression tightened.
Vivian simply said, "Work comes first. Be careful on the road."
Ethan grabbed his jacket and left.
The atmosphere at the table changed instantly.
Claire pretended nothing had happened and lowered her head, continuing to eat.
But the food sat in her mouth forever, impossible to swallow.
She wondered when she would finally stop hurting over Ethan and Eliana.
How much longer would she have to feel this way?
Maybe after the divorce, once she never had to see him again, it would get better.
Out of sight, out of mind.
"Mom, why aren't you eating?"
Vivian suddenly noticed that neither Margaret nor Franklin was touching their food.
"What is it?"
Franklin tried to lighten the mood with a smile.
"Eat. You've worked hard today. Have some more."
Margaret smiled at Claire.
"You too, Claire. You've had a hard day. Eat a little more."
"Thank you, Grandma."
Claire forced herself to swallow the food in her mouth.
After dinner, she didn't stay at the Sterling residence any longer. She got into her car and drove home.
The faint scent of sunflowers filled the cramped cabin.
There was barely any traffic on the road, so she kept her speed at the posted limit.
Up ahead was a three-way intersection.
She was just about to slow down when someone suddenly darted into the road, waving frantically as they ran toward her.
Claire instinctively jerked the steering wheel to the left.
The car shot straight toward a massive tree.
The hood crumpled on impact, and thick black smoke billowed into the air.
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