Chapter: Chapter 8: The First Time I Ever Slapped Someone"What did you just say?"Diana stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief, as if she was seeing Claire for the first time.Claire. A weak, powerless nobody living off someone else's roof since when did she get to talk like this?If Diana hadn't broken off her own engagement years ago, she wouldn't be standing here as anyone at all let alone with the nerve to be looked down on.Her face twisted, and she spat the words through clenched teeth."You're nothing but a stray Grandma Wade picked up off the street. Even married to Nathan, you're still just staff with a wedding ring.""Everyone who ever raised you ends up dead your parents, your uncle, Grandma Wade"Crack!The slap landed hard and fast, before Claire had even fully decided to throw it.The black Maybach pulled up at the curb just as it happened. Nathan, catching the scene from inside, had his assistant wheel him out."Claire, have you lost your mind?"He didn't know what had triggered it, but the force behind that slap was nothing
Last Updated: 2026-09-30
Chapter: Chapter 7: Only Stray Dogs Fight Over ScrapsClaire only registered that Nathan and Diana were in the room when Diana's voice rang out. Nathan never attended events like this if something caught his interest, he'd send an assistant to bid on his behalf.Tonight, he'd clearly only come to keep Diana company."That's Claire's taste," Nathan said evenly. "Pick something else.""The design on 'Rose Heart' is completely singular; it would genuinely help my work in the jewelry industry. I need this one."Diana rested a hand lightly on his knee, pleading. "What if we just got Claire something even better?"Before Nathan could answer, Claire's voice cut through from the back of the room."Three million!"Diana's head dipped, disappointment flickering across her face."To Claire, that brooch is just a pretty accessory. To me, it's a piece of art.""Nathan. You said you'd give me anything I wanted."Nathan leaned back, expression unmoved. "Go ahead, then. Bid."He had little interest in jewelry himself, Claire's fondness for it had always
Last Updated: 2026-09-30
Chapter: Chapter 6: Her Mother's Belongings"She'll understand, eventually."That was the sentence Claire caught as she reached the top of the stairs.At home, Diana had become the only person Nathan opened up to late at night.Whoever "she" referred to there was only one candidate.What exactly did Nathan think he needed to be forgiven for?She didn't understand. And she didn't want to.Claire pulled her hand back from the door handle, turned, and went back downstairs.She hadn't meant to eavesdrop. She had even less interest in walking in and interrupting whatever this was.—The next morning she left for work early again, sitting through the usual crawl of rush-hour traffic.But even the blaring horns sounded better than the chaos waiting for her at home infinitely better than another morning of Oliver screaming.When she reached the office, a middle-aged man in thin wire-rimmed glasses was stepping out of the executive office.He wore a tailored black suit vest, a matching tie, gold cufflinks against a crisp white shirt, an
Last Updated: 2026-09-30
Chapter: Chapter 5: A Despicable ManAfter work, Claire met up with Sophie Bennett, her closest friend, for dinner.They hadn't seen each other in half a month, and there was plenty to catch up on."So you're really going through with the divorce?"Sophie had known Claire since childhood. There was nothing about her life Sophie didn't already know."Diana and her son have moved into the house. If I don't divorce him, what exactly am I supposed to be to them?"Sophie scoffed. "His honorary sister-in-law?"Seeing the look on Claire's face, she backed off fast."Good you should've divorced him years ago. What kind of 'decent man' stays celibate five years into a marriage?""The couple next door just had their second kid. And your husband's over there playing the picture of restraint for what, Diana's honor?"Claire stayed quiet, choosing not to mention that Nathan had already spent a night in Diana's room.Saying it out loud felt too humiliating."Let it go. I can't forgive him for it anyway."In her heart, Nathan wasn't pu
Last Updated: 2026-09-23
Chapter: Chapter 4: Compensation OwedNathan and Diana took Oliver out for dinner and came home late. Claire, unused to eating alone, asked Aunt Carol to join her at the table.Nathan noticed the gauze on her hand. "What happened there?""Oliver bit me this morning."She saw no reason to hide it. If a father failed to raise his son properly, that was on him and as Oliver's biological father, that responsibility belonged squarely to Nathan."Nathan, he's not usually like that," Diana said, steering Oliver forward. "Go on, apologize to Aunt Claire."Oliver clung to her leg instead and shouted, "Aunt Claire threw away my water gun and hit me! I was scared, so I bit her!""Hush! This is Aunt Claire's house. You listen to her, or I'll send you right back out the door!"Right. Five years, and Diana's talent for saying one thing while meaning another hadn't dulled at all.Claire rolled her eyes, silently."He's just a kid, don't frighten him," Nathan said, then turned to Claire, something almost pleading in his eyes. "Claire, he
Last Updated: 2026-09-23
Chapter: Chapter 3: Career First, Marriage SecondWhen Claire arrived for the interview, a knot of nerves settled in her stomach.Vantage Group had subsidiaries across half a dozen industries, and the position she'd applied for was in bio-intelligent machinery, the company's flagship division.She'd kept up with the field since graduation, had even published in a couple of international journals, but real-world experience was another matter entirely.Five years spent caring for Nathan at home had all but cut her off from the working world.If her best friend Sophie Bennett hadn't pulled a few strings, she wouldn't have gotten this interview at all.The interviewer skimmed her résumé, asked a handful of technical questions. Claire thought her answers were solid but his expression never shifted from mild indifference."Ms. Whitfield, your knowledge base is clearly strong. But a five-year gap with zero work history doesn't meet the bar for the kind of talent we're recruiting.""Would you consider a one-month trial? Unpaid. Just give me
Last Updated: 2026-09-23