Chapter 6: Claire is my fiancée

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~CLAIRE~

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I was rendered speechless. The video played on before my eyes, making my heart sink to the bottom of my stomach.

I remembered that the room had been totally dark last night, yet for some reason, this video appeared really clear. I could clearly see myself as I clutched the stranger tightly and wrapped my legs around him.

It made me sick. Completely sick. The phone dropped from my hand like it had electrocuted me. I took a step away from Jason, shaking my head, unable to form a word and defend myself.

Someone had done this. Someone had framed me.

Everyone was staring at me openly now. I caught looks of disgust and contempt. Could this day get any worse?

To my utter shock, Jason launched into a pretentious act. He shook his head and placed a hand over his heart like he was hurt.

"Why would you do this to me, Claire?" He asked, loud enough for the guests in the lounge to hear. "Why would you hurt me this way? I gave you everything."

I took another step back, a confused frown creasing my brows. What the hell was he talking about?

"We were supposed to get married." He continued. "This cruise was meant to be an engagement present for you."

He brought out the diamond ring, the same ring the bartender had been wearing the previous night, and showed it to everyone.

"I was supposed to propose to her." He went on, keeping up with the act. "And this is how she repays me."

He turned back to me. "This is how you repay me for everything I've done for you?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but the words died. My throat closed up completely. With everyone's scornful gaze on me, I felt trapped. I couldn't defend myself. I found it hard to breathe.

Jason, seeing how everyone started to sympathize with him, cranked the pretext up a notch.

"Who is he, Claire?" He asked. "Who's the man you slept with? Who?"

"I–I don't..." I stuttered, unable to form a coherent word. What could I say? I knew nothing about the stranger of yesterday. I didn't even know his name.

"Who is he?" Jason yelled. "Who did you give yourself to last night? Who did you cheat on me with?"

I willed myself to respond, to say something, anything. Jason was portraying himself as the victim, and these guests were eating the act up, not knowing it was all a lie.

I wanted to scream out that it was all an act, that I was framed. I wanted to explain what truly happened, but the words were stuck.

I hated being the center of attraction. I tended to close up and cower away. The murmurs turned louder and I wished the floor would open up and swallow me.

"Jason." I whispered, pleading with my eyes. "Please stop this. I beg you."

But when I saw the strange gleam in his eyes, I knew he was doing this on purpose. He was humiliating me. Again.

Suddenly one of the guests jumped to her feet. She looked at me, then at Jason, then back to her phone.

"I know who this man is." She yelled. "It's Christian, the famous playboy of the Cartwright family."

A hush went through the crowd as they took another look at the recording in their phones.

I stood there, shocked and confused. Who were they talking about?

"Say, it's true." A man spoke next. He looked up at me with disdain. "It is the Cartwright playboy, Christian Cartwright."

The moment he said this, the other guests started to murmur in agreement. Soon it was in everyone's lips. Christian Cartwright, the famous playboy of the Cartwright family.

I stood there, looking more confused than ever. Who the hell was Christian Cartwright?

Jason, playing his part perfectly, took a step away from me in shock.

"My God, Claire." He gasped. "Did you do this to get back at me?"

I frowned. "What?"

"Did you know about my relationship with Christian Cartwright? Is that why you slept with him? To hurt me? Why would you do this?"

"Leave the lady alone." A deep voice spoke suddenly from the doorway.

I knew who it was even before I turned. It was him, the stranger of yesterday.

All eyes turned towards the sound of his voice, and I whirled around. My heart skipped a beat when I spotted him.

So this was Christian Cartwright. Dressed in a casual black shirt and pants, he looked intimidating. I felt it from where I stood, and some of the guests moved away from him as he stepped into the lounge.

He looked even more handsome this morning. His eyes, those same eyes that had been furious last night, fell on me. He held my gaze for a few seconds, a few seconds in which I held my breath.

There was something so piercing about his gaze, something so compelling that made me unable to look away.

He moved through the lounge with ease, walking like he owned the place. When he came to stand beside me, I finally looked away from him.

However, he didn't address me. He turned to Jason.

"Hello, nephew. Do you have a problem with me?"

I looked up at him sharply, then at Jason. The stranger was Jason's uncle? Oh my fucking god!

Jason's lips curled into a smirk as he replied. "There's a video of you and Claire circulating. She..."

Before he could continue, Christian interrupted him coldly.

"You're wrong about your accusation." His voice was as hard as brick, even to my ears. "It seems I haven't introduced you two properly. Claire is my fiancée."

My eyes widened in shock. I shot Christian a look, but he didn't look at me. He kept his eyes on Jason.

What the hell is going on?