Chapter 4

Luke had Stella wait in a chair, then headed toward a quiet corner farther down the hall.

With his long strides, he moved quickly, and Claire had to hurry to keep up.

She knew why he wanted to talk somewhere private. He didn't want anyone overhearing them and gossiping about Bella behind her back.

How considerate of him.

Claire lowered her eyes and followed.

Once they reached a deserted part of the hallway, Luke stopped. He pulled a card linked to his account from his pocket and held it out to her.

"Use this for now. If it's not enough, let me know."

Claire paused, staring at the card as her eyes began to sting.

This was the kind of consideration she had once hoped for from him.

Back then, he had ignored her and left her to deal with everything alone.

Now, she didn't need it anymore.

"Some things have nothing to do with anyone else," Luke said.

The words hit her like a slap.

Claire stared at him in disbelief.

So the card wasn't meant to help her family at all.

He was trying to buy her silence.

Until he had taken care of whatever was holding him back, he didn't want her talking about him and Bella and ruining Bella's reputation.

How responsible of him.

Claire almost laughed at the absurdity of it.

She forced down the pain in her chest and pushed the card away. She was about to bring up finalizing the divorce when Luke's phone rang.

He answered, and his voice softened in a way Claire hadn't heard directed at her in years.

"Yeah. I'll be right there."

When he hung up, he gave Claire a brief glance.

Then his gaze caught on her bare right ring finger, and he paused for a beat.

A faint, knowing smile tugged at his mouth. He set the card on the windowsill beside her, gave her one last meaningful look, and walked away.

Claire stood rooted to the spot.

She looked at the card, then at Luke's retreating back, as a wave of humiliation washed over her.

Her hands curled into fists.

"Luke," she called hoarsely. "When are you going back to the capital?"

She needed to know when they could finalize the divorce.

Luke stopped and answered, "Tomorrow."

Then, as if worried she might try to keep him there, he added, "I have plans tonight. Explain it to your parents."

Your parents.

Claire stared after him.

Cold air blew in through the window and stung her face.

Before they got married, when her parents finally agreed to the marriage, Luke's eyes had reddened with emotion as he promised he would treat her well.

Had he meant any of it?

Looking back now, maybe some of it had been real. Just not enough to survive even a few years of marriage.

It took Claire a while to pull herself together.

She gave one last look in the direction Luke had gone, then turned away without hesitation and returned to the hospital room.

She managed a smile for her parents.

"Luke had something come up at work, so he took Stella back to the capital. They won't be coming by tonight."

Once again, she kept the truth from them.

Her parents were getting older. Unless she had no other choice, she didn't want to hurt them. She would rather give them time to accept what was happening little by little.

Serena looked deeply disappointed. She hadn't seen Stella in so long and had been looking forward to spending time with her.

She took several gifts out of the cabinet.

"Then take these back to Stella for me."

Claire's smile faded.

She put the gifts back.

"Don't. She already has plenty of toys at home. Return these when you get a chance and keep the money for yourselves."

Serena opened her mouth to protest, but Claire's phone vibrated.

It was a message from Stella.

Stella: [Mommy, what presents did Grandma get me? Did you look?]

Whatever was left of Claire's smile disappeared.

She set the phone aside without replying.

...

Luke returned to get Stella and found her sitting in the chair, staring unhappily at her phone.

He raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?"

Stella looked up, clearly disappointed.

"Dad, Mommy isn't answering me. Is she mad?"

She was still young enough to feel guilty when she knew she'd done something wrong.

Luke paused, but the thought of Claire being angry didn't concern him. In all five years of marriage, she had never once lost her temper.

If she had finally gotten mad now, that would certainly be a first.

He stroked Stella's hair.

"No. She'll answer you later."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Your mom loves you too much to stay mad at you."

Stella brightened immediately.

That made sense. Mommy loved her so much. She would never let Stella stay upset for long.

Her moods came and went quickly.

Remembering that they were about to have dinner with Bella's family, Stella got to her feet and eagerly took Luke's hand.

"Dad, let's go."

"Okay."

The two of them took the elevator downstairs.

Before long, Bella came down with her mother, Flora Quinn, and her grandmother, Eleanor Quinn.

Stella happily ran over and took Bella's hand.

Luke opened the car door for them.

Claire saw the entire scene from upstairs.

They looked so comfortable together, so much like a family, that her fingers slowly tightened around the edge of the curtain.

"Claire, what are you looking at? Come eat."

Serena walked over to get her.

Claire quickly turned away, afraid her mother would see them and get upset.

She was about to brush it off when her gaze landed on Serena's half-gray hair.

Then she thought of Flora and Bella downstairs, both polished and elegant.

Suddenly, she couldn't find the words.

Flora had built her success at Serena's expense.

Years ago, she had shamelessly stolen Serena's architectural design, used it to win first place in a competition, and landed a position as an architect at Vantage Group. Now, she was the head of the company.

After rising to the top, Flora had repeatedly dragged Serena's name through the mud.

Because of her, Serena had endured gossip and ridicule for most of her life. Half her hair had gone gray before she was thirty, and she had tried to take her own life more than once.

And now Flora's daughter was taking things from Claire too.

Claire could let the matter of Luke go.

She didn't even want to think about how he could know all of this and still choose Bella, spoil her, love her, and help her hurt Claire.

But her career?

Her daughter?

Why did Bella have to take those too?

And now she had even taken the opportunity that rightfully belonged to Claire.

That was the final straw. The one that broke the camel's back.

In that moment, Claire had had enough.

An idea suddenly took hold in her mind.

"Claire? What's wrong?"

Serena looked at her worriedly.

Claire forced a smile. She didn't want her parents getting upset.

"It's nothing, Mom. You and Dad eat first. I need to make a call."

"All right. Don't take too long."

"I won't."

Claire left the hospital room.

Once she was outside, she pulled out her phone with a new sense of resolve and opened a chat with Walter Renner.

Claire: [Grandpa Walter, I recently received an invitation from Southridge Development to create a design proposal for their new industrial park, but someone deliberately took my spot. I want to ask you to help me get it back.]

Claire's grandfather, Leonard Chandler, and Walter had served together and remained very close.

When Leonard passed away, Walter had even come to pay his respects. Before leaving, he told Claire that if she ever needed anything, she should come find him in the capital.

Claire knew how much that promise meant, which was why she had never wanted to trouble him unless she truly had no other choice.

Today was the first time she had ever asked him for help.

She wanted to settle everything between her and Bella once and for all.

Walter: [You silly girl. Something this serious happened, and you're only telling me now?]

Walter: [You've been wronged, haven't you?]

Walter: [Don't worry. I'll make a few calls. Next week, I'll have someone go to Southridge.]

It was Thursday.

Next week was only three days away.

Claire: [Thank you, Grandpa Walter.]

Walter: [Don't be silly. If anything happens from now on, you tell me. You're Leonard's granddaughter, which makes you my granddaughter too.]

Walter: [Ryan will be back from the military in a couple of days for official business. You two haven't seen each other in years. You should get together.]

Something stirred in Claire at the mention of Ryan Renner's name, but she quickly pushed the feeling aside.

Whatever they had between them had ended years ago, when he left for the military without a word and later got together with someone else.

Her expression cooled, and she ignored the mention of Ryan, changing the subject instead.

After chatting with Walter for a while, Claire put down her phone.

In three days, this would all be over.