Okay, I'm in tears right now. I can't believe we have come full circle with this story. I'm proud of you all readers, and so grateful for all your support. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I hope this story has taught you a lesson on life and love.I can't thank you all enough. You have made it possible for Claire and Axel to come this far. Without your support, I would have given up on this story.I love you all. Thank you. Here's a truckload of hearts and kisses and love and flowers and everything beautiful for you all! 🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🖤😘😘😘😘🧡🧡🧡Stay healthy, stay safe, stay loved! 😍😍
Claire was having a wardrobe battle with her best friend. "It's a special day!" Danielle pulled a bunch of clothes out of their shared wardrobe and added them to the tall pile on the bed. "Don't go dressing like the poor kid from an almost non-existent town." Claire sighed. "But I am a poor kid from an almost non-existent town, D." Danielle threw up her hands in exasperation. "Okay, here's what we are going to do." She picked up a sleeveless blouse, a pair of corporate trousers and a blazer. "You are going to look like an accomplished young lady who has gotten her degree and is now on her way to work at the conglomerate of all companies, Lyn Corporation." "Fine. Let's have it your way." She collected the clothes and headed for the bathroom. "I don't feel it though." "What?" Claire paused, her hand on the doorknob. "I don't feel like an accomplished lady. I feel like a terrified little girl running away from a monster." She entered the bathroom and pulled the door shut. Turning
Axel Lysander was not a man who liked to yield. Neither was he a man who appreciated things not going according to plan. He was many things, but patient. Except when conducting delicate business, that is.Today had not been a good day. The Creek Falls committee meeting had not turned out well. Sudden demands that had not been previously expressed were suddenly brought to the table. All he wanted to do was open a branch of his company in the small and useless town, which would have given them a lot of benefits. Maybe even more benefits than they deserved. Axel could now see why the town never really grew. Each time they were presented with a once in a lifetime opportunity, all the townspeople committee members could think about was getting as much as they could from their prospective developer. They didn't care what they lost, those greedy people. Axel had heard stories about their lack of foresight, but he had seen it in all of them today. The whole lot were idiots. The last thing t
Claire simply could not get over the way the rich guy looked. She sat at the back of the plane, by the aisle, staring at his profile. She should have been thinking about what made him suddenly change his mind and let her take the flight, but she didn't want to. She couldn't.She had sent a quick text to Danielle and had gotten an even quicker reply. Her friend must have been so worried that she stayed by the phone. She assured her that she would get on the flight and will call as soon as she landed. She could not wait to tell Danielle everything.Danielle was an amazing listener, and an even better support system. She always talked about anything on her mind, and Danielle would break every bit down and classify them. She basically sorted her thoughts, like one would the laundry.The announcement to put on seatbelts came over the speakers overhead and Claire settled in for the long flight. It would take them about sixteen hours to reach New York, and Claire was not looking forward to t
Lisa knew she looked downright evil, but she couldn't bring herself to care. How could Claire wiggle her way into Axel's heart so quickly, when she had been trying so hard for years? She knew the moment he pulled up her profile that his cold heart had taken a solid punch. The cracks in his icy nature were very obvious. He even invited her to join them for lunch!Anger had made her leave the compartment earlier. She needed a good plan, and fast. She could not let a nobody like her take Axel away from her. Finding out about her basic information was easy. Claire McLennie was born and bred right there in Creek Falls. Her profile was not so interesting in Lisa's point of view.She had never travelled out, and all the schools she attended were public schools. Her file was inaccessible. Lisa thought that was odd and called her investigator."What do you mean, you can't access it?""It's exactly as I said." Lisa tried opening the file again with her phone. "It's asking for an encryption key.
Axel knew Donald was baiting him again, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Her question had stumped him. Granted, all she had done since he had met her was surprise him. He had not been paying any attention to what Lisa was telling him. All he heard was her voice as she reacted to Donald's teases. She even teased him right back! Lisa was right. He had changed. He had never enjoyed female company. Now, all he wanted was for their banter not to end. He sat back in his seat and let Donald work his magic. Donald was more than a friend to him. They had been together through thick and thin. Anyone who could pass Donald's "like" test was one step closer to being Axel's acquaintance. He completely trusted his judgement, and apparently Donald was quite taken by Claire. It was not easy for Donald to trust anyone. His background made sure of that. Yet, Claire had snuck past all the walls of hate that injustice had built in his heart. She had snuck past all of Axel's defenses too, and so eas
Claire didn't know why Axel took her side. No matter how much she thought about it, she always arrived at the same conclusion. He had nothing to gain from defending her. In fact, he stood to lose. Afterall, Claire did not want an enemy like Lisa. She was simply too vicious.Claire was happy she would not be around her anymore. After this flight, she hoped to never see Lisa ever again. She would miss Donald, but well, that was life. As for Axel…she grudgingly had to admit that an hour of lunch with him had made her feel that maybe there was more to him than the arrogance he projected.She also felt it would be good to stay away from him. He was starting to affect her in ways she didn't even want to dream about. If she ever thought about it, all she saw in the end was disaster. She couldn't wait to get off the plane, get settled, and start her life, away from these people who were way higher than her social class.She couldn't sleep again, so she resorted to staring out the window for t
Claire completely forgot about the near death experience as soon as she stepped foot in her apartment. Tears quickly filled her eyes as she looked around at what she could call hers."You've out done yourself this time, D." She had been willing to settle for a rundown apartment in the slums of New York, but Danielle was not hearing of it. She refused to take any money from her friend, so Danielle made her work her backside off to save enough money for the down payment on the apartment.Danielle insisted on paying the rest, asking Claire to return the money if she so wished once she started earning. Now, Claire was glad Danielle had insisted. From the plush sofas to the rugs on the floor and the marbled counters, it was obvious just how fortunate Claire was. It was not big or grand, but it was more than enough.The bedroom had an inbuilt walk-in closet, so Claire threw her carry-on bag inside, jumped on the bed, picked up the pillow and screamed into it. She took her phone from her po