Chapter 121 Andrea’s POV I stirred the coffee in front of me for the third time. I hadn’t taken a sip since I ordered, but I don’t know why stirring it just kept me a bit busy. Ding. I heard the shop bell, I looked toward the entrance again, but it still wasn’t her. I leaned back in my chair. Jake must’ve noticed my restlessness. “Don’t worry, Andrea. She’ll be here. Maybe she’s stuck in traffic.” “Or changed her mind not to see me,” I replied. I had contacted Ruth, my college friend. She was closer to Claire, they were best buddies before I came into the picture. Don’t know what happened between them, but the friendship became sour. I needed her because the investigator had gone on a business trip and told us to wait till he was back to run a background check on Claire. Seeing how we didn’t have much time and didn’t want to give it to a random investigator, I thought Jake and I could get whatever information we could instead of just sitting and doing nothing. That’s when Ruth
Chapter 110Claire’s POVI was flipping through fabric samples on my desk, trying to figure out which of them was best to add to the store collection.I heard a knock on the door.“Come in.”The receptionist walked in. “Ma, your mother-in—”Before she could finish, Jason’s mother brushed past her, looking annoyed.“Did you expect me to stay outside and wait for you? What are you teaching your workers, Claire?” she said to me with a proud smugness.“Get out of my sight, you fool,” she yelled at the receptionist.“Sorry, ma,” she bowed quickly and rushed out.“You should be lucky I’m in a good mood today. I would’ve had you sacked.”“Sorry, ma,” she bowed again and locked the door.Why the hell was she here? I stood up and walked to her.“Sorry about that, Mum. It won’t happen again.”“It better not,” she said, walking to the couch like she owned the place and sat down.“Welcome,” I greeted, forcing a pleasant smile as I stood beside her.She smiled back and reached out to touch my stom
Chapter 119Jake's pov“Isn’t it amazing how the universe works?” I said to Andrea as we drove home.“Luck is actually on our side,” she replied, glancing out the window. “But we shouldn’t celebrate just yet. Nothing is confirmed.”“I know, Andrea.” I gave a slight nod. “But I don’t know why I just have this intuition that the clause might work in our favor. My grandfather was one smart man. I should’ve known he wouldn’t just hand things over freely.”Andrea smiled, then hesitated before speaking. “Jake, I want to ask you a question, and you need to answer truthfully. Did you know about the clause that you had to marry into a noble family?”I took my eyes off the road for a second to look at her. Her face was unreadable, calm but searching.. “No,” I said, shaking my head. “I wasn’t aware of that at all. I was just as shocked as everyone else when the lawyer mentioned it. If I had known, I would’ve told you.”“Hmmm… okay.” She leaned back in her seat. “I was just thinking, maybe that
Chapter 118Claire POVShit, shit, shit.“I’m fucked! Ughhh!” I screamed as I paced around one of the guest rooms.Jason and his family were still downstairs, but I couldn’t stay there with them, not with the way I’m feeling right now. My heart was pounding so fast I could barely think. I pressed my hands to my chest, trying to breathe, but I couldn’t stop whispering:What am I going to do?What am I going to do?I staggered back. My back hit the wall, and I let myself slide down. My legs were too weak to hold me. I still couldn’t breathe. I hadn’t felt this scared in all my life, and it was because of that dead old man.All this is happening… because of that clause. “Married to a noble and influential family,” my foot. Why did that dead, foolish man have to do this to me? That dead man wants to ruin all my dreams and destroy everything I’ve worked for.Everything was already perfect and in place. I’m married to Jason, and enjoying the life that comes with being tied to a rich and inf
Chapter 117 Andrea’s POV The second I heard the lawyer say, “One thing changes everything,” a feeling popped up. A flicker of hope. Jason went back to his seat, folded his arms, and leaned back, looking way too proud of himself. Claire kept giggling beside him as if the deal had already been sealed. His mother kept eyeing me—I didn’t need to be told she mentioned the baby to Claire just to spite me. So Claire was pregnant. She came prepared. After Jason made me lose my child, now he’s expecting another? Anger boiled inside me, but I shoved it down. I’d handle that later. I turned to Jake. He looked okay, expressionless. But I knew it was all a facade . He was hiding his emotions.I knew he was nervous his hand was trembling slightly, so I placed mine over his. He looked at me and gave me a small smile. “There’s one final clause your grandfather added shortly before his death,” Mr. Edwin said, his tone calm but heavy. “It overrides the previous condition about marriage.” Jason
Chapter 116Jason’s POV“Babe,” Andrea said, holding Jake’s arm, staring up at him like he was the only one in the room. “Don’t go so low and exchange words with—” she cut her eyes at me “him.”“You’re right,” Jake said, his voice calm as he led her back to their seat.And just like that, I was left standing there like a damn fool.My anger knew no bounds. Watching Jake and Andrea together felt like someone was slowly stabbing a knife into my chest—inch by inch. To make things worse, there they were, laughing and looking all lovey-dovey like they were the perfect couple in love. I hated the sight of them.Andrea is mine. She will always be mine.I clenched my fists by my side, heat rising up my neck. I wanted nothing more than to break those hands he was using to hold her. How were the both of them so damn comfortable doing this right in front of me? I stared at them in rage, but they didn’t care. They just kept whispering, giggling like I was invisible.I took a slow step toward them