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Chapter 86 Iron discipline
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2025-09-10 16:19:24Claire's POV
The days following Nicole's arrival at VM Group settled into a pattern that could only be described as psychological warfare disguised as professional collaboration. Every morning, I arrived at the lab with the same knot of tension in my stomach, knowing that she would be there—watching, waiting, looking for any crack in my armor that she could exploit.
"Good morning, Claire!" Nicole's voice rang out across the laboratory with that particular brand of artificial cheerfulness that made my skin crawl. "I just wanted to say how much I admired your immunoassay results yesterday. So... meticulous."
The compliment was delivered with exactly the right tone—warm enough that our colleagues would hear genuine appreciation, but with just enough emphasis on "meticulous" to plant the subtle suggestion that perhaps I was being overly cautious, possibly wasting time on unnecessary precision.
"Thank you," I replied evenly, not looking up from the
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Hooking Up With Her Ex's Alpha Dad Chapter 122 Cleared the air
Claire's POVThe evidence stared back at me from Theo's phone screen, each email timestamp and contract detail unraveling the narrative I'd constructed in my mind with devastating efficiency. The cold, professional tone of his responses to Daisy's increasingly personal overtures. The careful scheduling that minimized their contact to essential business meetings. The calendar entries showing dozens of attempted calls to my number interspersed between every corporate obligation.I had been so wrong. So completely, catastrophically wrong.The business partnership that had looked like romantic intimacy from across the street was revealed for what it truly was—a strategic alliance that Theo had endured rather than enjoyed, navigated with the same calculated precision he brought to every corporate negotiation. The smile I'd witnessed, the one that had shattered my heart so completely, wasn't the expression of a man falling in love but of someone maintaining prof
Hooking Up With Her Ex's Alpha Dad Chapter 121 It has always been you, Claire
Theo's POVHer words crashed over me like waves against stone, each syllable carrying the weight of a revelation that made my chest constrict with sudden understanding. Daisy. The confusion in my mind cleared instantly as the pieces fell into place with devastating clarity—Claire had seen us together, had witnessed something that she'd interpreted as betrayal, had been carrying this pain in silence while I'd been desperately trying to reach her."Claire, wait," I said urgently, but she was already retreating into her apartment, the door swinging closed between us like a physical manifestation of the distance that had been growing for weeks. "Please, just let me explain."My hand shot out to catch the door before it could close completely, the same motion Adrian had made moments earlier, though my intentions came from protection rather than possession. The irony wasn't lost on me—I was standing in the same hallway where I'd just threatened my son for
Hooking Up With Her Ex's Alpha Dad Chapter 120 What are you doing here?
Claire's POVThe doorway had become a battlefield, and I was caught in the crossfire between two men who seemed determined to claim pieces of me I no longer had to give. Adrian's grip on my wrist had tightened with each word of his desperate plea, his fingers digging into my skin with a possessiveness that made my stomach turn. I'd been trying to close the door, to end this conversation that felt like emotional violence disguised as romantic pursuit, when his hand had shot out to stop me."Claire, please," he'd said, his voice cracking with the kind of desperation that might have moved me once, before I'd learned to recognize manipulation dressed up as vulnerability. "Just give me five minutes. Five minutes to explain everything.""I don't want explanations," I'd replied, pulling back against his grip while trying to maintain some semblance of calm. "Adrian, you need to leave. Now."That's when his fingers had clamped down harder, not enough to bruise but
Hooking Up With Her Ex's Alpha Dad Chapter 119 Let go of her
The silence had become unbearable. Four days of unanswered calls, ignored texts, and the growing certainty that every hour of separation was driving Claire further away from me. I'd tried respecting her need for space, tried giving her time to process whatever storm was raging in her mind, but my wolf was going insane with the need to see her, to touch her, to confirm that she was safe and whole.Charlie had advised patience. My mother had counseled moving on. Even my own rational mind suggested that pursuing a woman who clearly didn't want to see me was a losing proposition. But none of them understood the fundamental truth that had been eating away at my sanity—I would rather face her rejection in person than continue existing in this purgatory of uncertainty.The drive to her apartment building felt like traveling through a nightmare landscape where every familiar street corner reminded me of moments we'd shared. The coffee shop where I'd bought her favorite b
Hooking Up With Her Ex's Alpha Dad Chapter 118 Wanting her
I lay sprawled across Egyptian cotton sheets, staring at the vaulted ceiling where shadows danced in patterns that reminded me of her hair spread across these very pillows.The bed was too big, too empty. Every breath I took carried the ghost of her scent—lavender and something uniquely Claire that had once permeated these sheets but was now fading like morning mist, disappearing a little more with each passing night until soon there would be nothing left but the sterile perfection of expensive fabric and my own growing desperation.My wolf prowled restlessly through the cage of my mind, a constant low whine of distress that made concentration impossible during the day and sleep elusive during the endless nights.I pressed my face into the pillow where she'd slept, inhaling deeply in search of any remaining trace of her presence. The faintest suggestion of her shampoo still clung to the fabric, but it was overlaid now with my own scent and the antiseptic s
Hooking Up With Her Ex's Alpha Dad Chapter 117 Because of Claire White
Theo's POVThe VM Group auditorium had never felt more cavernous than it did that afternoon, its tiered seating filled with nearly four hundred employees who had gathered to hear about our victory over Alpha Lucian. The weight of their collective attention pressed down on me as I stood behind the polished podium that had witnessed countless corporate announcements over the years.But none of those previous moments had carried the personal stakes of what I was about to say.Charlie stood near the side entrance, his posture alert as he monitored the room for any signs of disruption. The security measures were probably unnecessary—corporate victory announcements rarely attracted protesters—but recent events had taught us both to expect the unexpected. The legal department had positioned themselves in the front row, their satisfied expressions reflecting the contracts and settlements that had secured our position in the marketplace.Dr. Patricia s
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