Chapter 6

Even Marcus, who was usually oblivious to social cues, sensed something unusual in such blatant humiliation.

He had every right to hate her.

After all, she was the one who had done those terrible things to him. If she were in his position, she would not treat someone who hurt her kindly either.

Claire gave a self-mocking smile and said nothing.

She quietly took a sip of wine, doing her best to digest his words.

Caleb could not help sucking in a breath.

He wanted to comfort Claire, but he did not dare speak to her over his uncle.

“Come on, Eustace. You shouldn’t speak to Miss Jones like that.”

Marcus had always been a gentleman who could not bear to see a beautiful woman mistreated.

Besides, Eustace’s words had indeed been rather heartless.

However, he did not dare push his luck in front of someone as intimidating as Eustace, so he softened his tone.

Eustace smiled indifferently, swirled his glass, and downed the remaining amber liquid.

Marcus had a wide circle of friends, and he was soon called away by someone else to chat.

The room filled with clinking glasses and noisy laughter, all of it especially grating to Claire’s ears.

Sitting beside Eustace made her feel as though she were perched on a bed of needles, and she wanted to escape several times.

The only thing stopping her was Gordon’s seemingly casual glances in their direction.

Just then, a server brought over a bottle of expensive wine.

Everyone began cheering, and their attention shifted to the bottle.

Claire finally seized the opportunity and used going to the bathroom as an excuse to leave the private room.

However, when she came out of the restroom, she looked up and saw Eustace leaning casually against the doorframe of the lounge next door.

His eyes were lowered, a cigarette held between his fingers, and he stood there in silence, as though lost in thought.

The Eustace in her memories had been the same.

He approached everything with intense focus, carrying a quiet air that made people instinctively want to move closer.

The only difference was that he had not smoked back then.

The memories faded, and Claire lowered her head as she hurried away.

“Claire!”

Eustace suddenly raised his head and called out to her.

Claire stopped, unable to summon the courage to turn around.

It seemed to be the first time he called her name since they reunited.

“How much can you make in one night here?”

His voice remained cold and indifferent, with a trace of contempt.

Claire clenched her fingers and drew a deep breath before slowly turning around.

She forced the corners of her lips upward. “Are you looking to pay for my services, Mr. Sterling?”

Eustace’s gaze lingered on Claire’s face for several seconds.

A flicker of anger passed through his eyes before settling into a calm, cold smile.

“Hmph. Claire, you really are something.”

He turned and strode away without looking back.

Only after Eustace disappeared around the corner did Claire, whose limbs had long since gone numb, brace herself against the wall.

Her body slowly slid downward, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, until she no longer had the strength to move.

Every time Claire ran into Eustace since their reunion five years later, she had been at her most wretched.

In the dark, lonely corridor, she saw snowflakes suddenly begin to drift past the window. They fell to the ground one by one, just like those memories from the past.

“It’s the first snow,” Claire murmured absently.

No one knew how much time passed before the snowfall grew heavier.

A familiar figure appeared outside the window.

He wore a long black coat and held a black umbrella. Snow settled on the umbrella, creating a scene of remarkable stillness and beauty.

It looked exactly like the way he had appeared in the countless nights that had haunted her dreams.

Claire watched the man’s back as he walked away. Then he suddenly turned around, and their eyes met without warning.

For some reason, Claire did not look away.

But those deep eyes lingered on Claire’s face for only a few seconds.

Eustace soon turned away and got into the car without hesitation.

Moments later, the black vehicle sped away.

Claire’s face was already covered in tears.

The snow fell harder and soon turned the world into a vast sheet of white. Everything around her seemed like a dream.

“Eustace, if… if we had not met under those circumstances, could we at least have become friends?”

…

The car drove silently into the snowy night. As Eustace watched the snowflakes drifting past the window, his mood grew increasingly restless.

Caleb wrestled with the question for a long time before finally summoning the courage to ask, “Uncle Eustace, do you hate Miss Jones?”

Eustace remained silent for a long while and did not answer.

“But Miss Jones is so beautiful, and she seems to have such a good personality. I wonder what kind of man her husband is to have married someone so beautiful…”

Caleb suddenly became talkative and launched into a long explanation.

Eustace’s annoyance deepened as Caleb continued talking.

The word “husband” especially grated on his ears.

His impatience turned sharp and agitated. “The prettier a woman is, the better she is at lying. Haven’t you heard that before?”

Eustace’s words left Caleb with nothing to say.

He blinked, then immediately fell silent. It seemed that Eustace really did hate Claire.

…

After the dinner, Gordon became even more determined to secure a partnership with Dyer Group.

He decided to strike while the iron was hot.

Since he had no way to speak with Eustace directly, he sent Claire instead.

“Mr. Bennett, I can’t take on this project. Please assign it to someone else.”

It was the first time Claire had ever refused one of Gordon’s requests.

Gordon narrowed his eyes, a shrewd smile appearing on his face as usual.

“Claire, if you successfully secure this partnership with Dyer Group, I’ll increase your commission. Besides, you and Mr. Sterling seemed to have had a pleasant conversation that night. Your chances of winning the project will be much higher.”

How on earth had he concluded that she and Eustace enjoyed talking?

Claire sighed helplessly and returned to her desk with the documents Gordon gave her.

“Claire, what’s wrong? What kind of work has the smiling viper assigned you this time?”

Daisy turned her chair toward Claire and asked softly when she saw how dispirited she looked.

Claire forced a smile and shook her head. At the same time, she received a phone call.

Daisy happened to see the moment Claire’s expression gradually turned grave after answering. The next second, Claire hurriedly picked up her bag and prepared to leave.

“Daisy, I have to step out for a while. Call me if anything comes up.”

“Okay, don’t worry. I’ll handle things here.” Daisy immediately wiped the playful smile from her face.

Claire’s expression suggested that she was probably going to the hospital again.

The hospital room was so quiet that only the steady beeping of the monitors could be heard.

The temperature inside seemed several degrees colder than outside.

Claire stood beside the bed and looked at the pale-faced man who had just undergone emergency treatment.

“Miss Jones, Mr. Warren’s condition is becoming increasingly critical. If this continues, episodes like today’s will only become more frequent. You may want to consider our new treatment plan, but the cost…”

Every word from the doctor felt like a heavy stone pressing down on Claire’s chest and making it difficult to breathe. The treatment plan in her hand had crumpled slightly beneath her unconscious grip.

…

At Dyer Group’s headquarters, Eustace sat in a leather chair in the CEO’s office and lowered his head over the reports on his tablet.

His fingers glided across the screen, while its blue light cast a colder edge over his profile.

His assistant, Evan Brooks, knocked and entered.

“Mr. Sterling, Miss Claire Jones from Zenith Global Language Solutions is downstairs and would like to see you.”

Evan carefully watched Eustace’s expression as he spoke.

Normally, Evan would not have reported someone without an appointment.

But unlike everyone else at Zenith that day, he understood Eustace better than anyone. He had clearly seen that Eustace was standing up for Claire.

The moment Eustace heard the name “Claire Jones,” his hand stopped moving, and his lashes trembled slightly.

Once again, his reason slipped out of his control.

He had been discussing work, but his mind held nothing except the happy sight of Claire walking away with the child and young man that night.

She had moved forward and begun a new life. He was the only one still trapped in the past.

The thought left Eustace feeling stifled and restless, as though something heavy were pressing down on him. He impatiently tugged at his tie before finally uttering coldly.

“I don’t want to see her.”

…

“I’m sorry, Miss Jones.”

When Evan saw Claire again, his attitude was far more respectful.

Evan had worked with Eustace for years, and he was now certain that Claire and Eustace shared a deep, complicated history.

Over the past few years, Eustace had devoted himself entirely to work.

No woman had ever appeared at his side as a romantic interest.

With his cold personality, many women had tried every possible way to approach him, but without exception, they had not only failed to receive so much as a glance from him, but had also ended up suffering badly.

Yet Claire managed to stir Eustace’s emotions with ease.

“Thank you.” Claire had already expected Eustace to treat her this way.

In the end, she compromised and accepted Gordon’s request. Claire knew very well that, in the face of money, her dignity was worthless.

The café beneath Dyer Group’s headquarters was constantly busy, filled mostly with people who worked in the building.

Claire sat by the window, where she had a clear view of everyone entering and leaving Dyer Group.

Since Eustace refused to see her, she could only wait there and look for an opportunity to run into him.

“Miss Jones, what are you doing here?”

Claire turned around at the sound of the voice.

The man before her wore a suit but still looked somewhat boyish.

He had a friendly face, and his smile revealed a row of bright white teeth.

She felt as though she had seen him somewhere before…

“Miss Jones, do you remember me? From that night at the Golden Bay Club…”

When he saw the confusion on Claire’s face, he immediately introduced himself as though they were old acquaintances and took the seat opposite her.

The mention of the Golden Bay Club suddenly jogged Claire’s memory.

He was the man who sat on the other side of Eustace that night.

She had been focused on escaping and had not paid much attention to the people around him.

“Hello, my name is Caleb Sterling.”

Caleb politely extended his right hand, then lowered his voice. “Eustace Sterling is my uncle.”

“Hello,” Claire responded politely.

Although Caleb was also part of the Sterling family, his personality was completely different from Eustace’s.

“Actually, we’ve met once before. That night at the convenience store, you and your family of three…

“I didn’t expect someone as young and beautiful as you to already have a son that old, so you really left an impression on me…”

“Wait. Son?” Claire suddenly interrupted Caleb’s stream of words.

Caleb nodded blankly. “Yes. The child was adorable. My uncle saw him too. I didn’t realize you were already married.”

He had seen him too? Claire’s heart began to beat faster.

“What’s wrong, Miss Jones?”

When Claire did not respond and seemed somewhat troubled, Caleb was the first to ask with concern.

“Nothing. But…”

Claire gathered her emotions.

After a moment’s thought, she decided to make things clear. “I’m not married.”

Caleb’s mind raced.

The man he saw that day was not Claire’s husband?

The realization filled him with an inexplicable flicker of happiness.

…

“Daddy!”

Eustace was downstairs receiving a client.

As he shook the client’s hand, a small, chubby child suddenly rushed in, called out to him in a sweet, childish voice, and threw himself at Eustace.

Everyone around them was stunned and failed to react for a moment.

Even Evan, who stood beside Eustace, could not help sucking in a sharp breath.

What was going on?

Eustace stopped the security guards from moving.

He carefully pulled the child away from him, but just as he was about to speak, he noticed how familiar the child’s features looked.

An inexplicable urge to draw closer stirred inside him.

“Daddy!” The child widened his innocent eyes and called out clearly once again.

“Mr. Sterling, I had no idea you were a father. Your son is the spitting image of you.”

His client, Felix, commented.

Evan took another look at the child.

His eyes slowly widened, and he stared as though he had seen a ghost.

He could not help exclaiming, “This… Mr. Sterling’s… son?”