FAZER LOGINClaire was thoroughly depressed.She had never expected that a massive jerk like Damien would actually have someone pursuing him. It was entirely unfair!When Damien returned to the café table and realized Claire had slipped away, he paused for a moment.Zoe Meade smiled softly. "Your niece-in-law is quite amusing."Damien curled his lip in disdain. "Amusing? She's just silly. A foolish romantic.""Sometimes there's no need to be so aggressively clear-headed," Zoe replied, taking a sip of her coffee. "The foolish have their own blessings. She and Ethan actually seem like a quite a good match. By the way, did Edward give her a hard time?"In the high-society circles of the capital, everyone knew that the Cole family patriarch, Edward, was autocratic and overbearing. Decades ago, he had ruthlessly prevented Ethan's parents from being together, a decision that ultimately led to the eldest young master of the Cole family remaining unmarried for the rest of his tragically short life. Give
The next morning, Claire woke up to find she was the only one in bed.She blinked, her hand instinctively reaching out to the side. The mattress beside her was still warm. Ethan had slept in the master bedroom last night.A damnable sense of excitement welled up in her chest, and she absolutely despised herself for it. They were on the verge of a divorce, yet she was still so painfully reluctant to let him go.She had slept soundly, completely free of dreams, and was in surprisingly high spirits today.When she went downstairs, she greeted Katherine cheerfully. "Morning, Mom!"Her voice was crisp, a faint, genuine smile hanging on her lips.Katherine smiled warmly and called her over for breakfast. Seeing Claire's bright mood, Katherine thought about how Ethan had also looked quite content when he came downstairs earlier. She naturally assumed the two of them had made up. They were a married couple, after all, fights at the head of the bed were always resolved at the foot of the bed.
Ethan had been waiting for her to call out to him. As long as she said that one sweet word, he would go to her.After struggling with himself all day, he finally decided to let himself off the hook. He loved it when Claire smiled and called him "Honey," loved it when she melted into his arms, loved her spoiled little pout, and loved the way she coaxed him with her soft, delicate voice.Last night, he had barely slept in the guest bedroom. Without Claire in his arms, the bed felt entirely wrong.He had been distracted all day at work. The moment he finished, he dropped everything and rushed home. Just a moment ago, Claire had looked pleasantly surprised to see him but her expression had shifted almost instantly. Ethan’s eyes dimmed with disappointment.Mrs. Martha walked over and took the coat from his arm.He walked over, sat down on the sofa, and asked, "What are you two doing?"Katherine shoved a bowl of dark liquid into his hands. "You coax her. Get her to drink this."Ethan froze
Claire lay in bed for a while before finally dragging herself downstairs.Ethan had already left for the office and hadn't eaten breakfast at home. Claire felt a sudden wave of nostalgia for their days in City A; even though they had lived in a cramped, modest apartment back then, they had nearly always shared their meals together. Ever since moving to Bellmont, Ethan had been swallowed whole by his corporate responsibilities, and sharing a meal, let alone breakfast, had become a distant memory. She couldn't even remember the last time they had sat across from each other in the morning.Because Ethan left before dawn, his morning meals were always handled by Walter.Noticing that Claire's complexion looked pale and drawn, Katherine instructed the kitchen staff to stew a bowl of nourishing bird's nest soup for her.Once breakfast was over, Claire retreated upstairs to rest for a bit before heading down to the kitchen to prep lunch. Lately, she had taken over the responsibility of coo
"You deserve it," Lucas chuckled. "Who told you to go out of your way to provoke them?"Damien curled his lip and let out a dismissive huff. "They’ve been having trouble with a divorce lately, so as an elder, I simply went to show some concern. Who knew my nephew wouldn't know what's good for him?""Divorce? Why?" Lucas picked up his water glass, taking a sip with genuine curiosity."Claire is demanding a divorce and even made a huge scene in front of the old man. I heard she pestered him for two days straight, begging him to hand her a blank check to fill out. Isn't that hilarious?" Damien couldn't help but laugh at the sheer absurdity of it.Lucas paused, stunned. "You mean to tell me the divorce was proposed by Claire?""Yeah, surprising, right? Back when Ethan was still just a poor startup kid, no matter how much I tried to force her to divorce him, she absolutely refused. Now that she's officially become a billionaire's wife, she's actually making a fuss about leaving."Lucas fe
Unable to withstand the suffocating intensity of his gaze, Claire took the initiative to move closer. She reached out and gently tugged on Ethan's suit sleeve."Husband, please don't look at me like that. It's so scary."Ethan stared down at her, his jaw tight. "Claire, do you have any idea how incredibly busy I am? How much longer do you plan on torturing me like this?"His tone carried an unmistakable hint of profound grievance.Claire felt intensely aggrieved too. "Ethan... does being with me right now cause you pain?"Ethan nodded slowly. "You do cause me pain. So can you please, just once, behave yourself?"Claire's heart instantly shattered into a million jagged pieces.He was already starting to feel miserable just being by her side. As the overarching plot progressed, would the female lead be the only one capable of healing him? Would being with Serena be the only thing that could ever make him truly happy?It had to be that way. Her role as the vicious, disposable female sup







