Semua Bab Rejected, I Mated With Ex's Father: Bab 171 - Bab 180

CLAIRE'S POV:I've been living with my mother for a few weeks now and it felt like stepping into another world. After all the madness and pain at Valmont, her little house was my safe place. She made it her mission to keep me from sinking into depression, and honestly, she was doing a damn good job of it.Every morning, she acted like I was her queen. One morning, I was still half-asleep, hugging my pillow when the bedroom door creaked open.“Rise and shine, baby girl,” she sang in her playful voice.I groaned, pulling the blanket over my head. “Mom, It's too early.”She laughed. “Too early? It’s nine o’clock! You think the sun's gonna wait for you?”Then she placed a tray on the bed, right beside me. My eyes widened when I peeked out from under the blanket.“Breakfast in bed?” I asked, sitting up. This wasn't the first time she was doing this. It has become a regular thing, serving me breakfast in bed“Of course,” she said proudly. “Eggs scrambled just the way you like, buttered toas

CLAIRE'S POV:“Mom, I can’t lose him,” I whispered between sobs. “I can’t.”“You won’t,” she tried to say, though her own voice cracked. “The moon goddess won’t let that happen. She won’t.”But we both knew faith wasn’t going to magically drop money into our laps.We cried until our tears dried out. My head hurt, my chest felt empty. Finally, I wiped my face and sat up straight, forcing myself to breathe. “We can’t give up,” I said softly.“No,” Mom agreed, sniffing. “We’ll do everything within our power to save him. Somehow, we’ll find a way.”I pulled out my phone with shaky hands. I didn’t even know what I was doing, but I couldn’t just sit there. My fingers scrolled through my contacts until I landed on Jennifer’s name.I pressed the call button.She picked up on the second ring, her voice bright and cheerful. “Claire! Girl, finally. I’ve been waiting for you to call. How’s everything? How are your parents? Hope you're enjoying your mom's company?”I tried to respond to all her qu

THEO'S POV:She slammed her fist on the table, then her voice broke completely. “And my dad... my dad’s the only man who ever truly loved me. He’s dying. And the doctors want two hundred and fifty thousand dollars or... or he’s gone.”Her lips quivered, and tears streamed down her cheeks. “I don’t have that kinda money. And I don’t... I can’t lose him.”I froze. Two hundred and fifty thousand? My chest tightened. So that’s what was eating her alive.I reached for the glass she was about to lift again. “No more, Claire. You’ve had enough.”She pouted like a child. “I’m not drunk yet.”“You’re past drunk.” I gently pulled the glass away.She sighed, then leaned back heavily without opening her eyes. “I don’t even know who you are... but thanks for chasing those pigs away.”Her words hit me harder than any punch. She didn’t know. She didn’t see me. And maybe that was a blessing tonight.I pulled out my phone and dialed Charlie. “Come to the bar. Now. Bring the car around. Two women need

CLAIRE'S POV:I woke up the next morning with this fire in my chest. For days I’d been crying, worrying about Dad, feeling helpless. But now… after what happened yesterday at the hospital, something snapped inside me. Somebody had paid Dad’s bill. I didn’t need to be told who. Only Theo would do that without saying a word. He didn’t even want credit. He just wanted me to breathe easier.I sat up in bed, staring at the ceiling. “If he can silently fight for me, then I can’t just sit here doing nothing,” I muttered to myself.I dragged myself out of bed, brushed my teeth, and hopped into the shower. The warm water ran down my skin, but my head was somewhere else, turning with a hundred thoughts.The company was still in trouble, the drug project was hanging in the balance, and everyone was pointing fingers at me. I couldn’t keep hiding. If I wanted to clear my name and actually save the work I poured my soul into, I had to do something.When I came out of the shower, Mom was already in

CLAIRE'S POVDr. Greg and I have been working in the lab for a few days now and I was impressed with how much time he was willing to dedicate to this project. As I walked into the lab right beside Dr. Greg this morning, my palms were sweating even though the air inside Greystone Labs was cool.The hum of machines surrounded us, computers running models, centrifuges spinning samples, all that scientific music I’d grown used to over the years. Only this time, my stomach was twisted in knots.Dr. Greg gestured to one of the benches. “Let’s start from your last stable formula. You said you used version 7.3 as your final?”“Yeah,” I said, opening my laptop and pulling up the raw files. “That’s the one I defended in front of Valmont’s panel before everything went sideways.”He adjusted his glasses, leaned closer to the screen as the formulas scrolled past. “Alright. Let’s run it through the sim.”We loaded the molecular design into his lab’s simulation software. The screen lit up with a 3D