Lahat ng Kabanata ng Billionnaire's regret: Ex-wife is an heiress: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

The lobby of the Jenkins mansion was everything she'd expected and a few things she hadn't. The scale was obvious, the taste more restrained than she'd anticipated. It was purely old money, and someone in the newer generation was trying to spice things up. She had spent two days in Las Vegas. She lodges in an hotel room with her laptop, and every publicly available piece of information about the Jenkins family that she could locate, which, as it turned out, was not very much. The family moved quietly for people of their scale. There was a deliberateness to their absence from the usual channels that suggested it wasn't accidental. They didn't court attention. They managed it, which was a different thing entirely.She'd tried to find an angle. Something that would set her apart from whoever else had received an invitation. She closed the laptop on the second night with less than she'd started with, which was a new experience.She could only hope her track record was enough. It usually

“So Cassie, this is Claire, and you should keep her updated on all the events and share your ideas with her.” Vivian said, introducing them a day before the burial.“This can be done any other time.” Claire said, shaking hands with Cassie. They hurriedly exchanged contacts and Claire bolted out of the mansion. John was flying in, and she wanted to be there to personally welcome him. The last time they spoke, he had just landed and was waiting with the pilot. Andrew drove her to the airport. He always offered to drive her around anytime he could. He was attached to her in a beautiful way. She spotted him before he saw her. He was standing near the exit with his carry-on, jacket over his arm, scanning the arrivals hall with the focused patience of someone who's used to waiting.She came up behind him quietly. She was three steps away when he turned around."Your perfume," he said, by way of explanation."You caught me." She stopped in front of him. Something in the moment felt differ

They were close enough that she could feel his breath. Close enough that the rest of the room had stopped to matter.The door opened… without warning. The only thing that could be likened to a warning was the quick knock that was instantly followed by the door opening. "Claire, I just wanted to…"Mark stopped in the doorway, taking in the scene with the slow, dawning horror of a man realizing exactly what he'd interrupted approximately two seconds too late to do anything about it.John and Claire pulled apart so fast it was almost comedic. Claire turned to face her father with an expression that had already skipped past embarrassment and landed somewhere in the territory of genuine fury."Dad." She crossed the room toward him. "Do you ever knock?""I did kn…""You did not knock properly. You never knock properly. You should have waited for a response before barging in. We could have been…" she gestured vaguely, "...anything, Dad. We could have been naked. We could have been mid…" She

John let out a low grunt as he walked into the room and found Claire already asleep, flat on her back, completely still. She didn't even had time to get fully comfortable before sleep took her.He stood there for a moment, looking at her."Did she have that much wine?" he murmured to himself, trying to remember the dinner. There had been wine. There had been a fair amount of wine, actually, once Vivian had relaxed and the table had loosened up. "It wasn't even that strong, was it?"He thought about it a little longer."Okay. Maybe it was."He eased himself onto the bed carefully, trying not to disturb her. She didn't stir at all, which told him everything he needed to know about how deeply asleep she was. He settled in beside her and, without really deciding to, shifted closer, pulling her gently against him, offering warmth he also desired."Sleep tight, Claire," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.Mark's words came back to him then, unbidden, settling into his chest with

The private unveiling had gone better than even Vivian had dared to plan for.The room had been filled with every senior staff member across the Jenkins businesses, partners, sponsors, the kind of crowd that represented serious institutional weight. Claire had walked onto that stage with her notes, which she barely glanced at and delivered something that wasn't a speech so much as an introduction of herself. It was honest, direct, occasionally funny, entirely without the polish that usually made these things feel hollow.The applause, when she finished, went on considerably longer than the standard courtesy clap. People were still on their feet when she'd made it halfway down the steps.There wasn't a person in that room who walked away doubting she could run this."That was good," Mark murmured to her as she descended, his voice was filled with pride."I am my father's daughter, after all," Claire said, and Mark's face went red in a way that made her laugh.The night didn't end there