Rebirth Into My Second Chance

I avoided his gaze, pulling my hand away with a chill that matched the ice in my veins, wrapping my arms around myself. My eyes briefly met the floor, an indifferent witness to the turmoil between us.

"Claire, you're always going on about Richard's jail time and starting fights with me. Plus, when Kate came back, you pushed her down the stairs, hurting her over and over. Plus, Kate told me you were in love with Richard. I felt like I could never measure up to Richard in your eyes despite taking care of you for ten years. It made me furious. My biggest fear in life is being abandoned. The Hilton family abandoned my family."

Claude's tears caught me off guard, his voice breaking in a way I hadn't anticipated.

"Excuses. You can't even convince yourself, and how do you expect to convince me? Claude, admit it. Back then, all you wanted was to outdo the Hilton family. You needed Kate, and I was the one left in the lurch," I scoffed as the elevator dinged open. Max stepped out, and his presence immediately cooled the tension. "Stay away from her!"

Claude clenched his fists, powerless against Max's command. "Uncle Max, understand. Thanks for calling off the engagement with the Goodwin family on my behalf."

Claude didn't look back as he walked away. He and Kate were no longer engaged, and had Max intervened?

I turned to Max, but he offered no explanations. Instead, he tenderly lifted my injured hand with his brow furrowed, discarding Claude's handkerchief into a nearby trash can before leading me into the apartment. He rummaged through my drawers for the first aid kit, gently cleaning my wounds and wrapping them with an elastic bandage.

"Max, isn't there anything you want to tell me?" I asked.

He knelt before me, placing my bandaged hand on my lap as he met my gaze. "Claude has always been desperate for the Hilton family's approval."

Claude, Crestview Metropolis's most formidable lawyer, had his firm go public. To many, he was a golden boy. Yet, he was still under the Hilton family's thumb. So, Claude wanted to use the Goodwin family to strengthen himself. After all, the Goodwin family was only second to the Hilton family.

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I asked, "So, Claude regretted choosing Kate, but the Goodwin family wouldn't allow a cancellation of the engagement. You stepped in for him, didn't you?"

Max nodded, caressing my face. "Claire, how about we avoid seeing him from now on?"

It turned out that the most influential people of Crestview Metropolis could make the most controlling requests in the gentlest ways.

"What would happen if I did see him?" I challenged.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

"You'd die." He placed my hand over his heart as if to say seeing Claude would kill his heart.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Max, Richard mentioned our worlds are too far apart. So, I'll meet whoever want. If I want to see you, I'll see you, but you won't be my only option. Since can't reach you, I won't bother trying. Go ahead and take that creepy doll from my bed and leave."

Harsh as my words were, what else could I do? Expect him to fall hopelessly in love with me, defying his family for a grand romance? That was the stuff of novels

I was just an orphan, raised in an orphanage, without any backstories, struggling in the mud at the bottom, constantly at risk of being killed.

"Okay." He got up, went to my room to take the doll, opened the door, and left.

I couldn't understand why my eyes were burning or why I felt like crying. I lay on the couch and let myself sob.

I wondered, 'Once the murderer gets caught, should I leave this place? I fear seeing Max would drown me in sorrow forever.'