Chapter 16
Growing up together, Richard had a quirky way of waking me up whenever I clung to my bed sheets too dearly. He’d sneak up to my bedside and tickle my nose with a feather. It got me up quicker than any alarm clock ever could. So, naturally, my mind often flickered to thoughts of Richard,
it my attempts to avoid these memories only seemed to spur on a more passionate invasion of my personal space.ll
But
Cold yet soft lips pressed against mine, sending a numbing sensation through my body. I pounded on the guy’s chest, exclaiming. “Richard, what the hell are you doing?”
“Richard, you jerk!“)
The more loudly I protested, the more forceful he became.!!
“Richard, how could you do this to me? It hurts.” Tears welled up in my eyes as a terrifying realization hit me. Then, I realized that Richard was in prison because of Claude at this very moment.8
Boom! It was like a splash of cold water on my face. “Tum on the lights! Who are you?”
Panic set in. Who had entered my room and crossed those intimate boundaries?0
“Claire, is Richard all you ever think about?”
Suddenly, all went quiet, and I was overwhelmed by a sense of emptiness.
Out of the silence, a deep voice I knew all too well and that chilled me to the bone, pierced the air. It was Claude!
I was wide awake in an instant.
Click! The bedside lamp flickered on.
Under the dim light, I saw Claude as exposed as i was, hands braced on the bed, looking down at me with an intense gaze.
Scrambling to the comer of the bed, I curled up, hugging my knees, stuttering, “Claude, I didn’t mean to… I just.. I had some warm milk. I felt strange and ended up here…
But he cut me off. “Get out.”
Wrapping myself in a shirt, 1 fled his room barefoot, not daring to meet his fierce gaze again, my heart racing.
The events of that night were a blur, but by dawn, I heard Claude disposing of everything in his room that I had touched, the bedding. mattress, even the fumiture, replacing them all.
His disdain for me was more evident than ever.
After what happened, we took no precautions. As I tried sneaking out to get emergency contraception, a servant stopped me, relaying Claude’s orders that I was not to leave the house.&
With Richard in jail, I was utterly alone. But I knew I couldn’t bear Claude’s child, knowing he didn’t love me.
I called Richard’s assistant, who was there to help me. I asked him to get me the moming–after pills.
The assistant arrived under the guise of delivering a treat, Beacon Hollow’s famous clam chowder, Claire’s favorite. But Claude appeared, questioning why I needed treats from outside when the Hart family provided for me.
His icy tone made me freeze!
The assistant tried to explain, but Claude snatched the chowder and the concealed pill. As I attempted to retrieve it, the food container tore, spilling its contents and revealing the pill.
Caught, a servant triumphantly presented the pill to Claude, accusing me of degrading myself.8
Claude’s response was a swift kick, silencing the servant.
“Give it back!” I demanded, reaching for the pill
Surprised by my boldness, Claude held it out of reach, I slipped on the spilled chowder, crashing into his arms.
“So, you’ve grown bold, Claire”
I didn’t get what he meant as I trembled uncontrollably!!
“Acting as if I’m dead, are you?” He dragged me to the kitchen, where he revealed a drawer already stocked with emergency contraception. Without a word, he forced a pill into my mouth and made me drink water.”
At that moment, I realized all my efforts to contact the assistant were unnecessary. Claude had prepared for this.X
He couldn’t bear the thought of me carrying his child. To him, having a child would mean being tied down to me. Gabrielle would make him marry me, preventing him from pursuing his true love, Kate.!!
