Claire tries to escape, but she is held in by Leo’s hands. And Leo forces her to look at him.
Claire instinctively struggles with the compulsion of Leo. But he doesn’t go too far, just grabs her waist.
For Claire, such a touch is terrifying. She is scared and struggling to dodge. At that moment, a phone call breaks the tense atmosphere.
Claire’s cell phone is ringing!
Claire picks up the phone in a hurry, but when she sees the name on the caller ID, she is stunned and froze.
Leo is surprised by Claire’s reaction. Just when he is wondering, Claire comes back to her mind, grabs the phone and answers the call.
Without many words on the phone, Claire hangs up after a few simple responses and then she says to Leo, “I want to get out!”
“Why?” Leo squints and asks, he doesn’t see who the caller was, but his gut tells him it is unusual.
Claire doesn’t explain much, but simply says, “A friend asked me out for dinner.”
Leo doesn’t show his distrust and says, “Then tell me where you are going to and I will send you there.”
When she hears this, Claire jumps into a panic and says, “No, no, you go home first. I will be right back after dinner.”
After that, Claire jumps out of the car, turns to a taxi and leaves.
Leo stares at the back of Claire, thinking of what has just happened to her, and immediately orders the driver to catch up with Claire’s taxi.
...
Even if it is not midsummer time, but the temperature of this city is still high. And the dazzling sun shines on Bryce’s face, but he seems not aware of it.
At the moment, he doesn’t think about anything, and could not take care of anything else, but waits quietly and anxiously for Claire’s arrival.
Bryce lowers his head and looks at the photo in his hand. It is Claire and Bryce who smile very happy in the picture.
The waiter has come several times to ask Bryce what he wants, but he just shakes his head and has no time to worry about anything else, just trying to recall the past.
This is a coffee shop called “Carving Time”.
Claire nods, and Bryce takes a deep breath, orders a cup of coffee called ‘memory’ to her, “Claire, I heard that you are married?”
Now that Brynn has given her the phone number to Bryce, the other things should have been told to Bryce, too. Claire is not surprised by what he said and she nods instinctively. Then suddenly she remembers something.
When she was a child, she made an appointment with Bryce. When they grow up, they will get married, have their own children and grow old together.
Then she looks up at Bryce’s sad eyes.
Bryce’s voice is low and sad. “That’s impossible...Claire, we agreed to be together. How can you get married? Is it because I haven’t contacted you? It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault...”
A persistent apology from Bryce makes Claire feel even more embarrassed.
“Bryce, listen to me. It is not your fault. It is my choice. It really has nothing to do with you. But now that I am married. I am sorry that I cannot witness our agreement with you!”
Claire apologizes with a sense of guilt. She and Bryce were not couples, but they agreed to be together once.
However, Bryce is painful to cover his ears with his head down. He doesn’t want to listen.
Claire sighs and doesn’t know how to explain.
But, just then, Bryce suddenly raises his head. As if he has thought of something, he holds Claire’s hand. “You tell me, are you being forced by your step-mother? As long as you say yes, I don’t care, I do not mind!”
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Genius Son Sells his Mom to Dad
The storyline could have been better -- organization and cohesion of episodes could stand improvement, ending could have been more definitive resolving the many conflicts between the protagonists. Of course, the despicable treatment of Leo towards Claire initially, e.g., selling her off in an auction and giving her to the madam of the club as princess is inhuman and a violation to the wife's rights and honor. I was wondering why she did not leave after these maltreatments. Oh, well, the conclusion [if the narrative ends in Chapter 488] is quite disappointing and anti-climactic. Thank you just the same....
The end of the story is wanting, considering how the episodes build up to conflict after conflict and concluding in yet another conflict. But then c'est la vie! Thank you....