Building Her Throne Burying My Heart (Claire) novel Chapter 89

Everyone went quiet after I spoke. Claire had already left the backyard, clutching her necklace as she disappeared upstairs, so it was just the rest of us now.

I took my chance and stuck out my hand toward Garrison. “Call it a little compensation for my trauma. I’m still seriously shaken up.”

Nobody dared say a word. They’d all seen me nearly lose my life over a dumb necklace. I couldn’t just pretend like nothing happened and let it go.

Garrison’s expression got even stiffer. He clearly hadn’t expected me to actually go through with this.

When he just stood there, not saying anything, I pushed again. “Garrison, I almost lost my life out there. All because of your stupid necklace.”

He looked uncomfortable, his eyes darting away. “That’s not just some stupid necklace. It was a gift for Claire. I was only worried about it staying underwater so long. It cost a fortune.”

I let out a cold laugh. “I don’t care if it cost millions. My life is worth more than any necklace. Or do you think a person’s life isn’t as valuable as your precious jewelry?”

My words hit him hard. Garrison’s face darkened. He couldn’t come up with anything to say, but he clearly didn’t want to lose his cool in front of everyone. Jasper, Susan, even the property staff were all watching, and he had to know exactly what they were thinking, even if they weren’t saying it out loud. I bet he was grinding his teeth so hard it hurt.

He saw I wasn’t going to give him a break, but he forced himself to stay calm, trying to keep up his innocent act. “That’s not what I meant. I was just anxious, that’s all. I never wanted you to go in after it. Claire knows I can’t swim, that’s why she got so upset… And I’m sorry you almost drowned. None of us expected it to go that far.”

“Forget it. I guess I expected too much from you. I thought you were someone who’d actually take responsibility.”

I didn’t give him another chance to talk. I wrapped my towel tighter around me and walked off. Susan went to make me some hot soup, and I headed straight to my room.

Garrison was left standing there, looking completely humiliated, probably sweating bullets and seething inside. If he was going to make me miserable, I was going to make sure he felt just as bad.

Back in my room, I shivered and sneezed, my whole body trembling from the cold. I went straight for a hot shower. When I undressed, I noticed the scabs over my injury had gotten soft and started coming off. Some spots had even split open and were bleeding a little. I must have kicked too hard in the water earlier.