Fated Marriage Spoiled by My Ice Billionaire novel Chapter 793

te Gladiolus

Everyone at the horse track stood frozen, staring.

Word that Harold had been slapped spread like wildfire through the circles that mattered.

+5 Free Coms

Not only had he been hit–he hadn’t even gotten angry. He’d just walked off the field with Zander tucked under one arm and Claudia under the other.

Now everyone was trying to piece together who Claudia was.

It was the first time anyone had seen Harold with a woman, let alone that close in public. People couldn’t help but wonder what went on behind closed doors.

Now here she was with Harold’s bodyguard Roger in tow–Roger carrying Zander right behind her.

Keith was still turning over in her mind what exactly Claudia was to Harold.

After what Harvey had said to her the day before, she’d been on edge. Part of her feared Claudia had come to confront her over the incident.

When Zander saw Keith lying in the hospital bed, he shrank back against Roger’s leg.

“Ms. Denton,” Claudia said as she walked over. Her tone was even, calm. “How’s the leg?”

For reasons Keith couldn’t quite name, she just couldn’t bring herself to like Claudia.

Back at the company retreat, Nolan had mentioned Claudia was some kind of genius–said her mind worked on a completely different level.

Keith had only smiled at the time. Nolan joked a lot, but when he talked about Claudia, there was real admiration in his eyes.

She hadn’t thought much of it. Skipping a few grades didn’t seem like a big deal; that crowd was full of overachievers anyway.

Claudia set a bouquet of white gladiolus beside the bed. “I heard you like blue. Pity the florist didn’t have any blue gladiolus today.”

Roger’s lips quirked. He felt like he was starting to get the picture.

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No blue gladiolus.

“How thoughtful,” Keith said, forcing a smile. She didn’t really get it. She shifted slightly and asked, “Is Zander alright?”

She looked genuinely guilty, and seeing that Zander was fine seemed to ease her tension a little. “I still don’t know what spooked that horse.”

Claudia listened as Keith explained.

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19:10 Sat,

Chapter 793 White Gladiolus

Even if she believed her–that didn’t excuse taking a three–year–old on a horse in the first place.

“Lucky you only broke your leg. If that horse had trampled you, you’d be in a coffin right now.”

She said it almost lightly, but a cold shiver ran down Keith’s spine.

Something told her Claudia wasn’t really here to wish her well.

She couldn’t stop herself from asking, “So you and Harold…?”

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Claudia offered a faint smile and didn’t answer. She turned and took Zander from Roger. /Let’s go.”

Zander looped his arms comfortably around Claudia’s neck.

Roger fell in step behind them as they walked out.

Keith just stared after them. Was Claudia Zander’s mother?

By now, plenty of people knew Harold had a child with him, but who the mother was remained a mystery.

The night before, Chelsea had called Claudia asking if she’d heard from Keith.

Then she’d filled Claudia in on Keith’s history with Harold.

Claudia could hardly believe Keith would use a child as a prop to get Harold’s attention.

Not long after Claudia left, Nolan showed up at Keith’s hospital room.

“Heard you took a fall off a horse. That bad?”

“Could’ve been worse,” Keith replied tersely. “But with Jaron, you’ll need to find another instructor.”

Nolan set down the fruit basket he was carrying. “Ah, don’t worry about that. Just focus on getting better.”

Then his eyes landed on the gladiolus nearby. “Who’s the wise guy that brought you gladiolus?”

“Gladiolus… do they mean something?”

Nolan pressed his lips together and picked up the bouquet. “They’re not exactly… festive. Who sends these?”

Keith went still. She remembered what Claudia had said: No blue gladiolus.

Turned out plain gladiolus were just cheap funeral filler anyway.

Another chill crept over her.

She forced another smile at Nolan and said nothing.

She didn’t want this getting around. She wasn’t exactly in the right here anyway.

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Chapter 793 White Gladiolus

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Claudia took Zander to Southhall Compound.

Darren was at the main house that day, overseeing the hanging of some framed calligraphy pieces. Artwork was being placed in the other rooms as well.

Claudia was busy, so Roger stayed with Zander in the backyard.

Nora nearly bumped into them while carrying a stack of documents across the yard.

“Zander!”

Zander turned at the sound of his name. “Nora!”

He ran toward her, Roger following closely behind.

Nora noticed Roger–he was one of Harold’s guys.

They exchanged a brief, acknowledging nod.

“Nora, wanna play with me?” Zander tugged at her pants leg.

Nora’s arms were full of files, so she couldn’t pick him up.

Roger took the documents from her. “Where to?”

“Second floor. Ms. Bowman’s office,” Nora said gratefully.

The three headed upstairs together.

Zander spotted Claudia working at her computer and hurried over, whispering, “Mommy…”

Claudia glanced at him, pulled him onto her lap, kissed his cheek, and took a piece of candy from her desk drawer.

“Mommy’s still tied up. Go play with them for a bit, okay?”

“Okaaay…” He didn’t really want to, but he obeyed.

Roger led him out to the balcony to play. Nora stayed behind to go over work with Claudia.

“Roger, open it,” Zander said, holding out the candy.

Roger took it and unwrapped it, his eyes drifting toward the two women deep in conversation as he did.

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