Fated Marriage Spoiled by My Ice Billionaire novel Chapter 798

Chapter 798 The Framed Contracts

Chapter 798 The Framed Contracts

Claudia was feeling a little out of it.

She wondered if Harold was only doing all this to pay back some kind of family debt.

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She still didn’t fully understand what the Bowmans had done for the Cross family–but it must’ve been significant, since they’d basically let her pick from their sons like she was choosing from a lineup.

A family like the Crosses, with their standing and connections, had plenty of ways to settle a favor. Money, property, investments–any of those would’ve worked. Yet instead, they’d offered her a person.

And not just anyone–they insisted she should have the best.

Honestly, Claudia already thought Harold was more than enough. But clearly, they didn’t see it that way.

Even after they’d signed the marriage certificate, Harold had mentioned he could introduce her to someone… better.

And that “better” he was talking about was Harvey.

It all made Claudia even more curious about the Cross family–who they really were, and what they

valued.

Harold rested his forehead gently against hers and cracked his eyes open just enough to take her in.

She was biting her lower lip, brows lightly furrowed, her hands clutching his arms so tightly her nails were nearly pressing into his muscles.

“Sweetheart, if it hurts, you can bite me instead,” he murmured against her ear, voice trembling slightly. “I’m… not exactly an expert at this either.”

Not an expert?

He had a kid who was almost four. How could he not be experienced?

And his kissing–Claudia had to admit he was actually pretty good at that. Smooth, confident. That didn’t exactly say inexperienced.

“Just… take it easy…” she whispered, but her words were almost lost in the sound of his breathing.

Claudia felt like her whole world was tilting. She never imagined she’d spend a night like this–and honestly, it wasn’t exactly enjoyable.

By the time it was over, all she was left with was an aching body and complete exhaustion.

Harold watched her as she slept deeply, cheeks still flushed.

A faint, soft smile touched the corner of his mouth. He sat on the edge of the bed and picked up a tube of ointment from the nightstand.

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Chapter 798 The Framed Contracts.

The cool, slightly stinging sensation roused Claudia just a little.

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She opened her eyes blearily–and was surprised to see Harold carefully applying the ointment for her,

Quickly, she shut her eyes again, pretending to still be asleep.

So he hadn’t just brought back that small box earlier that night–he’d brought back ointment/too.

By the time Harold finally lay down beside her, it was late.

He didn’t fall asleep right away, though. Instead, he wrapped an arm around Claudia, pulling her close, and pressed a gentle kiss to the top of her head.

Finally, in this quiet moment, Claudia felt like she truly belonged to him.

She was utterly worn out, her body limp against his, too tired to move or even push him away.

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Early on, Harold had said they could stop anytime if it wasn’t working.

But each time she’d mumbled, “Are you done yet?“, he’d simply answered, “Not yet.”

At least he’d slowed down and gentled his movements toward the end. Otherwise, she was sure she would’ve completely fallen apart.

“Sweetheart… are you mad at me?” Harold looked down at her, his hand still tracing soft circles along her

side.

He knew she wasn’t fully asleep yet–just completely drained.

“I’m not mad,” she mumbled, lifting a weak hand to rest it lightly against his chest–more of a half–hearted pat than anything else.

She honestly didn’t have the energy to be angry,

Harold rubbed his chin gently against her hair. “Tomorrow we’ll go look at wedding dresses again. But this time… there might not be as many options to choose from.”

“Okay,” she breathed, already drifting.

She could hear him speaking softly near her ear, but she couldn’t muster more than that single word in

response.

“I’ll show you something special,” he added quietly.

“Okay.”

And with that, Claudia was completely gone.

Harold turned off Claudia’s alarm before he left the room. She didn’t finally drag herself out of bed until close to one in the afternoon.

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Chapter 798 The Framed Contracts

When she stepped out, she found Harold in the study, focused on something at the desk.

She ate a light breakfast, then wandered over quietly to see what he was up to.

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He was wearing the same casual sweater he’d had on that day he came to see her in the courtyard. Right now, he was carefully placing their two marriage contracts into simple wooden frames.

“You’re up,” he said, glancing over at her before returning to his task. A small smile played on his lips.

Claudia watched him for a moment before walking closer. She picked up one of the already–framed contracts from the desk.

“Harold… did you trace your own signature onto this?”

He glanced at it. “Yeah.”

“It’s… kind of messy,” she said with a faint smile.

Harold finished securing the other contract in its frame before turning fully to look at her. “Am I messy?”

She shook her head.

Harold had that rugged, strong–featured kind of handsome. His face was striking. His ex–wife must’ve been quite beautiful too–otherwise, they probably wouldn’t have had such an adorable little girl like Zander.

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“You look really good,” Claudia said softly.

He smiled, looking quietly satisfied.

Once they were in the car, Harold told her they were heading back to Cross Manor.

“I thought we were going to look at wedding dresses?” she asked, a hint of nerves in her voice.

The last time she’d gone to Cross Manor was to officially break off the engagement. Everyone there had tactfully avoided bringing up Harold’s situation, simply respecting whatever decision she made.

She’d chosen Harold–the one they all quietly called the “black sheep” of the family.

He’d mentioned before about bringing her back for Thanksgiving sometime.

But this visit… she’d probably be expected to start addressing them as family.

She wasn’t sure she was ready for that yet.

“We are going to look at wedding dresses,” Harold said, glancing over at her. “They’re at the house. If none of them work for you, we can go somewhere else afterward.”

Isabelle had designed several wedding dresses herself years ago. They’d been stored at Harvey’s place, originally intended for Claudia.

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Chapter 798 The Framed Contracts

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But since things hadn’t worked out between Harvey and Claudia–and Harvey had no use for them- Harold had called him last night about the wedding dress situation. Harvey’s response was simple. “Come pick them up.”

“Why would your family have wedding dresses just lying around?” Claudia wondered aloud.

Harold started the engine. “My mom made them.”

Claudia’s eyes widened slightly. “She’s that fashion designer… Isabelle Foster?”

The first time she’d met Harold’s mother, she’d looked familiar–Claudia had probably seen her profile on design forums before.

“That’s right,” Harold said with a nod.

“I didn’t bring anything with me…” Claudia mumbled, suddenly flustered. “No gift, nothing.”

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