My Rise and My Ex's Fall (Chloe and Arthur) novel Chapter 610

When Eugene heard that, he let out an annoyed click of his tongue. "I've been on this earth for almost thirty years, and I've only ever gotten hung up on one person. Her name was Chloe. Now it's Claire."

"You..." Chloe thought this guy was truly unbelievable. He was always like this—impossibly full of himself.

But then again, hadn't he always been?

"You've got the wrong idea. I'm not into your type," Chloe said, avoiding his gaze and shutting him down cold. "Maybe I used to be. But now? You don't do it for me anymore."

"So that just means the road ahead got a little steeper," Eugene raised a brow, unfazed. "I'm not backing down, though. You know me—I've always loved a challenge. Especially when it comes to a stubborn woman. I'm the kind of guy who goes all in. I don't hold back."

"How pathetic."

Chloe didn't bother wasting another word on him. Spotting Amber's car pulling up, she immediately stepped around his sedan.

"Once someone gets under your skin from the very beginning, you can't just act like strangers. I don't care if you go by Chloe or Claire. Here's what you need to get: the only man you're ever gonna end up with is named Eugene."

Eugene got out and dropped those words low, almost like he was stating a simple fact.

Amber rolled down her window. She hadn't caught what he'd just said.

"Everything alright, Claire?" Amber shot Eugene a look that was anything but warm.

Chloe stayed silent. She walked straight over, pulled open the passenger door, and slid inside.

"Let's go. Take me back to Bingham Mansion. I want to see Carl." She said it clearly so Eugene would know exactly where she was headed—hoping he'd take the hint and not follow.

This guy was seriously throwing off her plans. She had to make her stance even clearer.

Even if it stung.

Hadn't she already been harsh enough? What else did he want? Did she actually have to fake something with Nance just to get him to back off?

She knew how Eugene operated. If she dared drag another guy into this charade, he'd tear the whole world apart.

That man didn't hesitate.

Once someone gets under your skin from the very beginning, you can't just act like strangers.

"Man, you drag me all the way over here in the middle of the night with one call. You have any idea what I was in the middle of?" Landon started complaining, but one sharp look from Eugene shut him down fast.

He threw his hands up. "Alright, alright. What's the emergency?"

Eugene walked into the living room. Robert was already lounging on the couch, looking perfectly relaxed.

"I need you to dig into something—see if there's more to this than people know." Eugene took a seat, pulled out his phone, opened a photo, and slid it in front of Robert.

Landon leaned in curiously. The moment he saw it, he spoke up.

"That looks familiar. Pretty sure I've seen it before." He paused, then snapped his fingers. "Isn't that the pendant Nance always wears? His mom's last gift to him. He never takes it off. I think that diamond is the largest uncut pink diamond in the world—one of a kind."

"I know it's Nance's. What I want to know is whether it means something more. Like, does it hold some kind of secret? Something people would want?" Eugene kept his eyes on Robert. "Can you find out if there's any kind of story behind it?"

Robert studied the photo for a long moment. Then he grabbed the laptop beside him and started typing rapidly. He entered a string of commands, eyes tracking the data streaming across the screen. Finally, he leaned back.

"Other than being insanely rare and worth a fortune, there's no record of anything else tied to it. It's not even a topic on the dark web. To Nance's family, it's priceless because it was his mother's. To everyone else, it's just a really expensive rock. That's it."