No Divorce? The Billionaire's Love Chase! novel Chapter 572

"What did you call me?"

Before Claudia could finish, York cut her off, his face turning cold.

Claudia took another deep breath and corrected herself. "York, this card belongs to my mother. The money your finance department has been depositing every month hasn't been touched. I've also gathered the funds to repay the debt you covered for the Watkins family. I've put it all in this card, principal plus interest, to return to you."

She still felt calling him by just his first name was a bit too intimate. But they were childhood friends, just like she was with Peter, so calling him York seemed appropriate.

York keenly noted the change in how she addressed him, but there was something more important he needed to ask.

With a grave expression, he asked her, word by word, "You sold the Green Jadeite set?"

Claudia didn't deny it.

When York spoke again, he was clearly struggling to control his emotions. "That's your mother's family heirloom, from the Stone family! How could you just sell it?"

That terrible thought flashed through York's mind again. He looked at Claudia with a hint of disbelief.

Faced with York's huge reaction, Claudia remained unusually calm.

"Whether it's jewelry or money, they're just material possessions," she said. "That jewelry set was what my parents left for my brother and me as a safety net."

"As they say, a clear conscience is a soft pillow," Claudia continued. "It's better to sell the jewelry and clear the debt than to be constantly indebted to someone else."

"Claudia, I'm not just 'someone else'!" York interrupted again.

They stared at each other across the table.

Claudia laughed coldly to herself. If she hadn't lived through it all once before, she would have never believed that to York, she was worth less than a stranger.

As York's voice rose in accusation, the suppressed atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Claudia's expression didn't change. "Even family keeps their finances straight. How is paying you back the same as cutting ties?"

That was indeed what she wanted, but she couldn't admit it. "Can you honestly say your grandfather and your father don't look down on me for being a bankrupt heiress?" she challenged.

York was speechless.

"I'm doing this so I won't be disrespected by your family," Claudia said. "My parents worked so hard to put me through school. I want to build a good life for my family with my own two hands. I want to be independent before I get married. What's wrong with that?"

Her barrage of questions slowly calmed York down.

He stepped in front of her, bending slightly to meet her gaze. In the gentlest voice he could manage, he said, "Claudia, I'm your York. You can rely on me completely."