The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 457

“You knew all along she wasn’t really a James, and you still kept it a secret from everyone?” York just couldn’t wrap his head around it. All he saw was selfishness. “Did you ever stop to think that if Cindy had come back to her real family sooner, if she’d gotten home in middle school, maybe she’d have done better in school? Maybe she wouldn't feel so insecure standing next to Claire.”

Three more years could have changed everything.

Lance looked at York, clearly frustrated. “Do you have any idea why it took so long to find Cindy in the first place?” He gave York a hard look. “Do you actually think I was just dragging it out on purpose?”

York paused for a second. He wasn’t clueless. Deep down, he knew Lance wanted his sister home as badly as anyone. The truth was, once a kid gets switched at birth, tracking her down was always going to be hard.

“You know,” York said, his tone a bit softer, “I bet if you’d told your parents from the beginning, they’d have found her a lot faster. You were just a kid. You didn’t have all those adult connections.”

He understood how tough it must have been, but still, their parents had so many more resources than Lance trying on his own. Lance going solo was always going to be a struggle.

“I spent so much time and energy looking for her,” Lance said quietly. “It wasn't any easier for my parents. They just didn’t have the time I did.”

“Alright, alright.” York put up his hands. He didn’t want this turning into a long fight. At the end of the day, this was the James family’s problem.

Then his gaze tightened. “Do you really like Claire?” He couldn’t quite admit it, but something about the whole thing just got under his skin. After all, Claire was supposed to be his fiancée. And now Lance had feelings for her? It was just weird. It didn’t sit right.

“Yeah,” Lance said with a nod.

“But I thought you two couldn’t even stand each other? You were always telling me how stubborn she was, what a bad temper she had, how she ignored everyone...” York trailed off, remembering all the times Lance had ranted about Claire. Was he already in love back then, or did he seriously just hate her?

“Lance, were you talking her down to me just so I wouldn’t go after her?”

“Help me talk to Cindy, would you?” Lance asked, almost pleading.

“You should really be focusing on Claire. Trust me, that’s not going anywhere,” York said, relaxing a bit. He was pretty sure Lance was out of luck. If anything were really going on between Lance and Claire, the whole family would be in chaos. But if it was just Lance chasing after her? Knowing Claire, she’d never let herself get dragged into something that messy.

York left, letting Cindy and Lance sort things out.

When Lance walked over, Cindy shot him a frosty look. She didn’t say anything and clearly didn’t want to. Lance didn’t seem to care.

“Cindy, please don’t be mad. Nobody out there even knows about this stuff. I do like Claire, that’s true. But you’re still my sister. I’ll always care about you.”

Cindy turned her face away, silent for a moment. Then, finally, she spoke. “Did you only bring me back because you wanted to marry Claire?”