The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 649

“You just asked me if I had someone I liked, and now suddenly Mrs. Clark has a son you want me to meet. Are you trying to set me up on a blind date with him?” Claire noted that unless she called Octavia out on it, Octavia rarely gave a straight answer.

“Just go meet him, that’s all I’m asking. If you hit it off, great—give it a chance. If not, no harm done.”

The real reason, of course, was to appease the Clarks with at least an introduction—Octavia needed to give them an answer.

Claire couldn’t guess exactly what Octavia was plotting, but her instincts told her things were never that simple.

“No need. I already have a fiancé—I’m not in the market for another.”

Claire hadn’t planned on sharing news of her engagement. But with Octavia, unless you shut down her hopes entirely, she’d keep pushing without end.

As soon as she heard Claire mention having a fiancé, Octavia was taken aback. “How’s that possible? Didn’t you call off your engagement with York?”

“Is York supposed to be the only man on earth I could ever get engaged to?” Claire replied, finding Octavia’s shock a little over the top.

Cindy was just as unsettled. She'd figured that with York back in her own life, Claire would be single again—and no way could Claire find someone better than York so quickly. But now, suddenly, Claire had another fiancé? Who was he, exactly?

“So when did you get engaged again?” Cindy interjected, curiosity barely masked. “And why didn’t you tell us?”

It only made sense—the Jameses were Claire’s adoptive parents. Not getting a word about their daughter’s engagement felt like a slap in the face.

“Your birth mother?” Octavia’s eyes narrowed. She couldn’t recall Cindy ever mentioning Claire’s real mother. “Didn’t she pass away?”

“My grandfather is still around—there’s still family on that side,” Claire replied, neither confirming nor denying what Octavia assumed.

Octavia turned to Cindy. “Cindy, have you ever met her grandparents? Where’s her family from?”

This was significant information. Why had her own daughter never brought it up? Was Cindy deliberately hiding it?

Cindy’s expression soured. She offered a strained answer, “I only ever heard that… well, that her mother was from Cabinda, but there was never any contact with the family back in James Village.”