The One He Dismissed Became The One He Died For novel Chapter 211

"Claire, do you really think I'm that petty?"

Claire mumbled under her breath, "Chloe and I ate those hot wings for four years in college. How was I supposed to know you couldn't handle spice?"

"Chloe?"

"Yeah, why?"

Miles fell silent, his eyes lowering. He had genuinely thought the dish was some nostalgic memory between her and Jefferson. It turned out it was just her college roommate.

A heavy weight that had been crushing his chest suddenly lifted.

"Nothing," he replied, his tone entirely casual again.

Claire stared at him suspiciously, sensing that something was off but unable to put her finger on it.

"How are you feeling right now? I'm going to get a doctor."

"There's no need."

She patted Miles's shoulder, gesturing for him to move over. "Then I'm getting into bed with you for a bit."

Careful to keep weight off her injured left leg, she used her right leg to pull herself onto the mattress.

"Claire, it's the middle of the day."

"What are you thinking about, Dr. Zimmerman? I just want to nap with you." Claire rested her hand lightly on his waist.

And then she felt a very firm, undeniable presence pressing against her outer thigh.

"Dr. Zimmerman, it's the middle of the day."

Miles's calm facade cracked for a split second before he composed himself. "It's a biological reaction."

"Oh..." Claire dragged out the syllable, her eyes flicking downward with a meaningful smirk.

Miles shut his eyes and took a deep breath.

"...Go to sleep."

"Can you actually sleep like that?"

"..."

That evening, Claire opened her social media feed and logged into an account that had been collecting dust for years—Nati.

The last time she had used it for promotion was six years ago, during the release of The Nova Series.

As the page loaded, her inbox was flooded with tens of thousands of unread messages.

Confessions from fans, collaboration offers from brands...

She thought for a moment, typed a single line, and hit send.

[I'm back.]

In less than a minute, those two words shot straight to the top of the trending topics. The comment section exploded.

[Nati! Did you finally remember your password?!]

[Is this Nati, the designer of The Nova Series?!]

[Are you dropping a new collection? Hurry up, I'm dying over here! I'm still wearing my Nova pieces!]

[The Queen is back! I've been waiting for six years!]

Nati was one of the very few fashion designers with a massive, cult-like following.

A single post was enough to ignite immense buzz for the struggling OCHH Luxury.

-

Zimmerman Manor.

Victor stared at the trending post, his expression sour. "Who exactly is this Nati?"

Yvonne looked wary. "Dad, Nati is OCHH's ace designer. She retired six years ago. I have no idea why she's suddenly surfacing now."

"Who are you? Are you new?"

Julian stepped in to explain. "This is Claire Jenner, your new CEO. She is stepping in for Quinn to take full control of OCHH."

Whispers immediately broke out across the floor.

"Parachuted in? The company is about to go under."

"She's pretty, at least."

"Whatever. I'm already looking for a new job anyway."

A sparse group of people dragged themselves into the conference room.

Claire scanned the room. Out of the massive OCHH workforce, only twenty-something people were left, mostly junior staff.

"Let me introduce myself. My name is Claire Jenner. I co-founded OCHH with Quinn."

"I'm here today to tell you one thing: OCHH is not going bankrupt."

The room was quiet for a few seconds before the grumbling erupted even louder.

"How are we supposed to survive? Management is gone, and the production line is dead."

"If it was going to come to this, we should have just let the Zimmerman Group buy us out!"

"Ms. Jenner, do you even understand the reality of our situation?"

Just as Claire opened her mouth to respond, the conference room doors swung open violently.

Yvonne stood in the doorway, perfectly made up and dripping with arrogance. Two assistants in sharp suits trailed behind her.

She paused when she saw Claire, then let out a mocking laugh.

"Designer Jenner? What, are you trying to claim a piece of the OCHH pie, too?"

"Does a tiny place like Luna Atelier really have the stomach to swallow this?"