The One He Dismissed Became The One He Died For novel Chapter 69

Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the city lights sparkled brilliantly.

Staring at her laptop, Claire's fingers flew across the keyboard as she drafted the blueprint for the Jubilee gift, a massive grin splitting her face.

She grabbed her phone and snapped a quick picture of the mesmerizing skyline.

She uploaded it to her social media feed with the caption: [What kind of star is this? My lifesaver!]

Southside Apartments.

Every single room was desolate and empty.

In the pitch black, a completely intoxicated Jefferson slumped against the sofa.

He had exhausted every dirty trick in the book waiting for Claire to crawl back and beg, but two excruciating days had passed, and she hadn't reached out once.

The specialized notification pinged. Jefferson lunged for his phone, frantically clicking the link to her latest post.

It was just an ordinary picture of the city lights.

He was about to toss the phone away when his eyes snapped to a tiny detail.

He zoomed in violently on the bottom corner of the image. The reflection in the glass clearly showcased the silhouette of a man.

Even blurred and shadowy, there was absolutely zero doubt—it was a man!

Was she living with someone else?

She loved him so desperately, yet she was actually resorting to such a pathetic trick to make him jealous?

Smash!

Every glass on the coffee table was violently hurled across the room.

His eyes burned completely red, his chest heaving as the absolute inferno of rage consumed whatever sanity he had left.

He dialed his assistant's number and forwarded the picture.

"Find her! I want to know exactly where Claire is hiding right now!"

-

Two days later, Zimmerman Manor.

The sprawling banquet hall was dripping in absolute luxury, swarming with the city's most elite socialites.

Claire gave him an utterly exhausted side-eye.

"My bad. I completely forgot to block you online."

Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her phone and permanently restricted his account right in front of his face.

"You..." Jefferson's face contorted in furious disbelief.

Yvonne quickly slipped on her mask of perfection, stepping up beside him. "Claire, what a surprise. You actually made it."

Her tone was dripping with venomous superiority.

"That dress is cute. I assume you stitched it yourself? It's decent craftmanship, but for an event like this..."

"If you couldn't afford proper attire, you really should have called me. I have endless racks of unused couture. Loaning you something wouldn't have been an issue."

Yvonne smiled sweetly, her voice perfectly pitched to ensure every single socialite within a ten-foot radius heard her blatant insult.

"Stick around. I might throw some scraps of business your way later."

Right on cue, the surrounding guests sneered, practically looking at Claire like she was something scraped off the bottom of a shoe.