Chapter 19
As soon as Claire walked into the company where Lucille worked, she immediately noticed her.“!
Lucille carried herself with an air of elegance, her words as polished as her appearance, Claire could tell right away that Lucille came from a wealthy family.
Then she played the part of the damsel in distress, shedding a few strategic tears and hiring people to impersonate her parents over the phone, which tugged at Lucille’s kind heartstrings.
wasn’t until Claire found herself in the company of Ayrton and Walter, following Lucille around, that she truly understood how privileged Lucille’s life was.
Ayrton was the kind of person Claire had only ever seen in business magazines.
And Walter? He was Sea City’s famed racecar driver, his posters once plastered all over town.
Claire’s envy was overwhelming. The kind of people she had only dreamed of were all orbiting around Lucille.
The gnawing sense of injustice consumed her. She went to great lengths to pour out her troubles to Lucille, sticking to her like glue, using her to get close to Ayrton and Walter.
fell for
What Claire didn’t anticipate was how easily Ayrton and Walter fell for her charms, treating her well, and even choosing her over Lucille time and again.
To test their devotion, Claire orchestrated a series of events: she injured her hand, lamented her hardships, shattered Lucille’s trophy, and even placed flowers around their old house.
As Lucille’s intern, Claire knew all too well about her asthma and pollen allergies. She did it on purpose.
Claire’s malicious intent was nearly palpable. Her only regret was that Lucille didn’t die that day.
All the data on her phone was restored as well, including Claire’s taunting message to Lucille the day she left: [Sorry, but I’ve got Ayrton and Walter on my side again. Looking forward to living together, the four of us!]}
The message was infuriating.
Walter slammed the phone into Claire’s face in anger
“How dare you talk to her like that? Without Lucille, do you think you would even catch our eye?” he growled through gritted teeth. Ayrton leaned back on the couch, his eyes closed, lips barely moving as he spoke, “Throw Claire’s stuff out, and bring her family here.” He gave the order without hesitation.”
lan promptly responded with a “yes,” directing workers to carry Claire’s belongings out.
Claire collapsed onto the floor in despair, her eyes void of hope.
“No… don’t take my things!”
Watching the workers come and go, her possessions being ruthlessly tossed out, Claire desperately tried to stop them. She had only lived in this luxurious house for a few days, hadn’t even begun to enjoy the good life, so why was this happening?
Claire lay on the ground, genuine tears streaming down her face.
“It’s all over everything’s over…”
Suddenly, Claire couldn’t see a path forward.
She had clawed her way out of her village, made it into Sea City’s renowned design firm, only to crash back down to reality.!!
These past two months felt like a beautiful dream.}{
Now that she was awake, she was back to reality. She was still the ugly duckling, never to become a swan.
