chapter113
He looked at the woman before him, and a voice inside urged him to go over and hold her tightly, to tell her that no matter what happened, he would always be by her side.
But reason told him that would only frighten her and push them further apart.
He simply gazed at her with gentle affection.
“If you ever need anything, please tell me. For you, I’m willing to do anything.”
His gaze was too intense.
As a woman, Claudine knew exactly what that meant.
She avoided his burning gaze, using the excuse of drinking to suppress her guilt.
“Thank you, I can handle it myself.
“I’ll also make things clear to Damian so he won’t trouble you anymore.”
“And what about you?”
Roberto asked.
Claudine paused, then curved her lips in a smile, pretending not to understand what Roberto meant.
“What?”
Roberto directly exposed Claudine’s feigned composure.
“I’ve read all those news reports. Are you really going to keep living with Damian?”
In that instant, Claudine felt as if she heard something shatter.
Oh, that was her own dignity.
Roberto was like a witness.
A witness to the proud, outstanding, and dazzling Claudine.
Although she didn’t want to admit it, after everything that had happened, she had indeed chosen to be an ostrich.
That was also why she would rather stay alone in Bronzevale and fight Damian by herself, than return to Reedport and let her mother and brother help.
On one hand, she didn’t want them to worry or get involved; on the other, it was her ridiculous pride.
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She deceived herself into thinking that the failed ‘Mrs. Barrette’ existed only in Bronzevale.
The once proud and dazzling ‘Claudine’ was still living well in Reedport.
The successful ‘Claudine’ and the failed ‘Mrs. Barrette.’
Claudine separated them in her heart.
As if by doing so, she could protect the last bit of her dignity.
She could use the identity of ‘Mrs. Barrette’ to risk everything and fight Damian to the end.
She could leave her dignity to ‘Claudine.’
But now, Roberto asked her if she still wanted to continue living with Damian.
The high wall Claudine had built in her heart collapsed with a crash.
The two souls that had once been so clearly divided now blended together.
She was a complete failure.
Claudine’s hand trembled slightly as she picked up the wine glass on the table.
The spicy liquid slid down her throat, slightly suppressing the turmoil inside her.
She forced a faint smile.
“The paperwork is already in process.’
་་
Roberto felt a wave of relief in his heart.
“That’s good. Damian doesn’t deserve you!”
Claudine didn’t respond.
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She had lost her appetite and, using the excuse that she had other things to do, hurriedly said goodbye to Roberto.
Sitting in the car, Claudine gazed at the neon lights flashing past the window, her heart feeling as if it were blocked.
She knew that just now, she had been extremely hypocritical.
She was no longer the Claudine of the past; now, she was an abandoned woman who had quarreled with her hus- band’s ex-wife in the street.
Now, the internet was flooded with news about her.
They said she was a woman Damian didn’t want, that Damian only married her because she had relentlessly pursued him back then.
Claudine looked at the face reflected in the car window.
She was only twenty-eight, with not a single wrinkle on her face, yet she felt that face was full of exhaustion.
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She laughed at herself for feeling so ashamed at the dinner table just because Roberto had seen through her pretense.
It was nothing but self-deception.
Who in this world didn’t know that she was no longer the brilliant Claudine of the past!
She had been a servant for five years.
Five whole years.
How could she not hate Damian!
He clearly didn’t love her, yet because he couldn’t let go of his interests, he refused to let her go!
Damian had turned her into a complete joke!
Claudine closed her eyes.
Scalding tears slid down from the corners of her eyes.
She hid in the darkness, licking the wound in her heart that would never heal.
She just wanted to start over.
She just wanted to leave Damian and find her former self again.
The driver drove the car back to Willow Creek Villas.
Claudine sat alone in the car for a long time.
In that darkness, she shed all the tears she had held back for five years.
In the spacious car, only the woman’s suppressed sobs remained.
She didn’t know how much time had passed.
Claudine finally lifted her head again.
Her eyes were clear as she stared straight ahead.
She dialed Theodore’s number.
“I can accept your terms.”
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