Chapter 356: I Am His Girlfriend
The emcee’s passionate voice hung in the air as spotlights illuminated the ice-type jadeite set on display. Its lustrous translucence and rich, vibrant green were enough to make any admirer go wild for it.
But Adrian Lancaster couldn’t even be bothered to glance up at it.
He knew his grandmother had a fondness for jadeite, but while this ice-type jadeite might be a rare treasure in others’ eyes, it was far from meeting his standards.
If he was going to give a gift, it would be the highest-grade, glass-type Imperial Green—the true pinnacle of the jadeite world.
Adrian Lancaster calmly rose from his seat, his palm enveloping Wren Sutton’s hand. Shielding her protectively, they left the banquet hall together without a single backward glance.
Everyone in attendance was stunned.
All eyes were frozen on the priceless jadeite on stage, then snapped in unison to the retreating figures of Adrian Lancaster and Wren Sutton. The crowd was so shocked they nearly forgot to breathe.
...
’Why did President Lancaster just leave?’
No one dared to voice their thoughts, much less try to stop him. They simply assumed that Mrs. Lancaster was tired and wanted to go home, and that President Lancaster was naturally obliging his wife.
... Claire Bennett sat frozen in her seat, the blood in her veins seemingly turning to ice.
Her face was deathly pale, drained of all color. She dug her fingernails so hard into her palms that she grew numb to the pain.
From start to finish, Adrian Lancaster hadn’t spared her a single glance, nor had he looked at her jadeite.
She had been clinging to one last, foolish hope, thinking that if Adrian Lancaster had at least made a symbolic bid or even glanced her way, it would have been a small acknowledgment.
But reality delivered a vicious slap to her face.
Adrian Lancaster not only treated her as if she were invisible, but he also discarded the ice-type jadeite set she had so carefully prepared and took such pride in like it was garbage.
All her attempts to test, approach, and provoke him tonight had been nothing but her own wishful thinking.
In his heart and in his eyes, there had only ever been Wren Sutton. There was no room for anyone else.
The doors to the banquet hall closed softly. With Adrian Lancaster’s departure, Claire Bennett’s last glimmer of hope was utterly crushed.
’Why does he have to be so cruel to me?’
The hand hanging at her side trembled violently. Her eyes were bloodshot, and the surging hatred within her threatened to boil over.
She was numb to her surroundings, as if she were trapped in a dark ice cellar, sinking deeper and deeper into a cold, sunless abyss.
As for the final selling price of the jadeite set or who the buyer was, Claire Bennett was completely oblivious.
As the final lot was sold, the charity gala drew to a close.
Claire Bennett skipped the photo session, leaving The Zenith Hotel like a lost soul.
She drove in silence toward the high-rise apartment building, her speed dangerously fast, almost out of control. At one intersection, she nearly collided with a cyclist.
The car finally pulled into the underground garage. Claire Bennett took the elevator straight to the top floor.
CLICK. The door opened to a wall of dead, silent darkness.
No lights were on in any of the rooms, and the curtains were drawn tight, blocking every sliver of light from the outside.
Without even changing her shoes, Claire Bennett rushed to the window, grabbed a high-powered telescope, and aimed it toward the distant Lancaster family villa.
The night was as black as ink, wrapping the entire city in a silent darkness. Only the Lancaster family’s villa was ablaze with light, like a magnificent, isolated island.
She adjusted the focus, her gaze locking on with precision.
Before long, a familiar black sedan slowly drove into the courtyard.
The car came to a stop. Adrian Lancaster got out first, then walked around to the other side to open the door for Wren Sutton.
He leaned down, offered his hand, and helped her out with gentlemanly grace. His arm settled naturally around her waist in a gesture both intimate and casual.
As he looked down to speak to her, his expression was filled with tenderness and patience.
Wren Sutton looked like a queen, the newly acquired sapphire brooch on her dress flashing, its sparkle stinging Claire Bennett’s eyes.
She looked so dazzling, so happy.
And Claire Bennett could only stand in the darkness, like some shameful clown hiding from the light.
The stark contrast, the sheer psychological chasm between them, caused a low, utterly suppressed growl to escape Claire Bennett’s throat.
"ARGH!"
She slammed her fist onto the cold windowsill. Her knuckles turned white, but she was completely oblivious to the searing pain.
She violently swept the telescope aside, and it hit the wall with a dull THUD.
The red in her eyes was no longer just from anger; it was the scarlet of near-madness.
"Wren Sutton, what gives you the right? I knew Adrian Lancaster first! I was his girlfriend!"
Claire Bennett’s teeth nearly bit through her lower lip, and the metallic tang of blood filled her mouth.
"You don’t deserve to be by his side! You don’t deserve to be Mrs. Lancaster!"
"I schemed and plotted, endured humiliation, changed my very face, and went through so much pain..."
As Claire Bennett thought about everything she had gone through abroad, her body began to tremble uncontrollably. Her chest heaved, and she clutched at her hair, sinking to the floor.
Her once-pristine makeup was completely ruined as tears mixed with pure hatred streamed down her face.
"Wren Sutton, you bitch! I’ll haunt you from the grave!"
"What you owe me, I’ll take back from you a hundred, a thousand times over."
In the darkness, Claire Bennett’s voice was hoarse and chilling, laced with a destructive madness. Mixed with the faint sounds of traffic from outside the window, it was utterly horrifying.
She sat slumped on the cold floor. Once her tears had run dry, she slowly raised a hand, staring at her trembling fingertips as a twisted, chilling smile crept across her lips.
"No one knows who I am, and no one knows my plan. This means I haven’t lost yet."
’Adrian Lancaster’s devotion, Wren Sutton’s happiness... it’s all temporary.’
Leaning against the wall, Claire Bennett slowly pushed herself to her feet. She felt her way into the study and, using the faint light from the window, opened a drawer.
Inside lay a yellowed old photograph. It was of a younger her and Adrian Lancaster, their faces youthful, their smiles genuine.
Claire Bennett’s fingertips gently brushed across Adrian Lancaster’s face in the picture. Her gaze flickered between tenderness and malice, the two emotions warring wildly in her eyes.
"Adrian Lancaster, you can only be mine. And if I still can’t have you this time... I don’t mind destroying you, too."