Chapter 104: Playing Along
“Yes, General Hawthorne,” Richard said, nodding eagerly. He had always believed Claire was kind at heart, though she sometimes came off as arrogant. He vividly remembered a rainy night when he witnessed a heartwarming scene. Back then, he wasn’t Frederick’s aide, just a driver in the military.
One evening, he was out on a delivery when an unexpected downpour started. The rain was so heavy that even with the windshield wipers at full speed, visibility was poor. The supplies he was transporting were urgent, and he had to reach the base that night. With no other choice, he pressed on. Thinking the shortcut he often used would be safer due to the late hour, he took that familiar route.
But something unexpected happened. Halfway through, a dog suddenly darted onto the road. Richard slammed the brakes, but before the car could completely stop, a young girl rushed out from the roadside. She grabbed the dog and rolled with it into the grass. After halting the truck, Richard quickly got out to check. Thankfully, the girl and the dog were unharmed. If she hadn’t acted so quickly, the truck would have hit the dog.
That girl was none other than Claire Prescott, the young heiress of the Prescott family. So later, when he met Claire at the Prescott Manor and saw her fiery, arrogant demeanor, Richard struggled to reconcile it with the girl he had seen that night. He felt such a kind person couldn’t be so unreasonable.
As for Anna’s case four years ago, there had been no concrete evidence. Frederick had convicted Claire based solely on a single message. But Frederick was his superior. Once the decision was made, Richard could do nothing about it. Without proof of Claire’s innocence, there was no way to argue on her behalf.
“Hand me the phone.” Frederick couldn’t believe Claire had taken it upon herself to explain things.
He grabbed the phone and opened the video. After watching, he finally accepted it was true. Claire had gone out of her way to defend their relationship, claiming they were deeply in love. The video left Frederick distracted all day. He couldn’t understand why Claire would do this. He thought, “Hasn’t she been trying to leave me all this time? Why, when trouble arose, would she step forward to protect me?”
At ten that evening, Frederick finished work and drove straight back to Halfmoon Manor without even stopping for dinner. When he got home, he headed directly to the basement. Claire was half-asleep when the door creaked open. She woke with a start and saw Frederick standing in front of her.
“Why did you do it?” he asked, his voice cold and demanding.
“What are you talking about?” Claire knew what he meant. It could only be about the video she had uploaded.
Feigning ignorance, she looked at him, knowing the effect would be even better.
“Why did you upload that video? Don’t tell me you did it because you love me,” Frederick shot back. Even he was stunned by the words as they left his mouth.
Claire laughed. It was perfect. She would play along and give him exactly what he wanted.
“Yes, Frederick. I guess I don’t know either. Maybe I’m just a fool. The moment I saw the trending story, all I could think about was defending you. So I recorded that video and uploaded it. Only after I hit send did I realize just how much I care about you and how much I love you.”