Chapter 14: Are You Satisfied?
“What?”
Frederick hung up the phone and drove home immediately. Upon returning, he saw Caroline’s head tightly wrapped in bandages.
“Let me see; how did you get injured so badly!” Frederick quickly walked over to examine her wound.
“Oh, it’s nothing. I just accidentally fell down the stairs. It’s not as serious as you think. I didn’t have any argument with Claire. It was my own carelessness.”
“Frederick, please don’t blame Claire. She has truly changed for the better since coming out of prison this time. She will never be the same as four years ago.”
Caroline repeatedly pleaded not to blame Claire, but every word she spoke indirectly reminded Frederick of what had happened to Anna four years ago. Her words were cleverly chosen without mentioning Anna explicitly, but they instantly triggered all of Frederick’s pent-up hatred.
“Claire, is that true?”
Sure enough, the next moment, Frederick’s eyes darkened, filled with gloom. Though he talked lightly, they carried a chilling, fearsome aura, as if a demon had descended. Everyone knew what mattered most to him and what his Achilles’ heel was. Caroline certainly understood it even better. Her narrow eyes were filled with cunning and malice. She wanted to see how Claire would defend herself. Making her fall from the stairs was a serious matter that would definitely leave Claire severely punished, if not dead. She didn’t believe that Claire could endure this and stay composed. Moreover, this time, it was she who deliberately framed Claire. The former princess of the Prescott family would not tolerate even a slight injustice, let alone such mistreatment.
“No, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. Caroline, please forgive me and don’t hold it against me.”
Unexpectedly, Claire raised her hand and fiercely slapped herself.
In the past four years, she had seen and experienced everything in prison. Compared to that, a little grievance was nothing.
After slapping herself, Claire looked up at Caroline and asked, “Caroline, are you satisfied now? If not, I can slap myself a few more times. Or maybe I should go back to the stairs and fall again to punish myself?”
Caroline was stunned and thought, “How can this be? The princess of the Prescott family is actually behaving so submissive, so humble. She’s pretending! Yes, she must be pretending!”
But things had escalated to this point, and Caroline couldn’t continue to hold onto it. She could only grit her teeth, force a smile, and let Claire off the hook.
“Claire, what are you doing? I already said it wasn’t your fault, it was my carelessness. Frederick, I really don’t blame her.”
Caroline clung to Frederick’s arm, pretending to be innocent.
Seeing Claire in this state, Frederick felt a bit bewildered as well. But when he recalled Harrison’s words that night, he concluded that she was playing games. He squinted his eyes and scrutinized her. “Is a few slaps enough?”
“Yes, I understand.”
Claire nodded, got up, walked upstairs, and stood at the top of the staircase, then rolled down without hesitation. Of course, during the process, she protected her vital areas and tried to minimize her injuries. In prison, not only falling down the stairs but even having her legs broken by being thrown out of a window was all too common. Her ability to withstand physical abuse had long been honed to perfection. For her, these minor injuries were nothing.
“Is it enough?”
After rolling down to a lower flight of stairs, Claire glanced at her injuries, stood up, and walked towards Frederick, respectfully and expressionlessly asking as if nothing had happened.