Chapter 15: Watch Her Act
Frederick glanced at Claire’s injuries and suddenly felt inexplicably irritated. He shouted at her, “Get lost!”
“Yes,” she calmly nodded, turned around, and went back to the basement.
Caroline was completely shocked. She looked at Claire’s retreating figure and couldn’t believe her eyes. She thought, “She only served four years in prison. How could she come out and have such a drastic change? Could it really be that she… No, that’s impossible.” As soon as Caroline had this thought, she immediately dismissed it. The leopard cannot change its spots. A person who had always been so flamboyant, domineering, and arrogant couldn’t completely change in just a few years.
Caroline remembered what Diana had said a few days ago and the things Claire had done to win Frederick’s love since childhood. She felt that Claire must be doing this on purpose. She exclaimed inwardly, “Claire loves Frederick so much, and now she must deliberately pretend to be pitiful, trying to gain his sympathy. Yes, that must be it. Otherwise, why would Frederick allow her to live in the Halfmoon Manor? Although she lives in the basement, considering what happened to Anna, not killing Claire with a knife is already the most incredible mercy. How could he let her live in the basement? From this, it can be seen how cunning and scheming she is now. It seems those four years in prison weren’t for nothing. In this case, I can’t leave. I have to find a way to stay in the manor. After using Anna’s death to disguise myself for four years, it’s hard for me to finally be by Frederick’s side and gain closeness with him. Unexpectedly, Claire is now staying in his manor after being released from prison in just one month.”
Initially, Caroline thought that with Anna’s death standing between Claire and Frederick, there was no way they could have any interaction. But now, it seemed she was wrong. She had to find every possible way to stay in the Halfmoon Manor. She couldn’t let everything she had sacrificed for these four years go to waste. She didn’t want to leave any chance, not even the slightest chance for Claire.
With this thought in mind, Caroline reached out and pressed the injured area on her head, then collapsed towards Frederick and said, “Frederick, I feel unwell and dizzy. Can I stay here for a few days?”
“Of course, Caroline. Your sister is gone, and in Kingstown, I’m your only supporter. You can stay as long as you want,” Frederick replied without much hesitation. He had always treated Caroline like a sister, just like he did with Diana.
“Really? That’s great. My sister would be so happy to see how well you take care of me,” Caroline exclaimed with joy, continuing her act as usual.
For these four years, she had indeed gone to great lengths to pretend, never daring to show any hint of her true self in front of Frederick, waiting for the day when everything would come to fruition. She always felt that a remarkable man like Frederick was worth any sacrifice to obtain.
In the following days, Caroline stayed in the manor. Since she was about to graduate from university and didn’t have many commitments, coupled with her recent injury, it was natural for her to spend her time there openly.
As for Claire, she was constantly thinking about finding work and earning money. Otherwise, the amount of money she had wouldn’t last long. It would be gone within two weeks at most.
She spent almost every day sending resumes, attending interviews, and answering phone calls, which gave Caroline even more opportunities. Caroline knew about Claire’s predicament, how Frederick didn’t allow her to use anything in the villa, not even a drop of water. It naturally relieved her hatred to some extent. But she still wasn’t entirely at ease with Claire staying there. Therefore, she would provoke Claire whenever possible.
“Claire, I really didn’t expect that Frederick would make you stay in the basement and not provide you with anything. He won’t even let you use anything in the villa, not even a drop of water to drink. If you want, I can talk to him for you. He will definitely listen to me. Claire, don’t worry, these past four years, Frederick…”
Caroline desperately showed off in front of Claire, even going as far as going to the basement under the pretext of doing something good for her. She put on an act again and again. Caroline was just trying to disgust Claire. Under normal circumstances, Claire would just ignore her, but now that she was about to run out of money and face hunger, it also affected her job search as well.
After three consecutive days, when Claire saw Caroline coming to the basement again, she approached Caroline after fiercely pinching her own thigh and ran over with tears in her eyes.
“Caroline, I know you’re kind-hearted, and I also know that Frederick treats you very well. You’ve been by his side for these four years. I think you must be particularly important to him now. I’m running out of money now, and I’m about to run out of food and drinks. Can you please ask him to give me something to eat? I’m willing to do whatever he asks of me. Any dirty or tiring work, I can handle it.”
After Claire finished speaking, she looked at Caroline, who had turned pale and shocked. It was a sense of satisfaction she had never experienced before. She sneered inwardly, “Aren’t you claiming to be important to Frederick? Don’t you want to pretend to be a pure and innocent woman, a saint? Well then, since that’s the case, I’ll give you a chance to pretend and act. If you really are so important, it conveniently solves my basic needs and prevents me from tragically starving to death in the end.”