Chapter 169: Throwing Herself at Frederick Everyday
Claire returned to Halfmoon Manor from the hotel, utterly exhausted from the night's ordeal. The moment she got home, she crashed into bed. She had no clue about Caroline's recent activities or the schemes Caroline was plotting against her. Right now, all that mattered to Claire was that Frederick had cleared her criminal record, meaning she could finally apply for regular jobs. Even without a fancy college degree, landing a decent job shouldn't be too much of a stretch. Her expectations were modest; she just needed enough to support herself. Antony had returned the million dollars to her, which would keep the wolves from the door for quite a while.
But she needed to think long-term. That money wouldn't last forever if she just sat around. It was already 3 PM when Caroline returned to Halfmoon Manor, and Claire was still dead to the world.
Caroline tiptoed into the house, guilt-ridden and terrified of running into Frederick, who might ask where she'd been last night and why she hadn't come home. Thankfully, she made it from the living room to the stairs without crossing paths with him.
“Welcome back, Ms. Beaumont,” a maid's voice suddenly called out just as she was about to reach her room.
“Oh!” Caroline jumped, turning around to give a quick nod. She darted into her room, but after closing the door, she had second thoughts. She opened it again to ask the maid a question.
“Has Frederick left for work?”
“I’m not sure!” The maid shook her head, genuinely unaware of Frederick's whereabouts.
Caroline thought back to last night, to the private room Diana had set up with drinks laced with Elysium Bliss. She’d clearly seen Frederick forcing that drink down Claire’s throat outside the room.
“What about Ms. Prescott?” Caroline pressed.
“Ms. Prescott returned around lunchtime and hasn’t left her room since.” The maid paused thoughtfully before responding.
“I see. Thanks,” Caroline replied automatically, shutting her door and leaning against it, trying to collect her scattered thoughts. Since Claire came back after lunch, that meant Frederick hadn’t returned either.
“Last night they…” Caroline’s blood boiled at the thought, her teeth clenched in rage. After all her careful scheming, she’d ended up playing matchmaker for Claire instead. And she… She dug her nails into her thigh so hard they left marks, but she couldn’t feel a thing through her burning hatred. If only Claire hadn’t shown up and entered the private room early, she would’ve been the one there last night. She would’ve been the one with Frederick! It was all Claire’s fault, everything was Claire’s fault!
“Claire, I’ll make sure you feel every bit of pain I felt last night!”
By now, Caroline had wholly lost her grip on reality, forgetting just who she was dealing with. After all, it was Frederick! Someone like him couldn’t be so easily manipulated! The truth was, he’d known about Diana’s entire plan before he even stepped into that room last night. He’d only jumped to conclusions about Claire because of his grudge over Anna’s death, combined with Claire’s lifelong reputation for being a spoiled, aggressive brat.
After this incident, Caroline wouldn’t dare try anything else, and it seemed Diana was no longer a helpful ally either. Since there was no way to keep things hidden from Frederick anymore, Diana was no longer a viable option. Dealing with Claire would require careful, long-term planning. As for Frederick, she just couldn’t bear the thought of giving up on him. No matter what, even if she couldn’t be with Frederick properly, she was determined to become his woman one way or another. Otherwise, these four years of patience and sacrifice would all be for nothing. After last night’s events, she’d have to lay low for a while before making any new moves. She’d waited four years already. She could wait a bit longer.
Besides, with Diana now locked up by the Hawthorne family, it would be risky to try anything. Without Diana as a scapegoat to take the fall, one wrong move with Frederick would be the end of everything. Unlike Diana, if they ever traced anything back to her, she wouldn’t get a second chance.
Over the next few days, Caroline played the perfect angel, staying quietly in the villa and keeping her nose clean. She used this time to craft a new persona: that of a mentally fragile, fearful young woman. After all, her initial move to Halfmoon Manor had been under the pretense of being a psychiatric patient. After that night’s events, Claire had completely cut off contact with Frederick. Frederick hadn’t returned to Halfmoon Manor for several days.
A week flew by, and Elizabeth’s birthday celebration was just around the corner. The night before, Frederick finally came home.
“Tomorrow is Madam Prescott’s birthday celebration. You’re coming with me,” he stated.
Claire was in the middle of dinner when Frederick made his appearance.
“Okay.” Claire nodded, continuing to sip her soup without showing any emotion.
Caroline, coming down the stairs, happened to overhear this conversation and immediately thought of Diana. Diana would surely attend Elizabeth’s birthday celebration. She quickly pulled out her phone and WhatsApped Diana: [Hey, are you able to go out now?]
[Yes, I can go out tomorrow. I’ll be attending Madam Prescott’s birthday celebration with my mom.]
[Thank goodness! You have no idea how miserable I’ve been lately… Claire’s been throwing herself at Frederick every single day!]
Seeing Diana’s response, Caroline immediately started laying it on thick.
[What?! That slut! Just wait until tomorrow! I’ll show her what’s what!] Diana exploded with anger.