Chapter 362: Arthur Actually Likes Her
People surrounded the entire living room, each trembling with fear, not daring to step either forward or backward. Step forward, and they feared her shaking hand might cut herself, leading to instant death. Step back, and they worried she might escape, leaving them unable to explain the situation.
Arthur paused briefly, glancing at the still-weak figure who had only recently regained consciousness, then unhurriedly raised his hand, gesturing for everyone to leave. When others saw Arthur approach, they respectfully bowed their heads before withdrawing.
The woman sensed something unusual and quickly turned around. Upon seeing Arthur, the knife in her hand trembled, nearly falling to the floor.
“It’s… it’s you…” Her voice quivered as she spoke.
“Yes, it’s me. What’s wrong? Ms. Prescott, you didn’t expect your savior to be me, did you?” Arthur raised an eyebrow slightly, walked over to the sofa, and sat down. He crossed his legs, pulled out a lighter, lit a cigarette, and took a slow drag.
As for this woman, she was none other than Claire, who had supposedly been burned beyond recognition in that recent car accident. Actually, that day, Claire had drifted back to consciousness while Caroline and Diana were taking her to the hospital. She could hear Caroline and Diana’s voices constantly echoing around her. When she fully came to, she overheard Caroline and Diana, at a traffic light, planning to cause a truck to crash into them. Even in her groggy state, Claire overheard their scheme. At first, she thought she was dreaming, that she’d misheard. But when she woke up and saw Diana and Caroline, she realized everything she’d heard was real. The problem was Diana was driving, and she had control of all the door locks. There was no way Claire could jump out while the car was speeding along the busy street. One wrong move, and she’d be crushed by passing vehicles.
She finally saw her chance when Diana and Caroline were about to get out. The moment they stepped out, she made her move to escape. But by then, the fuel-loaded truck was already barreling straight toward them. No matter how fast she moved, she couldn’t outrun a vehicle. Just as she opened the door, the explosion hit, throwing her into the nearby bushes, where she blacked out. In her unconscious state, she could hear the constant roar of raging flames. After the oil tanker and car exploded, they kept burning until the truck driver was reduced to ashes. Naturally, since the truck driver was incinerated entirely, everyone assumed Claire had met the same fate.
But what no one expected was that Arthur had been having people monitor all activities at Halfmoon Manor—indeed, everyone’s movements: Claire’s, Frederick’s, Diana’s, Caroline’s, and even Antony’s. So, when Claire’s car crash and the explosion happened, Arthur received the news immediately and seized the chaos to whisk Claire away. Since that day, Claire had been kept in his private villa. The most dangerous place is often the safest; that was what Arthur believed about his location.
It wasn’t until today that Claire finally regained consciousness. When she first opened her eyes, she thought she had died in the explosion. It took her a long while to realize someone had saved her. Now that she was awake, she naturally wanted to return home. But when she tried to get up and leave, she discovered her savior had actually imprisoned her. She figured that since someone had saved her, he clearly didn’t want her dead. So, she decided to use her own life as leverage to escape. Just when success seemed within reach, her rescuer unexpectedly returned, and that person turned out to be Arthur!
“Why… why did you save me?” Claire stared intently at Arthur, the knife still pressed against her throat. When she asked this question, Arthur’s hand froze mid-smoke. After what felt like an eternity of internal struggle, Arthur finally spoke softly, “If I told you I don’t want you to die, that I want you by my side for the rest of my life, would you believe me?”