Chapter 377: Come With Me or Not?

“What do you want? What do you expect me to do? Claire, you’re my fiancée! You survived that accident. Arthur saved you, and I’m grateful for that. But why has he kept you hidden away in his villa? What’s his game?” Frederick’s voice was a mix of anger and desperation, his eyes burning as he confronted Claire.

Arthur interjected, pulling Claire protectively behind him. “Clai, this isn’t your concern. You go back to your room. I can handle this. I’ve told you before that as long as Claire doesn’t want to leave, no one can force her to. Not unless they step over my body.”

“Great! Just great! So it looks like you two have been getting along just fine during your little stay here!” Frederick shot back, the intimacy in Arthur’s voice when he called Claire “Clai” cutting through him like a knife. He thought bitterly, “What a way to address her! He’s treating her like a girlfriend when I haven’t even called her that as her fiancé. Arthur, as my brother, shouldn’t be this close to her. Who knows what’s really going on between them? Maybe they’ve been more than just friends all along.”

Frederick hadn’t come here intending to cause a scene; he simply wanted to take Claire home and give his father, Nathan, an explanation. He and Richard had talked it over, and it was clear that Arthur was just trying to make life difficult for him, especially since they were both vying for the presidency. But seeing Arthur pull Claire close, holding her hand and shielding her behind him, ignited a fury in Frederick that he couldn’t control. After all, he was the one engaged to her.

“Of course, I’m doing just fine here! No one’s asking me to take a bullet for anyone, no one’s making my life a living hell, and certainly no one’s trying to kill me!” Claire’s voice rang out, and Frederick caught a glimpse of the hurt she had been holding back.

Seeing Frederick burst in with a gun, one might think he truly loved her. But the truth was far from it. From the moment she stepped out of prison, Frederick had been nothing but a torment to her—whether by putting her in harm’s way for other women or pushing her to the brink of desperation. If it weren’t for him, Claire wouldn’t have ended up at Eclipse Nightclub, and she sure as hell wouldn’t have nearly died in the underground fighting ring. The thought of it all made Claire’s heart ache even more.

If things had been different, if Frederick had come to her now with genuine love, just like she once hoped he would, everything would be so much better. But that was a fantasy that had died the day Anna was killed.

Arthur’s eyes darkened as he deliberately provoked Frederick. “Yes! She’s doing well? Freder, let’s be honest here. Since Claire got out of prison, what kind of life has she had with you? And what kind of life is she living with me? Here, she can have whatever she wants. She can do whatever she pleases. Luxury items, jewelry, high-end fashion—you name it, she has it. I’m sure if you asked her, she wouldn’t want to go back to you at all.”

Just half an hour before Frederick arrived, Arthur had received a WhatsApp message from Wraith, indicating that he had already taken out half of Frederick’s network of firepower. The message had come in no more than 20 minutes ago, so Frederick wouldn’t have had time to notice anything yet. If he could stall for a bit longer, Wraith could dismantle even more of Frederick’s connections.

“Is that so? Fine, Claire, I’ll ask you just once—are you coming with me or not?” Frederick’s gaze was intense.