Chapter 389: His Words Made Her Eyes Well Up

Elizabeth’s face darkened. With a sharp jab of her cane, she poked the floor, her expression one of determination. It was clear that if Frederick didn’t give her a satisfactory explanation today, she wouldn’t let him off easily.

“It’s like this,” Frederick began. “One day, Claire suddenly disappeared; she was gone with a man. His name is Antony…”

Frederick understood the gravity of the situation and quickly confessed everything, laying out the facts without holding back.

“So that’s it,” Elizabeth said, her tone softening slightly. “Frederick, considering this was the first time, I’ll let it pass. But if something like this happens again, I won’t be as forgiving.”

“Also, it’s high time you cleaned up the people around you. I know where your heart lies, but you’re not just an ordinary person. As someone about to step into the role of president, if you can’t even break through your own emotional barriers, then you shouldn’t even be thinking about running for president.”

“As for this Antony you mentioned, sometimes a person needs to step out of their own circle. Frederick, I know everything about the Hawthorne family, including what happened with your mother.”

“It’s understandable that your childhood and past shadows affected you before. But now, you’re an adult, someone with a mature mind. If you still allow your past to hold you back, then that’s on you.”

“Once you’ve dealt with all your own issues, there won’t be so many problems between you and Claire. At that point, the way you see things between you two will be different. But for your personal struggles, no one can fix them for you. You have to pull yourself out.”

Elizabeth stopped there, knowing she couldn’t go too far. After all, Frederick was a general, the head of the Kingstown Security Department, and a member of the prestigious Hawthorne family. She couldn’t afford to be too blunt.

“Thank you for your guidance. I’ll work on resolving my issues,” Frederick replied respectfully, nodding slightly.

“Good,” Elizabeth nodded back, her gaze shifting toward the hospital room. Seeing that Claire had woken up, she hurried inside.

“Claire, you’re awake! Thank goodness, you really scared me.”

Elizabeth grabbed Claire’s hand with a sense of urgency, as if she were holding onto something precious she thought was lost.

“What happened, Grandma?” Claire asked, her heart filled with confusion. Elizabeth had told her to use the “feigned injury” tactic, and she had watched as Claire hurt herself. “So why is Grandma so worried now?” she thought.

“Well, you needed a blood transfusion, but the doctor found out your blood type is a rare Rh-negative. It’s so rare that the hospital’s blood bank didn’t have any. We had to find someone else to donate for you.”

“It’s all my fault. I’ve done so much for you over the years, but I never thought to check your blood type. If I had known you were Rh-negative, I would have prepared for it earlier.”

“You see, losing too much blood is dangerous. It could cause irreversible brain damage. Luckily, you didn’t lose too much blood this time.”

Elizabeth finished speaking with a face full of self-blame.

“Grandma, what are you talking about? How could this be your fault? It’s only natural that I didn’t know my blood type. Doesn’t this prove how well you’ve protected me all these years? I’ve never had a serious injury, not once.”

“I’m so lucky. And now you love me so much, I’m the happiest granddaughter in the world.”

Claire smiled, comforting her grandmother while feeling deeply moved.

“Ah, you really know how to make me happy.”

Elizabeth smiled warmly, her expression kind and gentle, so different from the serious woman who had just faced Frederick.

But as soon as she turned to look at Frederick, her expression grew serious again. “Frederick, I’ll let it slide that you didn’t know Claire’s blood type before, but now you know she’s Rh-negative.”

“From now on, you’d better protect her well. If anything happens to her again, I’ll hold you accountable! And the blood bank, make sure it’s set up. Rh-negative blood is too rare; we must be prepared for the worst.”

“Yes, I understand. I’ll take care of it right away. Don’t worry,” Frederick replied, still showing respect and no resistance.

Perhaps, after learning about Claire’s fall from the cliff today, he realized just how serious things were.

After reassuring Claire one more time, Elizabeth’s phone rang. It was Harrison calling. She gave Frederick one last meaningful glance before leaving for Prescott Manor.

Actually, Elizabeth had already caught onto something when Henry and Ezra mentioned Claire’s fall from the cliff. After Frederick explained himself, she felt it was time to give the two of them a chance to have a serious conversation.

Sure enough, as soon as Elizabeth left, Frederick looked at Claire, walked over to her bedside, and sat down.

After a brief pause, he said, “Claire, today, the one who donated blood was Ezra, the same person who saved you when you fell off the cliff. I know about the incident with the cliff now.”

“Hmm.”

Claire moved her lips slightly, acknowledging him with a simple response. Her heart remained as calm as always, without the slightest ripple. If this had happened before her car accident, she would have had a huge reaction. But now, after experiencing life and death, everything seemed somewhat trivial to her.

Claire thought to herself, “From now on, Frederick and I will probably never care for each other or love each other the way we did before.”

“I… Claire, I’m sorry…”

She didn’t want to, but in the next second, Frederick’s words made her eyes inexplicably well up with tears.