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“Shouldn’t it be the way to a man’s heart?” Claire frowned, ignoring the rest of Oliver’s words and said, “Don’t call me sweetheart.” “Why? Do you like it?” Oliver smirked, referring to the endearment. He nodded and uttered, “Ok, I’ll call you baby then.” “I’m not your baby or your anything and no, I don’t like it,” Claire objected, heat creeping to her face. She averted her gaze and took a swig of water to cool herself down. Was it hot or it was just her? Oliver arched an eyebrow, his eyes glinting with amusement when Claire’s face turned a darker shade of red. He cleared the plates and suggested, “I’m glad you enjoyed the food. Let’s go through the files now.” They moved from the breakfast nook and sat in the living area. From there, they spent an hour going through the files and discussing what clues they found in the documents. Claire looked around, wondering how she could go to Oliver’s study without raising his suspicions. Oliver wasn’t moving from his position, at least
Silence fell upon them after Thalia’s question. After a few seconds, Claire cleared her throat and scolded, “Thalia, don’t ask Mr Ford such things.” “I don’t mind… if Thalia wants me to be her father, it means she’s seen something likeable about me,” Oliver smirked. “Didn’t you sleep at Uncle Oliver’s house, Mommy?” Thalia asked, looking at her mother. “My friend's parents sleep together, so Uncle Oliver is now my Daddy if you slept together.” Thomas who was listening to the conversation choked on his saliva and coughed really hard, drawing the attention of the little girl. “Do you have a cold? Too bad, you should go to the clinic,” Thalia said, forgetting about what she had been saying. “Thank you for your concern, Young miss…” Thomas replied and then trailed when he felt a cold chill run down his spine. He could feel his boss’ glare on the back of his head. ‘Oh no… did I mess up?’ He mused. Meanwhile, Oliver glared at his assistant coldly because he interrupted Thalia’
The following day, Claire avoided Oliver at all costs. During the meeting, she didn’t spare him a glance despite feeling his eyes on her the whole time. Her treacherous feelings kept getting in the way of her plans for revenge and if she didn’t distance herself from him, she was afraid she might end up disappointing her parents. ‘It’s better this way… If Oliver finds out why I really came to work for him and the lies I’ve told… He would hate me,’ she mused, entering her office after telling the receptionist she wasn’t accepting visitors. She spent hours going through the files she took from Oliver’s house, trying to gather the evidence quickly so that she could speed up the process to avoid spending late nights with him. It was time to knock off and she was looking out the window at the setting sun when her phone rang. When she glanced at the screen, a sigh escaped her lips when she saw Wesley’s name. “Hey Claire…” Wesley said when she answered. “I’m calling to ask you out to
"Do you hate me that much?" Oliver asked in a low voice, looking at her with so many emotions swirling in his eyes. Her words cut him, the pain making the lump in his throat painful to swallow. It was always one step ahead and two steps back with her... he thought she was finally warming up to him and ready to give him a second chance. "Isn't it obvious, Mr Ford? I can't stand being close to you... your presence reminds me of the pain you made me go through, so yes, I hate you," Claire replied, her words cutting through Oliver like a knife cuts through better. Oliver ignored Claire's harsh words. He took in a deep breath and asked gently, "Will you give me a second chance, Claire? I'll prove to you that I'm the man you need. Someone you can rely on... I'll protect you with my life. I promise I'll never hurt you again... Claire, I lo-" "Please stop... I'm not in the mood to hear your speech right now. Leave my office, Mr Ford," Claire hissed, her heart pounding at the words Olive
Oliver groaned, losing his appetite. "Mom, please, can we not talk about that?" He muttered, his eyebrows furrowing. "Why can't we talk about it?" Roxanne questioned her son. "You've always dodged the question. Six years ago, I asked you why you treated Claire like that, you refused to tell me... how can we help if we don't know what the problem is? You clearly love her so much, otherwise, you would have gotten together with Jessica Hart." After seeing Oliver so drunk that he couldn't even recognise his surroundings, Roxanne decided to have a chat with him before he destroyed himself further. "Mom, Oliver can never share his problems with you, he's always been like that," Zara Ford said as she grabbed a tray of pancakes. She was a young woman with dark hair and blue eyes. At twenty-four, she was already working on starting her own company independent from her father and brother. Her twin sister, Clare Ford, was into computer science and a low-key skilled hacker. She worked in
Claire couldn't fathom the stinging pain in her heart. Her dinner date with Wesley went well. His jokes and flirting made her forget her problems for a moment. For once, it felt good to not think about revenge or how she was still affected by Oliver's presence. She had wanted to introduce Wesley to Thalia but, unfortunately, she had already fallen asleep by the time she returned home. It was in the morning when Katherine woke Claire up with an urgency to her tone. "Claire, Claire, wake up. You have to see this!" "What is it, Mom? Is the world ending?" Claire groaned, her eyes feeling heavy as she tried to squint them open. "I wish it was... that man you seem to fail to move on from is just playing you. Look, he was with his real lover last night." Claire's stomach plummeted at those words. She sat up straight and reached for her mother's phone, the loud pounding of her heart deafening to her ears. A sharp sting of pain shot through her heart and her eyes blurred with tear
"S-Sir, we are getting a lot of calls from media houses. They want you to confirm your relationship with Miss Hart-" "Relationship? Since when have I been in a relationship with her and why have you failed to handle this issue?" Oliver questioned. "I couldn't do anything before getting your permission. I've been trying to call you for the past two hours after you went viral," Thomas explained. "The news is trending on social media." Oliver narrowed his eyes, feeling confused. He didn't like where this was going. Glancing at his assistant, he asked, "What news is trending?" "Well, Miss Hart posted a few suggestive pictures of the two of you this morning and everyone is going crazy. She has practically confirmed to the public that you're in a relationship," Thomas answered and showed Oliver the tabloids. It was only then that Oliver understood Claire's cold demeanour and why she was so upset with him. She must have thought he was playing with her. Thomas' phone rang and he hiss
"Babe, are you sure you're ok? You look pale," Quinn said as she studied her best friend's face during lunch. Claire had been in a bad mood and since she couldn't drink, it being during the day, she called her friend out for lunch. "I'm fine, Quinn. Why wouldn't I be?" Claire asked, trying to mask her conflicting emotions. The truth was, the pain in her heart was still there. Worse, she now felt guilty for how she had treated Oliver earlier. The hurt that flashed through his eyes when she slapped him with those flowers... she would never forget that look. How was she supposed to go ahead with revenge when she was feeling bad for the people she was supposed to take down? "Claire, I haven't known you my whole life but I can tell when something is bothering you... is it because of the news that was trending earlier? It's fake... Oliver said so himself," Quinn said and noticed the quick flicker of pain that flashed through Claire’s eyes before it disappeared. Claire chuckled and