Chapter 196: Chapter 196: The Whole World Is Laughing at Me

She had made her position crystal clear. Adrian Quincy knew that saying anything more would be pointless.

So, he simply said, "I think we both need some time to cool down. You should get some rest."

With that, the man turned and left.

Claire Sinclair gave a small smile, pulling her gaze away and turning it back toward the dim window outside.

’He’s finally gone.’

’But what am I supposed to do now?’

...

After some time, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the door, and someone quickly entered.

"Claire Sinclair, are you okay?"

"Teacher Hartwell, what are you doing here?" Claire Sinclair was stunned.

Henry Hartwell walked to her bedside and sat down, smiling. "Aiden Howkins told me."

’Of course, he couldn’t tell her that it was actually Adrian Quincy who had asked him to come.’

That guy’s exact words were: "If she asks, just say Aiden Howkins sent you..."

’Although he didn’t know what had happened, his reporter’s instincts told him the two of them must have had a fight.’

"That guy is such a gossip!" Claire Sinclair grumbled.

Henry Hartwell gently tapped her on the head. "Claire Sinclair, why didn’t you tell me sooner that you have a heart problem? If you had, I wouldn’t have arranged for you to go suffer at that place."

Claire Sinclair shot him a look. "Who said I have a heart problem? It’s just a slight arrhythmia. It doesn’t affect my training."

"Arrhythmia might be a minor issue, but your heart stopped for ten minutes. Do you have any idea what it means for your heart to stop?"

"It’s not like I was going to die anyway..."

Seeing her despondent look, Henry Hartwell couldn’t bear to press on her sore spot any longer, so he changed the subject. "So, what are your plans now?"

"What plans?"

"I mean, did you and Young Master Quincy have a fight?"

At the mention of that name, the light in Claire Sinclair’s eyes instantly dimmed. "It’s not that simple."

"Then what happened? Did Young Master Quincy upset you?"

Claire Sinclair didn’t want to talk about it at first. But if she didn’t tell someone, the feelings would just fester inside her until she rotted. Then some other problem would crop up, and she’d be the only one to suffer for it.

’It’s better to just get it out. I’ll feel a little better that way.’

With that thought, Claire Sinclair finally spoke. "Today, he took me home to meet his parents. But the moment his mother saw me, she slapped me across the face. She called me a vixen for seducing her son, a bitch who wasn’t worthy of him, and accused me of ruining him..."

Hearing this, Henry Hartwell was left utterly speechless.

’Something like that happened? No wonder she looks this way.’

’Any woman would be devastated if they went through something like that, wouldn’t they?’

Claire Sinclair looked up at his face. She desperately wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t fall. Forcing a smile, she said, "You know? So many of their relatives were there at the time. A dozen people... no, maybe more than twenty. All those eyes were on me. I felt like a clown, like the whole world was laughing at me."

"For Ms. Quincy to humiliate you like that... you have every right to be angry."

"What’s the use of being angry? It all feels so meaningless." Claire Sinclair slowly lowered her head, resting her chin on her knees as her vision blurred.

Henry Hartwell let out a faint, almost inaudible sigh. "Their family background is very complicated, and Young Master Quincy has his own hidden struggles. He probably doesn’t feel good about this either. Maybe you two should just take a break for a while. Once you’ve both calmed down, you can talk about how to solve this." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Claire Sinclair laughed. "There’s nothing to talk about. Marrying him wasn’t my idea in the first place."

"Not your idea?" Henry Hartwell’s interest was suddenly piqued.