In the front, Mr. Miller instinctively gripped the steering wheel and glanced back at Caleb Lockwood.
He originally thought that after Caleb ordered him to send off the guest that ti, he would never have any more contact with Claire Shaw.
Yet not long after, Claire was back in Caleb’s car, nestled in his arms.
Caleb remained silent for a long period.
Perhaps in reality not much ti had passed, but it felt incredibly long.
"...Okay..."
This single word "okay" wasn’t too intense for Mr. Miller.
He originally thought he was driving Claire Shaw ho.
But on second thought, he actually didn’t even know where Claire was living.
Claire used to live at Riverside Manor.
But after bankruptcy, Riverside Manor, which had been mortgaged, is now part of Serena Jennings’s property.
"President Lockwood... where are we headed now?"
Even Mr. Miller, who prided himself on understanding Caleb, had to ask.
The Jade Pavilion?
The Seaside Villa?
Mr. Miller wasn’t keen on taking Claire to either place.
He admitted that Claire’s plight was pitiable, and he deeply sympathized.
But he was well aware that his heart did not hold as much pity for Claire—
At least not as much as Caleb’s did.
Mr. Miller never considered himself indifferent toward won, so he couldn’t grasp what about Claire was so off-putting, to the point that it evoked no sympathy in him.
Throughout Caleb’s silence, Claire cried continuously, tears like broken pearls, her body trembling uncontrollably.
She really had been gang-raped!
Although she knew joker was ruthless, she never dread that after all, joker would treat her like that!
Claire’s panic and pain were not fake.
To this day, she didn’t understand why she had fallen into such a state.
So this is...
Just like when she was in ridia?
Claire had thought that as long as she returned ho, she could start anew and completely escape her tragic past in ridia.
But this ti, while pitying herself, Claire felt a bit smug.
Because this ti, she was truly wretched.
The more wretched she was, the more Caleb would cherish her.
The deeper his hatred and loathing toward Serena would beco!
In this regard, joker was truly clever.
Claire had planned to fake being gang-raped, but she couldn’t have imagined that her act would seem less tragic than the real thing.
Moreover, while they were doing it, the guys had beaten her up.
The pain inflicted on her still filled her with visceral fear and disgust upon rembering it.
However, it wasn’t the first ti she was with them.
If she couldn’t secure Caleb’s love and rise above, she would fall back into the hands of those people.
Caleb felt Claire tremble even more violently in his arms.
"It’s okay... it’s all okay..."
Caleb softly comforted her, gently caressing Claire’s disheveled long hair with his large hand.
Claire was truly afraid, not pretending.
Because she rembered those dark, sunless days back in ridia.
Locked in an isolated villa, raped daily by different n.
If she couldn’t beco the woman most pleasing to Draven, she’d receive a beating.
Claire was one of those won who perford well.
Because she obeyed, never tried to escape, and did her utmost to satisfy every custor.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to escape; she simply couldn’t.
She had personally witnessed a woman who tried to escape being disfigured with acid by one of Draven’s n, her legs cut off.
There were even those who, driven mad trying to resist, were beaten bloody by Draven’s henchn, their eyeballs gouged out.
So were even shot in the head, brains splattering, right by Claire’s feet.
Claire was terrified at the ti.
She feared she would be the next one killed or disfigured.
But the more she feared, the calr her mind beca.
She knew she couldn’t die.
If she died, she would never see Caleb again.
Only Caleb was the beacon that carried Claire through that darkest period.
Even now...
Only Caleb...
When Claire burrowed further into his embrace, Caleb hesitated slightly but ended up holding Claire’s shivering body tighter.
"Mr. Miller, head to Vantage Tower."
Burying her head in Caleb’s chest, Claire frowned.
What kind of place was Vantage Tower?
She hadn’t heard of it before!
"Yes, President Lockwood."
Clearly, Mr. Miller knew what Vantage Tower was.
Claire wanted to ask Caleb but held back.
This ti she was an undisputed victim; all she needed was to silently enjoy Caleb’s care and attention.
However, if possible, she’d rather Caleb take her ho.
To Caleb’s own house, any house would do.
It wasn’t until following Caleb into the most lavish office in Vantage Tower that Claire realized Caleb had brought her to see a psychologist.
"No, Caleb... I don’t want to see a doctor; I just want you with ... Just having you with is enough..."
Claire clung tightly to Caleb’s suit, her red and swollen eyes exuding a pitiful charm.
What she wanted wasn’t a psychologist.
Claire admitted maybe she did have so psychological issues; anyone else experiencing her tragic plight might have gone mad already.
But what she needed wasn’t a psychologist.
It was Caleb!
Caleb was her best psychologist.
"Don’t be afraid, Claire, I’ll be here with you..."
Caleb gently patted Claire’s shoulder.
At this mont, Claire seed to him like a frightful bird.
When the psychologist questioned Claire, Caleb indeed stayed by her side.
Claire was initially afraid to face the psychologist, but fortunately, this one was clearly soone Caleb knew and didn’t ask her anything inconvenient or embarrassing.
Afterward, the psychologist poured Claire a glass of water, and after drinking it, she tilted her head in a daze and fell asleep on Caleb’s shoulder.
Caleb carried Claire to a rest room adjacent to the psychologist’s office.
"Let her have a good sleep!"
Caleb instructed the psychologist.
The water the psychologist gave Claire contained two sedatives.
It was Caleb’s directive.
Because Claire had been severely traumatized, Caleb decided she needed more rest.
Moreover—
If Claire remained conscious, she’d cling to him endlessly.
That way, Caleb wouldn’t be able to do anything or go anywhere.
"Let her sleep here tonight; take good care of her. I’ll co by to see her first thing in the morning."
Caleb instructed.
"Yes, President Lockwood."
The psychologist readily agreed.
While Caleb was settling Claire, Serena was leisurely wandering at the city museum seeking inspiration, and ended up coming across Ethan White.
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