Tristan Lockwood grabbed her chin, forcibly turning her face to et his gaze.
His cold eyes stared directly into hers, saying with utter seriousness, "I’m asking you again now, for these past two years, have you really never felt a shred of emotion for ?"
"Yes."
She blurted out almost without any hesitation.
The wrist he was holding onto was released in an instant.
Tristan Lockwood distanced himself from her.
Claire Hale instinctively raised her hand, but when she t his indifferent and cold gaze again, she lowered it once more.
She lowered her eyes and softly said, "I’m sorry for using you."
"You don’t need to apologize to ." Tristan Lockwood’s voice seed to sink into a frozen abyss, "You were just the sa with , playing around in bed; who would take it seriously?"
After he said this, he went upstairs without looking back.
Not once did he turn his head.
Claire Hale silently watched his figure until the sound of the door slamming pierced her eardrums, then slowly withdrew her gaze and left with her suitcase.
At dawn the next day, as soon as the civil affairs bureau opened, she and Tristan Lockwood arrived at the entrance simultaneously.
Tristan Lockwood didn’t say a word to her, not even bothering to look at her. He simply followed the procedures and presented his docunts, and once everything was done, he left without another word.
She and he had truly beco strangers going in opposite directions.
Two people unwilling to see each other can easily manage to live in the sa city without ever crossing paths again.
At least in this month after the divorce from Tristan Lockwood, Claire Hale’s life was virtually devoid of his shadow.
She and he were originally people from different worlds.
Without that marriage certificate, it was even more so.
However, news soon spread online of Tristan Lockwood frequently visiting the chambers of the Adler Family’s heiress. In the photos, Tristan Lockwood protectively held Zoey Adler by the shoulder, and his other hand thoughtfully carried her bag.
As Claire Hale stumbled upon this news, she was having coffee with Dylan Skinner. Her phone was lying on the table, and when Dylan saw her pause in thought, he instinctively glanced over and was also taken aback, "Isn’t that Dr. Lockwood?"
Claire Hale murmured a faint affirmative.
Dylan sighed with a hint of regret, "What a sha, I thought there might have been sothing between Dr. Lockwood and you, sis."
Claire Hale paused, "What could possibly be between him and ."
"Didn’t you say before that Dr. Lockwood was quite persistent in pursuing you?"
"I was talking nonsense," Claire Hale replied calmly.
Dylan propped his chin with his hand, took a sip of coffee, and mused, "But from the looks of it, Dr. Lockwood doesn’t seem uninterested in you. That ti at the bar, his possessiveness was palpable even to a stranger like ."
Claire Hale took a sip of coffee and said nothing.
Possessiveness is not necessarily a sign of affection; often, it is selfishness at play.
Seeing her quiet, Dylan said sheepishly, "Honestly though, Dr. Lockwood is surely better than your husband, sis. That man..."
"I got divorced."
"Huh?"
Dylan gaped in shock, his mouth wide open, and after several seconds, he asked uncertainly, "You really let go?"
Claire Hale glanced at him and said aloofly, "What is there for to hold on to?"
Indeed, what you could hold on to might just be quite a lot.
Dylan silently muttered in his heart but didn’t dare say it aloud. However, thinking that Claire Hale was finally free from the confines of her ex-husband, he couldn’t help but feel happy for her, "Sis, don’t be too sad. Honestly, divorcing that jerk was spot on. I was always worried you wouldn’t be able to leave your husband—oh, now ex-husband—and be trapped in that marital cage for life. Now you’re finally liberated."
Claire Hale: "You sound almost ready to set off fireworks over my divorce."
"Not exactly," Dylan chuckled awkwardly, "but it’s certainly worthy of celebration. Speaking of which, on New Year’s Day, I called you and your ex-husband answered. I even scolded him to relieve your anger."
"What did you scold him about?" Claire Hale was a bit puzzled; Tristan never ntioned it, "Tris... all he said was you were calling to say happy new year."
Dylan: "Nothing much, just told him how much you cared about him and that he should treasure you. But now that you’re divorced, it was really just pointless talk. He must have forgotten by now."
With Dylan’s words, Claire Hale realized why Tristan Lockwood’s attitude had suddenly changed afterward, becoming gentle and passionate.
Apparently, Tristan Lockwood had actually taken Dylan’s words to heart.
Claire Hale felt sowhat complicated; the month-long calm she maintained was beginning to ripple with unrest.
After a mont of silence, she diverted the topic and asked, "Have there been any developnts with Jared Jennings recently?"
Dylan thought for a mont and said, "Jared’s father retired before the year-end, and Jared is now the chairman of Jennings Tech. I mainly work for Jenson Jennings, so I can’t really get close to him."
Claire Hale wasn’t too surprised by this answer since Dylan was rely an entry-level technician at the company, and what he could access was limited.
Originally, her arrangent for Dylan in this role was for Renee Lynn’s case and also to secure a good job for him. She wasn’t particularly counting on any major findings.
She asked, "What’s Jared’s reputation like within The Jennings Group? He’s so young and just beca chairman; aren’t there any murmurs from the lower ranks?"
Dylan shook his head, saying, "Jared is quite respected in The Jennings Group. The core tech nowadays was sothing he brought back from abroad years ago. I heard he had a small team in Silicon Valley that was focused on developing large models with significant investnt from a keen sponsor. Many of today’s core technologies for large models have evolved from it."
Upon hearing Dylan’s account, even Claire Hale couldn’t help but look at Jared Jennings in a different light.
Such a man perched at the apex of power is attractive, wealthy, and in a position of authority—truly remarkable and difficult not to admire.
However, the more extraordinary he appears, the more it suggests that Jared Jennings is soone whose thods aren’t easy for just anyone to contend with.
Renee Lynn’s case would thus beco even more challenging.
Dylan took a sip of coffee and suddenly rembered sothing, "However, Jared has been especially favoring a young employee in the company lately, not only entrusting him with core tech projects but also introducing so family female relatives to him."
Claire Hale asked curiously, "What’s that person’s na?"
"Jude Jacobs."
When Dylan spoke, he saw Claire Hale’s expression change.
He asked, "Sis, do you know Jude Jacobs?"
"t him a few tis, not that familiar," Claire Hale paused before asking, "How far have things developed between Jude Jacobs and the girl Jared introduced?"
Dylan’s face lit up with a gossiping excitent, and he spoke in a lowered voice, "Rumor has it, Jude Jacobs and the girl already booked a hotel room together—they made it official on Valentine’s Day! Afterward, she would often visit him at the company."
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