Shawn Sykes’s face was filled with disgust.
"Daddy!"
The little girl was still wearing her hospital gown. Even after being pushed away, she didn’t cry or make a fuss and instead attempted to hug Shawn’s leg again.
"In mommy’s photo, I’ve seen daddy!"
A flash of malice crossed Shawn’s eyes. He directly stepped back two steps, letting the little girl fall to the ground.
Claire Hale frowned, about to step forward, but another slim figure rushed ahead of her, embracing the little girl in her arms.
Crystal Warren saw from a distance as her precious daughter was pushed away by Shawn, and it felt like a deep hole was dug in her heart, causing her imnse pain.
She had only been away for a short while, and sothing like this happened to her daughter.
Crystal glared at Shawn angrily, cursing, "Do you have no sha? Bullying even a small child!"
Shawn let out a cold laugh, "Can’t even keep an eye on your child, acts like a beast, wagging its tail at every person it sees."
Crystal was trembling with anger, raising her hand to slap Shawn.
"Still want to hit ?" Shawn easily caught her wrist, mocking, "You gave birth to a bastard, going around claiming fathers. Aren’t you planning on suing? I’m waiting."
Crystal bit her lip, tasting blood in her mouth but unable to hold back her tears.
"Don’t cry, mommy."
The little girl in her arms reached out, clumsily and carefully wiping Crystal’s tears.
Her big round eyes suddenly glared at Shawn, "Ugly monster, you’re not my daddy! My daddy can’t be a big idiot!"
"Ha, the little brat dares to scold ?!"
Shawn flung Crystal aside, raising his hand to actually strike the girl.
Crystal quickly dodged, but since she was holding Cherie and was emotionally unsteady, she lost her balance and fell to the side.
She hurriedly protected Cherie’s head, only to be caught in a soft embrace the next second.
Crystal looked up, eting Claire Hale’s concerned gaze.
Claire Hale: "Are you alright?"
Crystal shook her head gratefully, then fiercely looked at Shawn, "I must have been blind to be deceived by a heartless person like you! Shawn, if you dare insult Cherie today, I won’t let it rest! Aren’t you waiting for a lawsuit? Fine, see you in court!"
Perhaps startled by her sudden outburst, Shawn was montarily speechless.
"Mr. Shawn, you just wait for the court summons." Claire Hale shielded Crystal behind her, "Oh, by the way, I asked you last ti, should it be sent to your office or your wife’s place, you haven’t replied to yet."
Shawn recovered, curling his lips into a sinister smile, "You dare provoke ?"
Claire Hale also smiled, "I wouldn’t dare. But considering your esteed status, if this gets out, I wonder if your wife would understand that you sold your body for your career."
"Claire Hale!"
Shawn spat out her na venomously and suddenly reached out, forcefully gripping her slender neck.
Claire Hale’s throat tightened, unable to make a sound.
Crystal was also taken aback, fearing Shawn would harm Claire Hale. She was about to run for help when a tall, broad figure swiftly passed by her.
The next second, Shawn’s wrist was gripped tightly.
Shawn’s strength drained, and he imdiately released Claire Hale. She took a breath and looked up, seeing Tristan Lockwood’s cold gaze fixed on Shawn.
"Mr. Little Lockwood."
Shawn never expected Tristan Lockwood to get involved in such matters.
However, as he watched, Tristan pulled Claire Hale over, protectively placing her behind him. Shawn’s heart imdiately sank as if a thousand-pound weight was attached, continually plumting.
"You and Lawyer Hale..."
Before he could finish, Tristan Lockwood’s icy stare silenced him.
Clearly, this gentleman had no intention of listening to him at all.
Tristan Lockwood glanced down, noting Claire Hale’s reddened skin from being strangled, his eyes darkening as he coldly said to Shawn, "You are no longer needed for the developnt zone project."
Shawn’s face turned white instantly.
"Mr. Little Lockwood, please let explain."
"Explain it to Sean Lockwood tomorrow yourself."
Tristan Lockwood didn’t give him a chance to speak further, turning and pulling Claire Hale away with him.
Once they had walked far enough with Crystal and her daughter, Shawn’s expression, as if the sky had fallen, vanished imdiately, replaced by a disdainful sneer.
Claire Hale was pulled by Tristan Lockwood all the way to the third-floor surgery.
Along the way, she tried to shake off his hand, but Tristan Lockwood seed to have used so clever technique. The grip wasn’t strong, but she just couldn’t break free.
Crystal, sensing a subtle, indescribable tension between them, wisely took Cherie elsewhere to find a doctor to check for any injuries.
Tristan Lockwood led Claire Hale into his office.
He closed the door, fetched so disinfectant from the dical kit, and began silently applying it to her wounds.
The cool touch of the alcohol-soaked cotton swab on her skin made Claire Hale gasp.
When Shawn had grabbed her earlier, she hadn’t paid much attention, but now the application of the dicine brought out the pain.
Tristan Lockwood remained silent, sitting in front of her with a lowered head, intensely focused on treating her wounds.
Claire Hale stayed motionless, her back straight yet sowhat rigid, trying her best to avoid his presence and proximity.
Only after he finished applying the dicine did his furrowed brows relax. He stood up, maintaining a little distance, and said, "If Shawn bothers you again, feel free to co to ."
He paused montarily, then added, "No matter what ti or situation."
Just as he finished speaking, a nurse ca over, saying a patient needed him.
He didn’t delay but glanced back at Claire Hale as he left.
When he returned to his office after tending to the patient, Claire Hale was already gone.
With so spare ti, he glanced at his WeChat ssages from "Stanley Sawyer" and noticed the ssage Claire Hale had sent in the afternoon.
He replied: [Are you very busy lately? Because of that child support case?]
Using Stanley Sawyer’s identity to chat with Claire Hale, he wasn’t sure if it was due to the barrier of the phone or because they’d never t; all the usual tension dissipated. Their conversation felt like a chat between congenial online friends.
On her end, Claire Hale’s status remained showing as typing, seemingly struggling with sothing.
Tristan Lockwood waited patiently.
By the ti he removed his white coat after work and got into his car, Claire Hale’s ssage had arrived.
He held the steering wheel with his left hand and glanced at his phone with his right:
[Have you ever disliked soone you used to really like?]
Tristan Lockwood’s eyelid twitched, asking: [How much do you dislike them?]
Claire Hale: [I never want to see him in this life; just seeing him irritates .]
Tristan Lockwood: "..."
He stared at her words for a long ti, feeling suffocated in his chest, longing to drive to her place and pull her onto the bed to question her intensely.
Yet, despite his anger, seeing the words "really like" from earlier in the ssage, his fury unintentionally subsided, and he replied: [If you dislike them, it ans you still like them. When you truly don’t like soone, you won’t have any emotional reaction to them.]
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