NovelEnglishChapter 255 Vincent's gaze was sharp and accusatory, pinning Claire in place with the intensity of a betrayed husband who's just caught his wife in the act—rage and disbelief warring in his eyes.
Claire shot him a frosty glance, as if he were nothing more than a passing stranger, then looked away, her expression cool and distant, making it clear she wanted nothing to do with him.
Ever since his legs had been shattered in county lockup, Vincent's emotions had becwild and uncontrollable-one moment he was seething with anger, the next drowning in despair.
And when he lost his license to practice law, the career he'd spent his life building fell apart in an instant.
It didn't stop there. His house, his car, his savings-all seized overnight. In a split second, he'd plummeted from his high-flying life to rock bottom, with no hope of getting back up.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtThe confident, ambitious Vincent of the past was long gone. Now, he eked out an existence in a dank, windowless basement, where the ever-present smell of mold and the oppressive darkness gnawed at his soul. Friends, colleagues, even strangers-people he'd once known or barely met- now looked at him with nothing but scorn and derision. In over twenty years, he'd never known this kind of humiliation; not even during those hard years growing up in the orphanage had he felt his dignity trampled so completely.
He'd lost everything-his career, his status, his wealth. It had all vanished overnight.
Claire was all he had left-a single glimmer of hope in the wreckage of his life.
He spent every day and night longing to see her.
And finally, today, he'd gotten his wish. But the scene before him struck like a bolt of lightning: she wasn't alone there was another man at her side.
Worse, she looked at Vincent as if he were a stranger.
He never saw this coming.
Fighting to maneuver his wheelchair, Vincent blocked Claire's path. His voice trembled, desperate and pleading. "Claire, I asked you a question. Who is this man?" Claire's reply was flat, impatient. "Who he is doesn't concern you." The words hit Vincent like a sledgehammer to the chest. For a moment, he couldn't even breathe.
His fingers dug so hard into the metal frof his wheelchair that his knuckles turned white. The icy steel bit into his skin, but even that chilling pain couldn't compare to the cold sinking into his heart.
Was she really cutting him off for good? He couldn't accept it.
"How can it not concern me? We grew up together! We're childhood sweethearts." Claire snorted. "You might have been my childhood friend, but you're not my father. You don't get to decide who I see." Vincent's face darkened instantly. He glared at Jeffry, the man by Claire's side, his eyes burning with jealousy and fury.
Grinding his teeth, Vincent spat out, "Claire, have you forgotten our promise? You said that when I made something of myself, you'd stay by my side." To Claire, it was almost laughable. Her smile twisted with sarcasm, but underneath, she felt nothing but deep sorrow and disappointment.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmBack in the orphanage, they'd depended on each other to survive. She'd thought they'd be inseparable for life.
All it took was one vow from Vincent "I'm going to study law and make sure everyone who ever hurt you Dever pays for it and she was hooked. She ΕΠ worked herself to the bone, juggling jobs and competitions, pushing herself to win scholarship after scholarship.
Proud and sensitive about his dignity, she'd sent every penny she earned to Vincent anonymously, hoping he'd NO have an easier life, that he wouldn't have to scrape by like the other poor kids working menial jobs. Those were tough years, but she'd been happy, driven by the hope that one day Vincent would graduate from Cresthaven and beca renowned attorney-the kind of man who could shield her from the world.
But reality hit hard.
Attorney Lewis hadn't sent her tormentors to jail. Instead, he'd sent Claire-the victim-behind bars.
And the money she'd worked so hard for? It never went to books or even basic necessities. Vincent blew it on designer sneakers, loxoneware akers, four figure m jackets a luxury watch worth more than most people's cars, and showered Vanessa with gifts.
Vanessa, the spoiled heiress, barely glanced at the trinkets Vincent bought. She'd hand them off to her family's staff without a second thought. Claire had grown up with nothing. She didn't know nbrands or price tags, never realizing that Vincent-a college student-wore nearly ten thousand dollars' worth of gear.
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