Her mother was just an idealized memory in their hearts, mostly because she was missing.
If Melissa had been around this whole time, Zara's father probably wouldn't even have given her a second glance.
"What good is an apology?" Zara gave Claire a strange look. "What I really want to know is, who on earth is your father?"
"Melissa used to be the top socialite in Cabinda. She had so many suitors. How did your dad beat out all that competition?"
"I have no idea," Claire admitted.
"Maybe my dad was just exactly her type?"
What other reason could there be?
She couldn't possibly have been some naive rich girl who was easily swayed by sweet talk, right?
"Rumor had it that Melissa eloped. So, where is she now..."
Zara was clearly dying for some gossip.
Unfortunately, Claire couldn't answer that question either.
Up until now, no one had made a move against her, despite her being Agassi and Melissa's daughter.
There weren't even any suspicious figures lurking around her.
Of course, maybe she just hadn't noticed them yet.
Maybe they were quietly observing her from the shadows.
Claire suspected that if she had majored in mathematics, she would have drawn far more attention.
Choosing to study medicine might have been a bit of a letdown for whoever was watching.
Even if they knew she was Melissa's daughter, they probably figured she hadn't inherited her mother's unique talents.
With her hidden enemies remaining completely dormant, Claire seriously began to doubt if her parents were even still alive.
"It wasn't an elopement. My parents were legally married!"
Claire explained calmly.
"But..." Zara hesitated. "Didn't Melissa already have a fiancé back then?"
The fact that she had abandoned her fiancé for some random
man-leaving the second son of the Green family unmarried to this day was still prime gossip at high-society dinner tables,
The Wives in their circle
loved to talk about it, especially since many of them had secretly crushed on Abfett back in the day.
But since he was Melissa's fiancé, who would have dared to pursue him?
That would have been professional and social suicide.
Melissa running off with a nobody and tossing away a catch like Ablett was something everyone mocked behind her back.
They saw it as a glamorous swan willingly dragging herself through the mud—a total fall from grace.
Some even rumored she had run away with a poor farm boy and had spent all these years tilling the soil in some remote village.
After her scandalous exit, plenty of women had flocked to Ablett, hoping to win his favor.
Unfortunately, he didn't give any of them the time of day.
After years of trying, everyone eventually had to give up.
say he
"I know so much gossip about it. Some say Ablett was too heartbroken to love, again others actual again se never actually liked Melissa, and some even swear he prefers men," Zara rattled off.
She had completely dropped her aloof facade, chattering away a mile a minute.
Claire shot her a look. "Since you're so informed, what does Ablett actually like?"
Zara had seen the man from a distance once, and he had left a lasting impression. "Honestly? I don't think he likes anyone at all."
That was probably why the Green and Churchill families remained on good terms despite the broken engagement.
For all these years, Ablett had likely been using Melissa as a convenient excuse to dodge marriage pressure.
It was just Zara's personal theory, but she didn't know the exact details.
Claire didn't take Zara's words to heart either.
As far as she was concerned, there was no way Ablett remained single solely because of Melissa.
Melissa had been undeniably stunning and brilliant, but Ablett was no slouch himself.
He didn't need to stay hung up on one woman forever.