"You're right. If Ablett wanted to get married, he would have done it ages ago. If he hasn't, it's just because he doesn't want to!"
Claire had never met Ablett, but she knew Baldrick.
Baldrick was a true romantic who had loved his late wife for years.
A man with that much love in his heart wouldn't force his adopted son into an unwanted marriage.
Even Dane and Claire's engagement was only finalized after Baldrick had consulted Dane first.
Although Baldrick pushed hard for the match, Claire firmly believed that if Dane had refused, the old man wouldn't have forced it.
Claire didn't really care much about Ablett's situation. After all, her still-missing parents were the ones who had wronged him.
Zara, on the other hand, had become incredibly enthusiastic toward Claire ever since finding out she was Melissa's daughter.
She desperately wanted to know what Claire's father looked like.
Claire frowned. "Just look at me. I'm just as good-looking as my dad."
She had never actually met Agassi in person and had only seen photographs.
Zara pestering her wouldn't change that fact.
"Actually, what I wanted to say is that once my parents found out you're Melissa's daughter, they wanted to invite you over for dinner."
"Not interested," Claire replied, taking a lazy bite of her food.
It was Friday. Word on the campus was that Saturday was the highly anticipated birthday bash for Sloane Sterling, the medical school's golden girl.
All the upperclassmen considered it an absolute honor to score an invite.
A few people had even asked Claire if she was on the guest list.
Claire? Of course not!
She barely knew Sloane, so why would she be invited?
But the rest of the medical students were desperate for an invite. First, Sloane was Vice President Sterling's daughter, making her a highly valuable connection. Second, her family's parties were crawling with elite figures from the medical field.
Sure, a twenty-year-old's birthday might not be the gala of the century.
But what if it was?
Getting on Sloane's good side guaranteed far better networking opportunities than anyone else had.
Some were even hoping to seek medical favors. Dr. Sterling Senior was national medical treasure. they caught his eye, maybe they could secure his expertise
You had
Sloane was smart.
She had marke her birthday so
aggressively that even students
from other departments knew about it.
Over the last few days in the cafeteria, Claire had overheard people buzzing about it constantly.
Priscilla
astings spotted Claire still
finishing her meal and sidled up to whisper, "Did you get an invite from Sloane?
"No, why?" Claire didn't see any reason to hide it.
They weren't close. Not getting invited was totally normal.
"The girls in the dorm were taking bets on whether you got one or not."
Claire didn't even blink. "Well, they should be thrilled to know I didn't."
She honestly didn't know what it was, but she just didn't seem to click with her classmates.
Very few people in her major actually got along with her.
Even Priscilla only hung around because of her connection to Mary.
The rest of the girls seemed to harbor an inexplicable dislike for her.
Lily Lowell and Tabitha Prince were fairly obvious about it, but the one who truly loathed her was Macy Wade.
The first two were just envious, but Macy held genuine hostility.
Claire had absolutely no idea what she had done to offend the girl.
The resentment was completely unprovoked.
"Claire."
Speak of the devil.
Sloane Sterling had actually come looking for her.
"Sloane," Claire replied, looking up to meet her gaze directly.
Claire's eyes were devastatingly beautiful.
Meeting that stare, Sloane actually lost her train of thought for a split second.
"Tomorrow is my birthday, Claire. I'd love it if you'd come to my party."