In Zoe's mind, her pursuit of Dane was pure romance.
If anyone else threw themselves at him, they were just gold diggers climbing the social ladder.
If she and Dane got together, they would be a match made in heaven.
If someone else ended up with him, it meant Dane had been trapped.
She genuinely believed she was meant to rescue him.
Claire saw right through that kind of mentality.
It was blatant double standards.
"Right, right, you didn't do anything. Mr. Green must have provoked you, then?"
Zara couldn't be bothered to argue with her anymore.
Dane was already walking over.
Zoe assumed he was coming for her and reflexively adjusted her posture, tilting her pale neck upward like a proud swan.
"Da—" Before Zoe could even get his name out, Dane walked right past her and stopped in front of Claire.
In front of the entire crowd, he offered his hand to Claire.
"Why did you come down?"
Claire naturally slipped her arm through his. "It was boring up there. My roommate called me down, so here I am."
The onlookers nearly bugged their eyes out.
What was going on?
Did Dane have a thing with the classmate Zara brought along?
Maybe it wasn't a secret affair, but they clearly shared a deeply intimate bond.
None of the women present had ever been allowed to hook their arm through Dane's.
Look how naturally she did it!
Zoe's carefully practiced smile completely shattered.
She forced herself to ask, "Zara, does your friend know Mr. Green?"
Zara rolled her eyes. "How should I know? You can see how close they are. Does that look like they don't know each other?"
Claire was the granddaughter of The Churchill Family, and Dane was a Green. The two families were long-time allies, so why wouldn't they know each other?
Suddenly, an epiphany hit Zara. Claire's mother once had a marriage arrangement with Dane's uncle.
Since Claire's mom ran away from that arrangement, could the engagement have been passed down to Claire and Dane?
How else could they be this physically comfortable with each other?
Zoe was suffocating in shock.
She couldn't accept it. Dane was the untouchable elite of their society. How could he be conquered by some random young girl?
"Perfect timing. Do me a favor," Dane whispered intimately into Claire's ear.
To the crowd, the gesture screamed romance.
Even Zara started wondering if they were actually together.
Zoe dug her nails so hard into her palms they nearly left marks.
Dane was her ultimate prize.
If she managed to be with Dane, she would never have to endure the disdain of the Rose family again.
Her cousin, Zara, wouldn't dare make sarcastic remarks at her expense.
Sometimes, Zoe really resented her grandmother.
If she hadn't insisted on marrying
Old Mo their branch of t
family wouldn't have been
on handouts.
.net>
The constant feeling of being looked down upon was unbearable.
Yet Zoe never considered the reality.
If her grandmother hadn't married Old Mr. Rose, their family might have been destitute.
It was only because Old Mr. Rose took care of her grandmother that they had the
luxury they enjoyed today.
Otherwise she wouldn't even hold
the title of
and
a nominal Rose heiress,
She would never have set foot in
this elite circle.
She might never have even seen Dane's face in her entire life, let alone dream of crossing class boundaries.
Zoe just wanted all the perks without making a single sacrifice.
Their branch's reputation was slightly tainted, but their quality.
life was immensely better. Horet
that not a winning deal?
was
Right now, all Zoe could feel was burning jealousy toward Claire.
She had no idea what the James family member's background was or how she
managed to get close to Dane.
And Zara was keeping her mouth completely shut.
Zara, meanwhile, was busy mocking Preston.
"Didn't you just say Dane was totally out of Claire's league?"