"Is it really that hard to turn down financial support from Rose's family?"
Skye rubbed her nose in realization-right! She had almost gotten sucked into Zoe's manipulative little web.
There were countless people in the world who struggled just to put food on the table.
Zoe was reaping all the financial benefits, yet she refused to endure even the slightest bit of discomfort.
Where in the world did someone get to have their cake and eat it too?
Zoe choked on her words for a moment. "Grandpa is very good to us. If we moved
out and refused his help, it would break his heart."
"I can't just be selfish and cause an old man such deep pain and sorrow."
Zoe kept rattling off excuses, but her words lacked even a shred of credibility.
Claire could see right through her pathetic facade.
At her core, she was a lot like Cindy.
Except Cindy wasn't half as cunning as Zoe; she was nowhere near Zoe's level of manipulation.
That was why, even after returning to The James Family, Cindy remained completely stunted by the twisted upbringing imposed by her godmother, Fallon.
If Cindy had managed to absorb even a fraction of Pandora's formidable wisdom, she would have thrived anywhere in the world.
Unfortunately, she had chosen to emulate Fallon instead.
And bizarrely, she had ended up looking down on everyone from The James Village.
It was truly baffling behavior.
"Then I guess you'll just have to keep suffering," Claire said coldly.
"If you want the perks, you have to pay the price."
"If you can't endure physical poverty, you'll just have to swallow your emotional pride."
Claire felt she had wasted enough breath on the matter.
Zoe scowled. "You've never been in my situation, so you could never possibly understand."
"You're Zara's friends, so I suppose it's understandable that you'd take her side."
"I won't hold it against you."
Zoe put on a grand show of magnanimity, leaving Claire and Skye utterly speechless at her sheer audacity.
Skye shot back, "We're the ones who aren't holding anything against you." Zoe had never been humiliated so thoroughly in her entire life.
If they hadn't been Zara's friends, the sting wouldn't have been nearly as severe.
But they were incredibly close to Zara, and they were actively standing up for her.
If Claire hadn't shot her mouth off a moment ago, Zoe might have already coaxed Preston back to her side.
Then she wouldn't have been unceremoniously dumped by him like this.
Zoe pressed her lips together, seething in silence.
She knew this wasn't the time to pick a fight.
Even if things got physical, there was no way she could take on both of them at
once.
"Claire."
Just as Claire was about to leave, a deep, slightly out-of-place voice echoed through the hallway.
Zoe reacted even faster than Claire, immediately spinning around to see who it was. "Dane!" Her eyes lit up with predatory excitement.
She hadn't expected to run into Dane here of all places. Was this a blessing in disguise?
Dane treated Zoe's enthusiastic call as if it were nothing more than empty air.
His eyes were locked entirely on Claire and her roommate.
"What brings you here today?"
Dane asked the young woman softly.
Claire had been pulling overtime at
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He had actually been meaning to invite her over to his family's estate.
His grandfather was doing much better this winter compared to last year.
But that didn't mean his severe rheumatism was completely cured.
With the recent cold snap, the old man had been in quite a bit of pain and hadn't been able to leave the house.
He had basically been cooped up indoors for the entire winter.
Dane wanted to have Claire take a look at him.
Of course, his grandfather had been eager to invite Claire over for quite some time
now.
With the holidays rapidly
the estate was flooded
with premium
ifts and delicacies
sent from all over the country.
The old man's ulterior motive for wanting Claire over was painfully obvious.
"I'm here for my roommate's engagement party. It's for Zara."
Dane nodded in understanding. "With Reid from the Daltons?"
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"Yeah." Claire was slightly surprised that Dane was keeping tabs on it.
Then again, it wasn't exactly shocking for someone in his position to know.
"Is the party over?"
Seeing that Claire and her other roommate had already stepped out, he naturally assumed things were wrapping up.