"If you don't invite her, how's she supposed to hang out with you guys?" York spoke up for Cindy, as usual. "Cindy's only been back with the James family for a short while. She isn't used to things yet, so you really should help her settle in more. Claire, you enjoyed a pretty comfortable life thanks to the James family too. It's only right for you to help Cindy fit in with us."
Claire was honestly stunned by how shameless York could be. "York, you're her fiancé. Shouldn't you be the one helping her out?" she shot back.
He raised his hands. "If I do, she might think I have some kind of motive. And if her grades tank, she'll probably say I distracted her or was showing off and ruined her focus."
"Cindy's not like that, Claire. You seriously just have something against her." When York took someone's side, he never held back.
Claire just shrugged like it didn't matter. "Sure, whatever you say."
York still hadn't arrived, so Cindy came out to wait for him. The moment she stepped outside and spotted him talking with Claire, jealousy tightened in her chest.
"Cindy," York called, stepping over toward her as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Have you been drinking?"
Her cheeks went a little pink. “No, just a tiny bit.”
“A tiny bit is still drinking,” he scolded, giving her a tired sigh. “You really shouldn't drink so much when you're out."
He looked at her gently. "Still want to hang out for a while?"
"I'm not done having fun," Cindy pouted, but her eyes drifted over to Claire and Shirley. "Are Claire and Shirley leaving?"
Claire smiled politely. "Yeah, we just finished our last song."
Cindy perked up, eager to keep the group together. "Why don't you guys stay a bit longer? York's here, so we can call more people over. York, do you have any friends who could come hang out? Claire and Shirley are both gorgeous and still single. Now that the college entrance exams are over, it should be fine for them to start dating, right? If you know any good guys, you should introduce them."
Sophia rolled her eyes and couldn't keep quiet anymore. "Since when is their love life your business? Just
because you're engaged doesn'tnet
mean you have to meddle with everyone else who's stiliving their best single life."
Cindy never liked dealing with Sophia. Sophia was always blunt and had this don't- mess-with-me vibe that made Cindy nervous.
"That's not what I meant..." Cindy turned to York, looking all hurt and misunderstood.
Naturally, York jumped to defend her. "You misunderstood, Sophia. Cindy was just making a casual
suggestion.Claire and Shet
want to date, it's their choice. Cindy was just trying to be kind, so don't take it the wrong way."
He honestly made a habit out of smoothing things over for Cindy, but
Sophiajust curled her lip,
unimpressed. Guys like this... no surprise her best friend had Zero Interest
Right then, Claire's phone buzzed with a call from Dane. She didn't even glance at York, just walked a few steps away to answer. "Hello?”
“Congratulations, Claire. You're done with the exams. A whole new chapter's about
to start for you,” Dane's voice sounded warm and genuine.
He hadn't called her the second exams finished, wanting to let her rest for a bit. Now that it'd been a day, he figured she'd settled down some.
"Thanks," Claire replied. The background noise in the karaoke bar made everything a bit muffled.
After a couple of exchanged words, Dane picked up on how noisy it was. "Are you at karaoke?"
“Yeah, I'm out with Sophia and the others. My desk mate and a few friends from the team," she explained.
"Don't stay out too late,” he reminded her, his tone soft but a little concerned.
"I'm heading back soon," Claire promised.