Did she honestly think that just because her mother was a Churchill, she could stand on equal footing with the true members of the Churchill family?
Jocelyn instinctively glanced at Owen, assuming he would resent this newly arrived cousin for taking a slice of the family's shares.
To her shock, Owen nodded in serious agreement. "Exactly. We shouldn't bother
you. If you're tired, Claire, you can head home early to get some rest."
"Have Dane take you home," Owen added, gesturing toward Dane.
Dane didn't refuse.
However, no matter how unbothered Claire seemed, she wouldn't actually leave such an important gala early.
She wasn't an uncultured country girl, and she certainly didn't lack manners.
"I know, Owen. You can deal with your enemies first."
A sudden scoff broke the tension.
Owen couldn't hold back his laughter.
Weren't they exactly that enemies?
"Ahem, Claire, let's not use that word. Owen and I might have been at each other's throats in the past, but hasn't that misunderstanding been cleared up?"
Xavier wasn't thrilled with the label.
"The misunderstanding might be cleared up, but does that erase the hostility?" Claire gave him a strange look. "Then why did you bring someone here just to be an eyesore for Owen?"
The fake smile vanished from Jocelyn's face.
This country girl was entirely too blunt.
What did she mean by 'eyesore'?
Sure, Owen had despised her in the past, but she had been abroad for years.
Shouldn't all that old resentment have faded by now?
She had even checked with Xavier and knew perfectly well that Owen hadn't sworn off dating just because of one failed relationship.
Hadn't he dated a string of women over the years?
That clearly meant he hadn't kept Seraphina in his heart at all.
That was exactly why Jocelyn had convinced Xavier to bring her to the gala in the first place.
She assumed the past was buried, oblivious to the fact that the people involved remembered every single detail.
"I brought her here to make peace with Owen. How is she an eyesore?" Xavier felt incredibly wronged.
Claire was speechless. "... You brought someone Owen clearly dislikes, and you actually expect him to make peace?"
What kind of logic was that?
Jocelyn couldn't listen to this anymore.
She felt Claire was saying these things on purpose, deliberately targeting her and looking down on her.
What did she mean she was someone Owen disliked?
"Since Owen doesn't appreciate my presence, I'll take my leave," she announced.
Jocelyn wasn't entirely without pride.
She wanted to mend fences with
Owen and hoped he would let bygones be bygones, but that didn't mean she enjoyed being humiliated.
"The truth is rarely pretty. My apologies, Ms Thorne" Claire genuinely hadn't meant to
fight with Jocelyn.
Jocelyn's expression turned even more sour.
"It's fine," Jocelyn forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Xavier, could you walk me out?"
Seeing Jocelyn on the verge of tears,
Xavier's first instinct was rel
her but a strange mense
of
satisfaction bubbled up inside him.
Jocelyn had strung him along in the past, so watching Claire tear her down actually felt kind of good.
Xavier shook his head, feeling a bit guilty for enjoying it.
He figured he should still show a little kindness to the girl he had once truly loved. "Sure," Xavier agreed.
Before leaving, Jocelyn made a point to steal one last glance at the man named Dane.
Yet his gaze remained straight ahead, completely oblivious to her existence.
The sting of rejection fueled Jocelyn's frustration.
Her usual charming tricks, the ones that worked on every other man, seemed completely useless against him.
Was his heart made of stone?
Or was he just not into women?
Watching Jocelyn leave, Claire shot Dane an amused look. "You really know how to
attract a crowd, don't you?"