Everyone could see Jocelyn was playing her son.
Everyone except her idiot son, who was still dancing on her strings.
Unlike the Churchill boy, who had quickly caught onto the grift.
For families of their stature, they would much rather their children break a few hearts than be the ones getting played.
It was just too embarrassing!
Thank god they had already lined up a competent fiancée; Serena was far more reliable.
"Didn't Xavier already send Ms. Thorne away?" Serena asked, shooting him a cool look. "Or couldn't you bear to part with her?"
Xavier felt deeply wronged.
"I called her a cab. She's gone."
He pulled out his phone and shoved the screen in their faces.
The rideshare app clearly showed the car was en route.
Xavier turned to Claire. "Claire, are you sure you didn't mistake someone else for her?"
Even if she needed glasses, she didn't have to throw him under the bus.
She was just setting him up to get yelled at.
Xavier wasn't overly terrified of his mother cutting off his credit cards.
But Serena was standing right there.
And Xavier was absolutely terrified of Serena.
"I highly doubt it. I'm not blind," Claire said.
Lillian and Serena both stared at Xavier in unison-clearly, he was the blind one.
Xavier rubbed his nose, feeling the silent insult.
"Why don't you give her a quick call to check in? What if something happened to her?"
Claire offered the helpful suggestion.
Xavier had accused Owen of trying to steal his girl, but with a brain that smooth, Jocelyn would have been stolen by a slight breeze.
Claire had no reason to lie, so he really ought to wonder why a woman who had supposedly left was sneaking back into the hotel.
Jocelyn's presence at this gala had never been innocent.
Under the piercing stares of three women, Xavier finally caved and dialed Jocelyn's number.
It rang for a while before she finally picked up.
"Hello?"
Jocelyn's sweet voice filtered through the speaker.
Xavier let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "Jocelyn, are you in the car?"
Jocelyn, currently sinking into the leather seats of Larkin's luxury sedan, paused. "...I am."
"See, I knew it. You must be halfway home by now. Claire said she saw you near the restrooms."
"She must have been mistaken."
Jocelyn's tone shifted slightly.
"Xavier does Owen's sister have a
problem with me?"
The unspoken accusation hung heavy in the air: Why else would she try to drive a wedge between us?
That was exactly what she meant.
Xavier cast a nervous sideways glance at Claire. "No way, you're overthinking it.
She just saw someone else."
"Alright, Jocelyn, I have to go. Things are busy here."
Xavier hung up hastily, as if afraid Claire might overhear too much.
"You saw wrong. She's already on the road."
Xavier looked incredibly smug, convinced he hadn't been played.
Claire gave him a long, pitying look. Jocelyn had confirmed she was in a car, not his
car.
Xavier had filled in all the blanks himself.
"Right... I must have seen wrong then," Claire said smoothly.
She didn't have the energy to argue with stupid.
Serena, however, knew Claire
asn't
the type to gossip aimlessly. She was fully aware of Claire's
background and didn't look down of her rural upbringing.
If a girl raised outside their elite
bubble could command such fierce
loyalty from the entire Churchill
family, it was about more than just being Melissa's daughter.
Claire clearly had incredible qualities of her own.
"Claire, darling, don't mind my son. Xavier's a few bricks shy of a load," Lillian said
with an affectionate sigh.
Lillian patted her shoulder reassuringly.
After all, that was exactly why she had hired her son an external hard drive—
namely, Serena.