Chapter 2

Claire’s POV

It was already eleven at night when I returned to the Bennett family home.

The living room was brightly lit. My father, Richard Bennett, and my stepmother, Vivian Hayes, sat stiffly on the couch, clearly waiting for me.

The moment I walked in, Vivian Hayes spoke with thinly veiled sarcasm.

“Oh, so you do remember where you live? I thought you’d be spending another night at the Prescott family’s place.”

I was too exhausted to so much as lift my eyes. Ignoring her, I headed straight for the stairs.

“Stop right there!”

Richard Bennett barked the order and hurled a tablet at my feet.

“See for yourself!”

On the screen was a statement just released by Prescott Group’s public relations department. It announced that Mr. Julian Prescott and Claire Bennett had called off their engagement, along with the happy news of his upcoming engagement to Ms. Chloe Reed.

The accompanying photo showed Julian Prescott and Chloe Reed in an intimate pose, his arm around her waist, his smile brimming with satisfaction.

You certainly moved fast, Julian Prescott.

Less than three hours after our breakup, he had publicly cut ties with me, as though he feared I might cling to him and sully his reputation.

“Claire Bennett! What the hell did you do? Why would the Prescott family suddenly call off the engagement?”

Richard Bennett’s face was livid.

He had never cared about how much I had suffered. All that mattered to him was whether he had lost his way into the Prescott family’s circle.

I was too tired to say a single word. All I wanted was to go to my room and get some sleep.

When I remained silent, Vivian Hayes added fuel to the fire.

“Richard, why are you even asking her? Just look at the rumors going around. Everyone’s saying she can’t have children. And all those shameful things she did to latch on to Julian Prescott back then—her reputation has been ruined for ages. Think about who the Prescott family are. How could they agree to a marriage like that?”

When had those rumors started spreading?

Probably three years ago, when I had drunk on Julian Prescott’s behalf until I ended up with alcohol poisoning and damaged my health.

The doctor had told me the damage meant I would have difficulty conceiving in the future.

Julian Prescott was the only person I had ever told.

And now he had let the whole world know.

My suffering meant nothing to him. Perhaps he even found it funny.

And now the people laughing at me were my own father and stepmother.

Looking at the two ugly, twisted faces before me, I suddenly found it all so coldhearted and absurd.

“I’m the one who doesn’t want to get married,” I said flatly.

Richard Bennett looked as though he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

“You? Who do you think you are? Let me tell you something, Claire Bennett. I haven’t sent your sister’s tuition or living expenses overseas this month yet! If you can’t sort things out with Julian Prescott, she can pack her bags and come crawling back!”

The same trick again. Threatening me with the person I cared about most.

Ever since my mother died, Richard Bennett had treated Lily as nothing more than my sister and a tool he could use against me, rather than his own daughter.

If Lily came back, she would face the same life I did.

Keeping Lily far away from them and letting her grow up safely abroad was my greatest wish now.

For the past seven years, that was why I had made myself so small before the Bennett family and Julian Prescott.

But things were different now.

I lifted my head and met his gaze calmly.

“So? What do you want?”

My reaction stunned both Richard Bennett and Vivian Hayes.

They were used to me meekly accepting whatever they did to me. They hadn’t expected me to question them so calmly.

Vivian immediately put on a phony smile and took my hand.

“Claire Bennett, don’t blame your father. He only wants what’s best for you. Now that things haven’t worked out with the Prescott family, we can’t just leave you in limbo. Do you remember the Blackwood family of San Francisco? They’re looking to arrange a marriage for their heir. They originally wanted your sister, but Lily is still so young and immature…”

The Blackwood family of San Francisco.

Supposedly one of the wealthiest and most powerful families, but their heir, Adrian Blackwood, was a cripple.

Rumor had it that Adrian Blackwood had been in an accident in his teens and lost the use of both legs.

Afterward, he had undergone a drastic change in temperament, becoming notoriously violent and ill-tempered.

Not one of his caregivers had lasted three months.

No one dared marry into his family.

So this opportunity had fallen to me—a woman the Prescott family had rejected, whose reputation was in ruins, who might be unable to have children.

They made it sound like I was getting the better end of the deal.

They wanted to sell me off and squeeze out whatever value I had left.

“As long as you agree, the Blackwood family is willing to give us 300 million as a gift. They’ll even help your younger siblings get into the Ivy League and cover all their expenses.”

Vivian’s voice was full of enticement.

Three hundred million.

My sister, who was still in high school. My entire life. In Richard Bennett’s eyes, that was all I was worth.

I looked at his greedy face, cold settling deep inside me.

I would be trading one nightmare for another.

But at least San Francisco was far from New York.

Far enough that I would never have to see Julian Prescott again, never have to live in the shadow of the past seven years.

At least this time, the choice was mine.

My marriage in exchange for my sister’s future—and a chance to leave the past behind and start over.

It was a worthwhile trade.

I pulled my hand out of Vivian’s grasp and looked at Richard Bennett.

“I’ll marry him.”

Relief and elation instantly spread across Richard Bennett’s and Vivian’s faces.

New York. Julian Prescott.

This city, this relationship, all these awful people and their messes.

I was done with all of it.