Tears stread down Chloe Reed’s face as she looked at Walker Grant, her voice trembling. "I know I can’t fall apart right now, but what about Iris? I can’t bear to imagine what William Quinn will do to her. She..."
Walker Grant pulled her into an embrace. Her tears felt like they were scalding his heart, making it clench in pain.
"This is an ordeal she must overco. She’ll be fine," he soothed, but a cold indifference lurked in the depths of his dark eyes.
He had made his choice long ago.
No one was more important than Chloe Reed.
Chloe Reed closed her eyes and leaned against him, letting her tears flow. She was overco with guilt and sorrow.
She blad herself for failing to protect Iris.
"Chloe."
Just then, Mrs. Yates walked over. Her face was pale, and her makeup was no longer so immaculate.
Chloe Reed quickly wiped her tears away and looked toward Mrs. Yates. "Mrs. Yates."
"What... what exactly is the story with Iris and that man?" Mrs. Yates struggled to get the words out. Iris had already been taken, and she herself had already had a good cry; her eyes were now red and swollen.
Chloe Reed took a deep breath before answering. "It was just a one-ti accident. Iris didn’t give it a second thought, but William Quinn has been relentlessly pursuing her."
Tears stread down Mrs. Yates’s face again. "So... will Iris be alright? How could she be so reckless? How could she get involved with a man like that? I told her to get married, but she refused to listen. If she had just gotten married sooner, sothing like this never would have happened..."
Even now, her words were full of nothing but bla for Iris.
Chloe Reed couldn’t hold back. "The only reason Iris went drinking at that bar was because she was under too much pressure! You’re the one who kept forcing her on blind dates, never giving her any space. Mrs. Yates, I’ve always wanted to ask... why did you arrange so many dates for Iris? She’s your only daughter, she’s not even twenty-five. Why are you in such a rush to marry her off?"
But Mrs. Yates retorted, "What do you know? The most important thing for a woman is to marry a good man so she’ll be provided for. I was only trying to do what’s best for her! She brought this on herself..."
"Mrs. Yates!" Chloe Reed cut her off. "Iris has been taken! We don’t even know if she’s dead or alive!"
Mrs. Yates’s mouth opened and closed. She then covered her face and began to sob again. "That wretched girl, she can’t give a single day of peace. What am I going to do now..."
She was helpless and filled with despair. Now there was no one left to listen to her lectures.
Chloe Reed had no desire to comfort her. She didn’t want to hear Mrs. Yates say one more bad thing about Iris.
She turned and walked away. Nathaniel Monroe was at the hospital, and she needed to go see how he was doing.
But just as she exited the hotel, she saw Claire Monroe leaning against a car. A lollipop stick protruded from her lips as she watched her with an unreadable, almost-smile.
Chloe Reed stopped short.
Claire Monroe spoke up. "Care to tell what’s really going on now?"
Walker Grant said, "We’ll explain on the way."
Claire Monroe raised an eyebrow. She opened the back door for them, then slid into the driver’s seat herself.
It was quiet in the car as Walker Grant briefly explained the situation to Claire Monroe.
"Idiot!"
After hearing the story, Claire Monroe couldn’t help but curse. "I’m so smart and beautiful, how did I end up with such a moron for a brother? A fake marriage? Of course he’d co up with sothing that stupid! And Iris, too! How could she be so out of it as to agree? That boy was definitely not up to any good!"
Just like a big sister, she saw right through Nathaniel Monroe’s little sche.
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