Finding Hope Where Heartbreak Once Lingered

Inside the small box lay a carefully arranged collection—a provocative maid costume, delicate lingerie, and various intimate accessories clearly meant for couples.

Placed prominently at the very center was a thick volume boldly titled "A Guide to Marital Bliss and Intimacy."

The moment Claire registered what lay inside, her heartbeat stalled, and her body stiffened as though frozen in place.

"What the hell is this?" Danny exploded, his voice sharp with fury. "What exactly is Logan trying to pull here? He got engaged to Claire just last night, and this is what he sends her? And he even had the audacity to call and ask whether she liked it?"

"Hurry—remove it! Take it away at once!" Turning her head aside in discomfort, Ivy urgently motioned for a servant to remove the box.

Harold's face hardened instantly. The gift went far beyond humiliating Claire—it was a blatant trampling of the Dale family's pride.

Yet the Dale family was mired in crisis, utterly dependent on the Carters for survival.

Even under such degradation, they were left with no choice but silent endurance.

The longer Danny dwelled on it, the more his anger boiled over. He turned sharply, fixing Carsten with a glare full of accusation. "So this is the man you handpicked, out of all possibilities, to be Claire's husband?"

All color drained from Carsten's face. After a prolonged silence, he slowly lifted his gaze to Claire, his voice rough and strained. "Claire… I'm sorry you're being subjected to this. Once—"

"I'm fine," Claire said softly, forcing down her disappointment as she lifted her eyes to his chiseled features with a faint smile. "Logan and I are officially engaged. Sex life is inevitable anyway."

Ignoring Carsten's smoldering stare, she hurried after the servant, seized the box, and hugged it tightly to herself, saying, "What he sent is actually rather useful. I'm sure I'll need them eventually."

She turned deliberately toward Carsten, her gaze openly challenging. "I don't have Logan's phone number. Could you pass a message to him on my behalf? Tell him I'm very pleased with the gift—and grateful for his consideration."

Clutching the box to her chest, she turned and ascended the stairs.

Ivy's voice followed her, heavy with a quiet sigh. "Claire… it's admirable that you're able to see things so clearly…"

Relief was evident in Harold's tone. "Claire has always been a level-headed child…"

Danny's expression darkened with displeasure. "You pushed Claire into marrying that man. What choice did you leave her but to accept it?"

Ivy interrupted him sharply, "We never forced Claire into it. She consented to it of her own will…"

As the family's voices echoed behind her, Claire ascended the stairs slowly, step by step.

Even after entering her room, she heard no movement or voice from Carsten below.

A soft, self-derisive laugh escaped her lips. She stepped fully inside and stared vacantly at the contents of the box.

Absent from the engagement ceremony itself. And sending a gift like this—his disdain and mockery were unmistakable.

Yet it was the Carter family who had initiated this marriage arrangement. And Logan himself had personally requested her hand.

She could not comprehend what Logan truly wanted from her.

...

"If you could understand a psychopath's mind, you'd be one yourself," Addison sighed. She looped her arm through Claire's as they walked through the crowded mall in central Fiklens. "I heard Logan is seriously messed up—he…"

She abruptly stopped, suddenly recalling that Claire was now Logan's fiancée. She swallowed the rest of what she was about to say. "Forget it. I don't want to upset you."

Claire turned her head, her gaze calm and unwavering. "You mean the rumors? The ones saying Logan fell in love with his sister-in-law, arranged the car accident that killed his brother, and that his sister-in-law later jumped to her death?"

Addison froze in shock. "You… you knew all along?"

A faint smile curved Claire's lips. She pulled Addison into a nearby high-end jewelry store and said evenly, "Danny's already told me all about it—many times."

She had heard it so frequently that it had lost all impact.

Addison hurried to her side, confusion written all over her face. "If you knew all that, then why would you still…"

Claire gestured for a sales assistant to bring over a newly released ring. She slid it onto her finger, studying its reflection with measured attention. "Because he was the one who arranged this marriage."

Addison instantly understood that the "he" she meant was Carsten.

She knitted her brows, confusion deepening across her face. "Didn't you say you no longer have feelings for him? Then why are you still doing exactly what he tells you to do?"

"It's exactly because I no longer care about him that I accepted." Claire removed the ring from her finger and passed it calmly back to the sales assistant. "After my parents died, Harold and Ivy took me in. They were the ones who raised me for twelve full years."

She raised her eyes and fixed Addison with a solemn, steady look. "By marrying Logan, I return the Dale family's kindness, gain a legitimate reason to leave their home, and finally cut ties with Carsten—all in one move. Isn't that the ideal solution?"

Addison's brows furrowed deeply. "But you're marrying a lunatic. For the rest of your life."

"I won't be tied to him that long." Claire smiled faintly, took a different ring from the assistant, and slipped it onto her finger. "I'll make sure he grows to hate me."

A man like Logan would never endure a prolonged marriage with a woman he loathed.

The corner of Addison's mouth twitched involuntarily. "Seems like you might be even more unhinged than he is."

Claire found herself amused by Addison's reaction. She was just about to respond when a female voice called out from the store's entrance, "Claire?"

Claire froze the instant she heard the voice. She slowly turned toward the source of the sound.

Wearing white, Daisy sat in a wheelchair as Carsten gently pushed her into the jewelry store.

The moment Claire turned her face, Daisy's face brightened with delight. "So it really is you!" said Daisy.

Her gaze shifted to Claire's finger, immediately catching sight of the diamond ring. "Claire, I heard you became engaged last night. Are you picking out your wedding ring? But… doesn't that one seem a little… too small? And how could you choose a wedding ring with only a friend by your side? Why isn't Mr. Carter here with you?"