Chapter 21 Nathan stormed into the room, demanding answers. "Ethan, get up right now! Why did you go and-" His words trailed off abruptly when he noticed Claire lying in the bed. He stood there, dumbfounded, his mind unable to process the scene before him.
Claire, awakened by his shouting, blinked her eyes open. She too was momentarily disoriented, unsure of her surroundings.
Adah, who had just entered the room, gasped, "Claire, why are you in your brother's bed?" Claire froze, her mind racing. Brother? Ethan? He had always avoided her, so why would he bring her to his room now? During her three years with the Linwood family, Vanessa had the freedom to enter Ethan's room at will, but Claire had never been allowed to set foot inside.
Nathan and Adah exchanged concerned glances as they searched the room for Ethan, but he was nowhere to be found.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtNathan, his expression stern, asked Claire, "Where is your brother?" Claire met his gaze with a calm look and said nothing. She rose from the bed slowly, limping as she made her way toward the door.
Nathan and Adah stood in her path, blocking her exit.
Seeing that they weren't moving, Claire frowned slightly. "Please step aside." Nathan was already fuming over the recent fallout between Cole Corporation and The Linwood Group. Claire's indifferent demeanor only fueled his anger further.
"I'm your father, and that's how you speak to your elders? Where did you learn such disrespect?" Adah quickly stepped in, trying to calm him down. "Nathan, there's no need to be so harsh. Talk to her calmly." Nathan scoffed, "Then ask her why she wasn't sleeping in her own room. What was she doing in her brother's bed?" "She's in her twenties, not a child. It's her first day back, and she's already causing trouble. It doesn't matter if it's her brother; she shouldn't be sneaking into his room at night." "I'm being tough on her for her own good. I never had to reprimand Vanessa like this. Who knows what Claire's intentions are?" "Enough, enough," Adah interrupted quickly.
Yet, even without the words being spoken, it was clear what Nathan was implying. Claire felt a sharp pain in her chest. She knew the Linwood family didn't like her, but she never imagined her father would think so little of her.
Ethan was her brother. What ulterior motives could she possibly have? Anyone who could voice such suspicions was truly the one with a twisted mind.
Suppressing her hurt, Claire looked up, her expression now composed and indifferent.
"Are you done? If so, please move. I'd like to leave." Nathan's chest heaved with anger, but he stood firm, his gaze growing colder. Adah's worry deepened. "Claire, please, just tell your father where Ethan is." "I don't know," Claire replied, trying to sidestep past them.
Suddenly, a cold hand gripped her arm, yanking her back forcefully.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm
Claire fell to the ground, her injured leg twisting painfully beneath her.
She lay there, unable to rise. Adah cried out in shock, "Nathan, have you lost your mind?" "You're not leaving until we sort this out."
Claire, gritting her teeth against the pain, looked up at Nathan's fierce e gaze, It was the content is on gaze, It was that Nath novelenglish.net! not the look of a father but of a predator eyeing its prey.
She despised that look, feeling an overwhelming urge to escape.
Pushing herself up with trembling hands, she steadied herself and spoke with
forced calm, "I really don't know where Mr. Ethan is. Instead of m interrogating me, why not just give him a call?"