Chapter 5: To Be Mrs. Hawthorne?
Four years ago, Claire had technically used the Prescott family, manipulated everyone, and forced him to agree to their engagement.
“So why does he want to marry me?” She thought.
It wasn’t until an hour later, when Frederick brought Claire to the most famous bridal shop in Kingstown, that she found herself standing in a white dress beside the impeccably dressed Frederick.
It all felt like a dream. The scenario had all of the same contours of her old life, but it felt so different than she’d expected. She couldn’t muster a smile, still questioning the reality with which she was standing.
“Aren’t you happy? Isn’t this what you’ve always dreamed of? Becoming Mrs. Hawthorne?” Frederick’s gaze darkened as he grabbed her arm and looked at her in the mirror.
Claire stood there, staring at her reflection alongside Frederick, unable to utter a single word.
This was the moment she had fantasized about and prepared for since she was a child, but here she was…. Confused by every > second of it. No matter how much she tried to restrain herself,
her body still trembled violently.
Chapter 5: To Be Mrs. Hawthorne?
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“Being the one to die for Caroline is an honor, isn’t it? You wanted to be Mrs. Hawthorne, didn’t you?” he gritted his teeth before continuing. “Fine, stay by my side… you’ll be Mrs. Hawthorne in life…. and in death,” he whispered coldly in her car, his gaze as sinister as a demon from hell.
A chill seeped through Claire’s entire body, freezing her to the bone as she connected the dots:
“…He just wants to marry me to keep me by his side as a shield for Caroline…?
Four years ago, when she was imprisoned, Frederick was a major general, and he was surrounded by countless dangers.
Now, not only had he been promoted to general, commanding the security regiment, but he was also a presidential candidate. Threats to their lives were inevitable.
She understood better than anyone just how dangerous his position was. He wouldn’t let Caroline be exposed to such risks. There was no way.
Even with everything else, Frederick’s older brother was the biggest threat of all.
No one knew better than Claire, the former heiress of the Prescott family, how ruthless Arthur Hawthorne was. When she was six, she had witnessed Arthur skin someone alive. The terror of that scene had kept her in the hospital for three whole months, panicked and traumatized.
Chapter 5: To Be Mrs. Hawthorne?
Just thinking about it made her tremble uncontrollably even
now.
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“No! Frederick… please! Don’t be so cruel! I am begging you!” she pleaded, her face turning pale as she fell desperately to her knees in front of him. A smacking sound echoed from the ground as her face landed against it.
A shock went through Frederick as he watched Claire, her head bloodied from the impact. At that moment, the image of the formerly prissy heiress of the Prescott family flashed before his
eyes:
Frederick, this is my gift to you. Don’t you dare to throw it away!
Frederick, I’ll do all of your birthday planning, because I’m in charge.
Frederick, you belong to me. If anyone tries to take you from me, they’ll regret it!
He wondered how it could be possible that that same woman from before was all crumpled before him now. If he didn’t know any better, he would have guessed her identity had been switched again, but instead of a rich girl, it was some disastrous soul from the prison.
Her begging devolved into thrashing, and she began to beat her head on the concrete.
The memories continued to flood back to him, as he stood in
Chapter 5: To Be Mrs. Hawthorne?
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The once arrogant Claire had never before uttered a single soft word in her life. Even when she was starting to fall for him, it was always with an air of superiority, as if she were saying, “You belong to me, Frederick.”
“Enough!” Frederick demanded, breaking through the chaos swirling inside of him, “Claire! Stop kneeling and playing the victim in front of me! You will be Mrs. Hawthorne whether you
like it or not!”
Frederick’s face darkened as he recalled Claire kneeling in front of his car a month ago, shivering in the snow on the ground.
“The old Claire was just bossy. But after a few years in prison, she’s learned how to play tricks and really put on an act,” he i thought.
Frustrated, he ordered a driver to take her back to the Halfmoon
Manor.
Weakly climbing in, her mind raced pessimistically with all of the possibilities the future could hold. Every option seemed downright terrifying.
During those four years in prison, she had lived in constant fear, dreading the transition from day to night. She was always paranoid that death was on its way. She hadn’t expected that even after her release, death would still be waiting for her in the free world.
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he clung to herself tightly, pressed against the back of the seat, trembling
“No!” she thought, “I’ve fought so hard to escape that hellish place, to have a chance at survival. I want to live. I can’t just stay by Frederick’s side and wait to die. I have to escape!”
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1r Gifts
Chapter 5: To Be Mrs. Hawthorne?
5/5
She clung to herself tightly, pressed against the back of the seat, trembling.
“No!” she thought, “I’ve fought so hard to escape that hellish place, to have a chance at survival. I want to live. I can’t just stay by Frederick’s side and wait to die. I have to escape!”
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