Claire knew exactly why Pierre was so cautious in telling her of Gabriel's next move. Francesca.
She walked into the office with the newspaper in her hand and as she unfolded it, she wanted to slam it. If Gabriel intended to provoke her, he did just fine. But she wasn't going to come running back to him. No. That would mean that Michael Moore could grip his fingers around her even tighter.
"Hi, Elise. Congratulations." Samuel appeared out of nowhere.
"Ehhh…" Claire looked at him, unsure what she was being congratulated for.
"The youngest winner of the annual design competition and the first in this department to get a solo article in TIME magazine." Samuel sat on the edge of her desk. "We must celebrate."
"Must we?"
"Indeed. I have a design prodigy on my team. We must. Besides, I have been contacted by Diamond Corporate. Because of your design, they want to work with us."
Claire blinked at him without answering.
"Tonight, after work. A few drinks. What do you say?"
"I'll abstain. I don't drink anymore." Claire lied even though she felt the effects of alcohol from the previous night. Or maybe it was just the effects of her not caring for herself. She wasn't sure. She had a bad headache and her body felt as if it was beaten up.
"Okay. Dinner then." Samuel suggested. Claire blinked again, fluttering her long eyelashes. "You look so cute when you bat those eyelashes at me." Samuel smiled. "We need to plan our trip to England. When would you like to go?"
"Never." Claire responded sharply. Samuel stared at her in shock. "I have a fear of flying."
"We can go on a cruise if you want." Samuel shrugged. His attitude was irritating Claire. He was nearly thirty-five and he still acted like a boy.
"I am not going. My contract says nothing of business trips. I'm under no obligation to go." She was still irritated from the news about Gabriel and Francesca.
"Okay." Samuel nodded. She wasn't used to that level of compliance from her boss. Not after butting her head with Gabriel for so long. "From a professional point of view, it'll be ideal that you went as you're the main point of interest. But I understand if you don't want to. I'd like you to help me prepare the presentation and I will try my best to present something to them. I am not willing to pass on that partnership right now."
"Of course." Claire nodded.
"Is something bothering you?" Samuel asked in a kind and caring sort of way.
"Why?"
"You seem on edge today."
"I don't know. I guess I'm just a little stressed out." Claire sighed. "I didn't expect to win that competition nor did I expect an article in TIME magazine."
"I understand. You might just need time to process it. And let me know if you change your mind about going on that business trip. It could be fun. And at the very least, I think it'll be interesting. After all those scandals, it'd be interesting to meet Gabriel Moore in person."
"So, you are just nosey about him?"
"Pretty much." Samuel laughed as if he was caught red-handed. His eyes landed on the newspaper in front of Claire. "I guess he forgot about his dead wife already." He smiled. "Oh, the capricious hearts do the rich men."
"Aren't you rich?" Claire asked directly.
"Maybe. Not that kind of rich though. I'm rich enough to buy you a dinner to celebrate your big win, but not rich enough to buy you five yachts."
"That's a shame. I might've been tempted by the five yachts." Claire grumbled which made Samuel burst into laughter.
"I might be able to get you those five yachts if that partnership goes well."
"How exactly do you see that partnership working?"
"I hope for a healthy exchange of ideas."
"You want me to design their stuff and suck all of the money out of them?" Claire asked directly.
"Yes, exactly." Samuel nodded.
"You don't even know the scope of my skills. I've barely designed two things that you saw and I'm starting on a third one which is also the first actual project for the company."
"I think I have an idea of what you're capable of. And I want to see what I can get using your talents."
"All bosses are the same. They just want to exploit and enslave their workers."
"Hardly, Elise. You will be rewarded for your efforts. We can both be rich and buy some yachts."
"I'm not talented enough to bring that kind of money."
"Maybe you just need the right kind of push?" Samuel smiled again before walking away.
Claire let out a long sigh before she started working on her project.
After some insistence, Claire went to the dinner with her colleagues to celebrate her winning the first prize.
She had a glass of champagne during dinner but after when she was alone she started to drown her sorrows and anger in several more glasses.
She rocked up by her apartment late at night.
Pierre stood by her apartment's door. He scowled at her as he noticed her appalling state.
"You have been drinking again."
"Yeah, so?" Claire shrugged as she tried to find her keys. She rummaged through her handbag but to no avail.
"You have been sending Gabriel stuff to help him with the case. Why did you stop?"
"There's nothing more that I can send him."
"You usually send him stuff every two weeks. Three weeks have passed."
"As I've said, I have nothing more to send." Claire was angry.
"Why are you drinking?"
"I'm trying to drown my sorrows. I need it all to stop."
"Why did you drink tonight? I've told you that Gabriel suspects you to be alive. Isn't that good news?"
"He should be the one that grieves. He should be the one hurt beyond anything. Why am I hurting so much?" Claire cried. She has given up on finding her keys now. She just stood there being miserable. "How can he move on and I can't? I should move on too."
Pierre let out a sigh and took her handbag off her, finding her keys and letting her in into her own apartment. He followed her inside and looked at her as she flipped on the sofa, starting to cry into the pillow.
"I've warned you."
"And I'm not running back to him." Claire's anger resurfaced. "Actually, he can bloody move on. As far as he knows, I'm dead. He can go around and be with pretty much any girl he likes. I should move on too. Why should I count the days until I can return if I have no one waiting for me?!" Claire wailed in despair.
"That's not true." Pierre said. He wasn't very good at lifting her spirits up.
"Why? Shouldn't I move on? Claire Thompson is dead. There's nothing holding me to that wicked marriage contract."
"Oh, Claire."
"When you've said that you will have me, did you lie?"
"Not really. I knew that you were married and I knew you. I knew you'd say no."
"And now?"
"And now I know that you're very upset and quite drunk."
"So, you don't want me either?"
"I rather not be your rebound guy. If you want a rebound guy, go after someone like your current boss. I rather wait until you're completely over this." Pierre's words came out as teasing.
"Maybe. I think Samuel has a thing for me." Claire started crying and laughing at once.
"I've warned you. I did tell you that Gabriel was going to try to provoke you. I guess he hit the sore spot."
"That's a shitty move. If anything, it makes me not want to ever go back again."
"Yeah, I don't think he thought it through. I guess that he's quite desperate."
"But, why Francesca?"
"Because you detest her."
"You knew about this, didn't you?"
"He shared some of it with me over a coffee a couple of days ago. He was trying to come up with a way to get your attention if you're still somewhere out there."
"Tell him that he sucks." Claire said as she hugged a cushion.
"I will. I am heading back a day after tomorrow. Is there anything you need?"
"No." Claire shook her head.
"Please, don't drink too much." Pierre said softly as he covered her with a blanket, noticing Claire's heavy eyelids.
As Claire fell asleep he left an envelope on the coffee table and left her alone, locking the door behind him and pushing the key underneath it.
Claire woke up feeling ill again. She had a shower and then she noticed the envelope. She opened it curiously. It was a set of files from Pierre. The files showed the progress of the trial. It was to end soon. Their investigation too. It was almost the time for her to go home.
Seeing Katherine later that day was different. Firstly, Katherine wrote an article about her without her consent. It felt like a violation of sorts.
Secondly, Claire struggled to watch the trial anymore. She was too angry at everything right now. She was too hurt.
She sat with Katherine over wine, minding how much she drank, and speaking softly.
Katherine didn't seem to be in a good mood either.
"What's up, Katherine? What's that sullen mood for?"
"I'm not sure whether you realise, but many of us here come from England. We're not here because we want to."
"Really?" Claire was genuinely surprised.
"Many of us escaped some really bad situations." Katherine said rather sadly.
"Katherine…" Claire tapped Katherine's hand in a reassuring kind of a way. That was enough for Katherine to start sobbing.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. Whatever happened in the past… we can't change it. I'm just sorry that whatever it was has happened to you."
"It's just that I feel like a fraud. My name isn't even Katherine Miller." Katherine sobbed more and more hysterically.
"That's okay." Claire's indifference surprised Katherine.
"You?" Katherine asked. Claire couldn't even answer. She nodded silently. This was enough of an answer.
"I am thinking of going back in the next few days." Claire said unsurely.
"Oh, how so?"
"I wanted to see the end of the trial in person." She hesitated. "Would you like to go with me?"
"I'm not sure if it's a good idea." Katherine said as she slumped.
"That's okay. My boss is going for a business trip and he asked me to come. Between that and the end of the trial I thought that it might be a good idea to poke my nose around."
Katherine contemplated on the idea before she nodded.
"I think the next hearing might be it." Katherine pointed out. "I'll buy the tickets. We can go."
"That's great." Claire nodded in a half-enthusiasm.
As Katherine left Claire alone, Claire put up the news.
A fire. Gabriel's home, her home, it burnt into ashes.
At first they thought that Gabriel was gone. Claire felt like she deserved to feel the hurt that she did. She made Gabriel go through it. She deserved it. But, she hated that she wasn't there. She hated that her attempts at disappearing and keeping Gabriel safe were futile. She felt as if she felt in a deep pit of despair.
She broke down and cried until there were no more tears left.
As the morning came, the news confirmed that no body was found in the villa.
Gabriel was alive. She forgot all about her anger about Francesca. Gabriel being alive was much more important.
But the villa was gone.
She thought of the rooms in the villa, of how they spend time together in each of their rooms. She remembered Gabriel speaking of his childhood and showing her photos. She remembered… She remembered Katherine's face. She sat up quickly Googling the name.
She recognised Katherine because she saw her before. She recognised her from photos that she saw recently and some distant memories. Her eyes and hair colour were different but there was no denying it.
Katherine was not Katherine. She already told that to Claire. Katherine Miller was not Katherine Miller.
Claire let out a long sigh and thoughts flooded her mind.
She unknowingly befriended Diane Moore, Gabriel's mother! She wasn't sure what was more shocking. That she was friends with her mother-in-law or that Diane was alive!
They were both alive. Diane was meant to die in a horrible car accident…
Just like her. She died in a car accident. And neither of them did.