Claire kept her promise to Mrs. Sterling, taking full responsibility for ending the engagement and ensuring everyone believed it was her decision. Even when Grace misunderstood her motives, Claire refused to speak ill of Ethan.
Grace, however, wasn't convinced. She grew increasingly despondent over Claire's broken engagement and tried to return her engagement ring to Richard Carter.
Richard, ever perceptive, asked Grace if she was worried about Claire.
"Should I talk to the Sterlings for you?"
Richard gently slid the ring back onto Grace's finger and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders. "Soon we'll be one family. Claire's matters are also Carter family matters."
Richard's willingness to stand up for Claire touched Grace deeply, but she knew it would make little difference. After all, Vivian Carter was his biological daughter, and Claire had no true connection to the Carter family. Grace couldn't bring herself to ask Richard for help repaying the Harper debts—at least not yet.
Unbeknownst to Grace, Vivian overheard their conversation. Suspicious of Grace's motives, she warned her father not to fall for Grace's manipulation.
Grace smiled bitterly. "Richard, with Claire's engagement broken, it feels inappropriate to hold our wedding right now. Let's postpone it for a while."
Richard frowned and chastised Vivian. "Don't always think the worst of your Aunt Grace! And you should be looking out for Claire—not mocking her. You're going to be sisters soon."
Vivian was indignant. "Everyone else is a saint, and I'm the only bad person here, right?"
Vivian privately scoffed at Claire's predicament.
Claire had chosen to break off her engagement with Ethan Sterling, and Vivian couldn't resist watching the fallout. To her, Claire and Grace were clearly playing a calculated game: Claire would provoke Ethan into covering her debts, while Grace would delay the wedding to pressure Richard into doing the same.
"Claire Harper, you and your mother are both manipulative!" Vivian fumed as she picked up her phone and called Claire to vent her frustration.
Through Vivian, Claire learned that Grace had delayed her wedding with Richard.
Though she'd repeatedly told Grace the breakup had nothing to do with debt, Grace remained unconvinced.
Ethan, too, was not so easily dissuaded.
Even after Claire blocked his contact details, Ethan managed to reach out through his assistant, saying he'd return to the city in two days.
Claire wanted nothing more than to avoid further entanglements with Ethan. She resolved to completely remove herself from his life.
"If only there were someone who could make me move on," Claire thought wistfully.
---
Later that day, Claire, lost in thought, nearly collided with an elderly man near the subway station.
"I'm so sorry! Are you all right?" she quickly apologized, steadying him with her hands.
The man, frail and leaning on a cane, wheezed as he spoke. "I—help me… sit down for a moment."
Claire helped the man to a bench by the roadside. "Are you feeling unwell? Should I call for an ambulance?"
The old man grasped her hand with his bony fingers. "No… no need. Just let me catch my breath."
After a few moments, his breathing calmed. The man looked at Claire with a kind expression. "You helped me. How can I repay you?"
Claire was startled. "It was my fault for almost bumping into you. Helping you sit down was the least I could do—"
The man cut her off and changed the subject. "Are you troubled by something?"
Perhaps it was his compassionate gaze, or perhaps Claire had reached the breaking point from all the pressure she had been under. Either way, she found herself confiding in the stranger. "What I really need right now is someone to marry me. The sooner, the better…"
Without even realizing it, Claire poured her heart out to the man, explaining her current challenges and frustrations. When she finally stopped, embarrassed by her emotional outburst, she apologized. "I'm sorry for rambling on about my problems to a complete stranger. Are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?"
The man shook his head. "Don't worry about me. Someone will come to pick me up shortly."
As he spoke, an ambulance pulled up nearby. Medical staff hurried toward the man, asking questions about his condition. Another staff member helped him into a wheelchair. Claire realized then that the man wasn't just frail—he was gravely ill and had likely snuck out of the hospital.
"Are you—"
"I'm fine, thank you," the man said, waving off her concern. As the paramedics wheeled him toward the ambulance, he turned back several times, as if trying to memorize her face.
Just before the doors closed, the man called out to her. "Miss Claire, good deeds bring good fortune. The challenges you're facing will be resolved soon."
Claire couldn't help but smile at his kind words. "Please take care of yourself and listen to the doctors. Don't sneak out of the hospital again!"
It was a fleeting encounter, and Claire quickly put it out of her mind.
---
The next morning, Claire received an unexpected call from the hospital. They told her that Mr. George Cross, the elderly man she had helped, was in critical condition and had requested to see her one last time.
George Cross?
The name didn't ring a bell, but Claire guessed it must be the man she'd met the day before.
She was surprised to hear that his condition was so dire.
"Doesn't Mr. Cross have any family?" Claire asked.
"Only a grandson, who is on his way back to the city," the hospital staff explained.
The staff assured her that Mr. Cross had no ulterior motives and simply wished to see her again.
Since Claire had nothing to fear, she agreed to visit. After all, Mr. Cross had shown her kindness by listening to her vent, and this was the least she could do in return.
---
When Claire arrived at the hospital, Mr. Cross was already in a semi-conscious state.
A doctor leaned down to speak into his ear, and the old man's eyes slowly fluttered open.
"Miss Claire…" he rasped.
"I'm here," Claire said softly, sitting by his bedside.
George Cross was clearly nearing the end of his life, clinging to his last shred of strength.
Finally, the person Mr. Cross had been waiting for arrived.
Claire looked up and froze.
The man who strode into the room, dressed in a sharp gray suit, was none other than her former high school upperclassman, Nathan Cross!
Nathan had been two grades above Claire in school, but they'd had no personal connection. Back then, Nathan had been a campus star—handsome, academically gifted, and widely admired. Claire also remembered that his family had been impoverished.
However, the man standing before her now bore no trace of his humble beginnings. Though she couldn't identify the brand of his suit, the high-quality fabric alone hinted at its expense.
Nathan was equally surprised to see Claire.
Before either of them could speak, George Cross's pale face suddenly flushed with color.
"Miss Claire, will you marry my grandson, Nathan?"
Claire was stunned.
Marry?
"Mr. Cross—"
George cut her off, his eyes brimming with determination. "You told me you needed someone to marry. Didn't you?"
Claire instinctively glanced at Nathan, their eyes meeting. His gaze was icy, filled with suspicion.
"Nathan!"
George's labored voice grew louder despite his weakened state. "If you don't agree to marry Claire, I won't rest in peace!"
The medical monitors emitted a sharp alarm as George's condition rapidly deteriorated.
Doctors and nurses rushed to stabilize him, leaving Claire and Nathan standing in stunned silence outside the room.