CHAPTER 26: CLAUDIA MEETING HER FIANCE.

Sitting at the breakfast table, I tried to block the whirlwind of emotions in my mind and focus on the food. But I couldn’t. It was even more difficult having Alexander in the room. The whole time, I didn’t dare look at him, I was afraid that he might find out what I have done by merely looking into my eyes.

What if he had already found out? I almost stopped breathing at that thought.

"Emm... some clothes were delivered here yesterday..." I started carefully. But he didn’t respond. Goodness, I needed to have a little conversation with him to be sure he hadn’t found out yet. So I braced myself and continued.

"I was wondering... why would you do that..."

Then he finally replied, his tone cold and dismissive, "I needed something to do."

Oh, how thoughtful of him to buy me clothes when he was ’bored’. I was sure it was purely coincidental that he chose dresses that perfectly fit me. That didn’t sound like too much work at all...

"Thank you," I breathed.

Yet, no response. After some time, I excused myself and left the dining room to prepare for the auction tonight.

****

"How do I look?"

"You look gorgeous, just like me, dear," Irene smiled lovely at her daughter.

Claudia’s lips curled in satisfaction as she looked at herself in the mirror. The stylists did a wonderful job turning her into a goddess. Her emerald green dress hung to her body in the right places and her makeup was light but flawless. She looked even more beautiful than she was.

"Mom, do you think he will like me?" She asked in doubt. She was extra breathtaking tonight, but she still doubted if she was beautiful enough to capture the heart of whoever her fiance was going to be. Her mother had told her he was a wealthy, young man in his late 20s, who would be able to take good care of her and restore her family’s wealth. So, she didn’t want to miss this opportunity.

"Of course, dear. No man can resist you when you look like this. Trust me." Her mother patted her gently on her shoulder. "It’s time to go now. He’s already here with your father."

Claudia drew a deep breath to calm her nerves, stood up and walked out of the room, her mom giving her a reassuring smile. Even at that, she still felt nervous, her pulses racing in her ears as she approached the sitting room where her fiance and father were waiting.

She tried to imagine how he would look, and each image she pictured in her head was perfect. She wasn’t even wrong, because the moment the door opened, she caught a glimpse of him, just like she had imagined... Tall, handsome and young, a smile formed on her lips.

She was about to announce her present when the stranger suddenly turned his attention to her, and immediately the smile died from her face. Claudia couldn’t believe what she was seeing. This couldn’t be real, or maybe her eyes were planning some cruel prank on her. Him??

"Oh... look who is here," her father broke the silence, smiling at her as she remained frozen in her spot. "Claudia, come and sit down."

Claudia clenched her fist and slowly walked in, then sat down beside her father. The stranger wasn’t looking at her. He was sitting confidently, his full focus on her father, as though he was trying to figure out something, or perhaps stopped himself from doing something horrible. The air between them was thick and suffocating, making Claudia wonder if they had known each other before.

"This is my daughter, Claudia, your fiancèe. And Claudia, this is Alexander Vaughn, the man you will be marrying," her father introduced.

Claudia scoffed silently. So the jerk who had the audacity to ignore her yesterday was her fiance? What a play. He sure danced into her fire, and as soon she became his wife, she would make him regret what he did to her yesterday.

"I will leave you two alone to catch up," her father said, standing up. "Let me know if you need anything Claudia."

She nodded in response.

"George," the stranger finally spoke, and Claudia’s jaw dropped. Did he just call her father by his name? No one dared disrespect her father like that. And what was even more surprising was her father didn’t seem angry, he carefully turned around and sat back down.

Unbelievable! For someone to control her father like that, then they must be worth knowing.

"Do you have another daughter?" Alexander asked.

"No. Claudia is my only child. If I have, I wouldn’t hide her."

"Then Anna Steele mustn’t be your daughter," he added, and Claudia exchanged an awkward glance with her father.

"There is a misunderstanding..." George tried to correct his mistake with a fake smile. "Anna is my... daughter but..."

"You just said you never had another child," Alexander cut George off.

"Yeah... she is not legitimate... you know," George stuttered. Another surprising discovery for Claudia, her father never once stuttered, but now, this young man was making her father short of words.

Alexander leaned back with an expressionless face.

"Well, I came to tell you that I won’t be needing your ’legitimate’ daughter. Your illegitimate one is already married to me."

Claudia’s world froze around her.

"What?!" She and her father said in unison.

"You can take the ring off," he said, and stood up. Without another word, he left.

Claudia’s eyes stung, she blinked several times to hold back the tears. All her life, she had been preparing for this day, a day when she would finally meet the man she was spending the rest of her life with. But, only to finally meet him and get rejected without a second thought, and not only that, he was married, married to her sister of all people.

That felt like a thousand knives piercing into her heart, cutting her heart into pieces with burning hatred. Anna again. Why was it always her?

"Do you know where your sister would be right now?" Her father, who was pacing back and forth in the room suddenly stopped to ask.

Claudia wasn’t supposed to know, but she remembered the auction tonight and how Anna would do anything to reclaim her necklace.

"At the RiRi Auction," she calmly answered, before walking out. Reaching her room, she picked her phone and dialed a number.

"Sandro, let’s meet at our usual spot. I have an urgent job for you."

****

"RiRi Auction?" Alexander whispered to himself as strode towards his car. What was Anna doing in such a high-end Auction? Was she bidding for something?

Then it suddenly clicked. He remembered when she mentioned a diamond necklace the day she signed the papers. She had said the necklace was worth millions. And suddenly some cash disappeared from one of his banks. It couldn’t have made more sense than that.

She took his money to get her necklace. How did she do that though? He was genuinely surprised that she was that brilliant.

Getting into his car, he quickly put a call through Ethan.

"Boss?"

"Wherever you are, I want you to take a turn to the RiRi Auction right now."

"Suddenly? Are you bidding for something?"

"Yes, a diamond necklace. You know what to do."

"Sure."

"And also, there’s no need to look into the disappearance of the money. My wife took it."

"Wow, that was unexpected. You have a genius of a wife," Alexander could hear the sarcasm in his tone.

"Shut up and do your job," he said in annoyance and ended the call.