New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 353 Unsure Claire

The whole situation with Claudia and Alexander had finally simmered down. Claudia had reluctantly deleted the video accusing Alexander of mistreating his employees, and Alexander? Well, he made sure the world saw the apology video. Claudia's smeared makeup, her

voice cracking, the tears that probably weren't real-all of it had been broadcast for the public to feast on.

Claire had to admit, it was a sight to behold.

Sitting at her desk, she scrolled through the comments on the video. Some people were utterly confused, wondering how this random drama had erupted between Claudia and Alexander. It had all come out of nowhere for the public, who had no clue what really went down behind the scenes.

Claire chuckled as she read a particularly savage comment, "Is that a makeup tutorial gone wrong or an apology video?!"

Most of the comments weren't kind to Claudia. Her smudged makeup became a symbol of her downfall, and people couldn't stop talking about it. There were even memes being made. Only a small handful of people were defending her, but the majority were shaming her, calling her the real problem in this whole situation.

"Claudia, the saint? Yeah, right!" someone wrote. Claire couldn't help but feel a little victorious. This was karma at its finest.

But as the day went on, Claire's thoughts drifted from the chaos surrounding Claudia to something else something a little more personal. Matthew's words from the other night kept echoing in her head, and she knew she couldn't just keep putting it off. Adrian had confessed his feelings to her in Paris, and she had been turning it over in her mind ever since. It wasn't fair to keep him waiting, and deep down, she knew she had to talk to him.

After a long day of mulling it over, she finally picked up her phone and dialed Adrian's number. It rang once. Then twice. On the second ring, Adrian answered.

"Hey, Claire," he said, his voice warm and familiar.

For some reason, Claire's heart started racing, and she suddenly felt nervous. "Hey... um, I think we should talk," she said, her voice a little shaky.

Adrian didn't miss a beat. "Sure, where do you want to meet?"

Claire rattled off the address of a small, cozy restaurant she liked. "How about there?"

Adrian replied. "I'll see you

up, Claire took a deep breath. She stood up, smoothing down her dress, and grabbed her purse. She wasn't entirely sure what she was going to say, but she knew

the elevator, Matthew spotted her, his face lighting up instantly. "Wait, are you actually doing it?" he

but a smile tugged

this is exciting!" Matthew's excitement was almost contagious, and Claire couldn't help

she teased as

time," Matthew said, leaning against the wall of the elevator. "And don't be nervous. Just

him. "The way you're talking,

lopsided grin. "Hey, who

stop the grin from

elevator doors opened, Matthew shot her a playful wink. "Seriously though, just be you. Adrian already likes you. The

Matthew offered to give her a ride. Claire

chatter, but as they got closer to the restaurant, Claire could feel her anxiety creeping in. It wasn't just nerves-it was something deeper. After her messy divorce from Alexander, the whole concept of love felt complicated. She wasn't as confident in that

of the restaurant and turned to her, his expression softening. "Alright, last bit of advice-stay calm, stay collected. You've

a

anything happens, you know where to find me," Matthew added, leaning out of the window as Claire

yeah. I'll call you

final wave, Claire made her way inside the restaurant. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. She hadn't realized how much this conversation had been weighing on her until

and inviting, the soft lighting casting a cozy glow over everything. Claire spotted Adrian sitting at a table near the back, and as soon as their met, he stood up,

Eyes

was both

the

Adrian said