New beginning: Billionaire love story

Chapter 461 Me, Myself and I

The weight of the past few days had taken its toll on Claire. Her mind was a whirlwind of business deals, and the haunting image of Matthew lying unconscious in the hospital. It all felt like too much, like she was drowning in a sea of responsibilities she couldn't swim through.

She needed a break. A moment to breathe, to think, and most importantly, to be alone. And so, without much of a plan, she found herself driving down the quiet, winding roads leading to her parents' cemetery. It wasn't a place she visited often. The memories it carried were too painful, too raw. But today, something inside her told her she needed to be there. To reconnect with the people who had given her life, the people who had shaped her into who she was, even though they were no longer around to see what she had become.

As Claire drove, the city's hustle and bustle faded into the background, replaced by the calm of the countryside. The roads grew narrower, the trees taller, the air fresher. She could feel her shoulders slowly relax as the tension in her body began to ease, but the knot in her stomach remained.

She remembered the time when Claire had no idea where her parent's graves were but then she asked for his help to find them, and he did. Matthew always has a way out and always finds the things Claire needs.

Claire smiled faintly at the thought of Matthew. He had been there for her, as he always had been, and now she felt so helpless in return.

She pushed the thought aside as she reached her destination, pulling the car into the cemetery's small, peaceful parking lot. The sun was beginning to set, casting a golden glow over the landscape, and for the first time in days, Claire felt a semblance of peace wash over her.

She stepped out of the car and walked toward the entrance; a bouquet of white lilies clutched tightly in her hand. The cemetery was quiet, save for the rustling of the wind through the trees. It was a place of solemnity and remembrance, but to Claire, it had always felt like a sanctuary. A place where the world could fade away, where she could step out of the chaos and into the calm.

As she walked past the rows of headstones, she couldn't help but notice the beauty of the place. It had been a few months since she'd been here, but the grounds had been carefully tended to. The grass was green, the flowers vibrant, and the trees that lined the cemetery provided a sense of protection, a comforting reminder that no matter how bad things got, there was still beauty in the world.

and Marianne Peterson. Beneath their names, the dates of their birth and death were etched in stone, a final reminder of who they had been, of the lives they had lived, and the legacy they had left behind. For a

one thing she truly wanted: their protection. They had both been taken from her too soon and though she had become strong in their absence, there was still a part of her that longed for their guidance, their presence in her life. Suddenly, sadness washed over her, and she felt the tears threatening to spill. But she quickly wiped them away, forcing herself to remain strong. She had always been strong. That's how her parents raised her. That's how she had survived the years of loss, of uncertainty,

the weight of everything-of Matthew's accident, of the pressure of her business, of the constant tension with Alexander-seemed to bear down on her all at once. Her breath hitched

away before anyone could hear. "I've tried so hard, and yet it feels like I'm

cracked, and for

around her. The strong, confident woman she had always been suddenly unsure, lost,

in that

as

allowed herself the space to feel the weight of it all. She didn't have to be strong all

both so much," she continued, her voice thick

trust anymore. Everyone wants something from me. I don't know what

to navigate the world. But now, they were gone. And she was alone. "Well, I guess it's just me now," she muttered to herself, the bitterness creeping into her voice. "But maybe that's how it's always been. I'm used to being alone. Maybe I was never

heavy and unforgiving. For a moment, she simply stood there, letting the wind carry away her frustrations and

then, as if

was a fleeting moment, but it felt like her parents were there with her, in the air, in the trees, in the very space around her. She could almost hear

she imagined her father's voice saying, full of that steady, unyielding strength that had defined