Shining Bright After Rebirth

136 Whose Claws Are Sharper

The rest of the car ride to the hotel went by in complete silence. Although neither Liam nor Amelie wanted that shirtless incident to affect their

relationship again, simply forgetting it and moving on seemed like a childish yet reasonable idea.

In the end, they decided to act like nothing happened,

and that worked.

As they arrived at the hotel, they noticed that Richard was standing in the lobby and greeting the guests together with his soon-to-be wife. Liam looked at Amelie with a somewhat worried expression on his handsome face but Amelie remained stoic.

"If you don't want to see him right now, we can just go through the restaurant's entrance," her husband made a considerate suggestion to which Amelie responded with a short sigh and a reserved smile. "It's alright. We will only come off as rude if we don't greet him personally. After all, we accepted his invitation, we shouldn't neglect the formalities."

Liam sighed as well. While he loved that his wife

LIO

136

whose Claws Are Sharper

always knew how to look strong to others, he secretly wished she would still be mad at Richard so that he

wouldn't be alone in his resentment towards him.

The moment they entered the lobby, all eyes were fixed on them. Amelie had expected this much and thought she was prepared for that, but a slight feeling of discomfort still grazed her heart as she made her way closer to her ex-husband. Richard locked his dark brown eyes on hers and Amelie winced although just a split second later, her entire body felt unbelievably light-his glare evoked no emotion in her. She felt absolutely nothing.

"Good afternoon," he cleared his throat and forced his lips to form a smile. "I am glad you could make it. I hope the flight was not troublesome."

Amelie nodded and forced a polite smile too. "Thank you for inviting us, Mr. Clark, Congratulations on your wedding."

A brief frown appeared on Richard's face as he heard his ex-wife call him "Mr. Clark" in a cold, detached tone. Forcing another smile onto his lips, he shifted his eyes to Liam and Amelie smirked at his familiar ability 11:50

136 Whose Claws Are Sharper

to remain professional.

Samantha, however, had her emotions written all over her face. She kept her eyebrows pushed together the entire time while glaring at Amelie as if she were her mortal enemy.

Amelie couldn't help but feel strangely disappointed.

think

'Even after all this time, he still hasn't managed to teach her how to hold herself in public. And to that this woman is about to become the face of the Clark family...'

***

hotel room she had to share with Liam and looked

the bright lights of the street lamps were enough to unveil the

she had to take a few deep

Whose Claws Are

much time I spent browsing through brochures and magazines while preparing for my wedding with Richard... It was my dream to get married in this hotel; it was every girl's dream back then, and I was the only one who got close to making it come true. Now,' she sighed and closed her eyes, letting the refreshingly cool wind rustle through her loose hair. 'Richard stomped over my dream by letting his mistress get my wedding

turn around. Her husband had just taken a shower and was now wearing black loose pajama pants. and a plain white t-shirt. He

standing here like this, it's too cold," he murmured into her neck and Amelie winced from the tickling

you? You will catch a cold if you stay here

Liam pouted and

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Claws Are

skin again while he continued, wrapping his arms even tighter around her waist.

you look, I want

next

you? Aren't you

hers, then checked the time on the electric alarm clock on the bedstand next to it, and sighed.

to sleep too," she shouted as her husband was already drying his

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Claws

a room with Liam like this felt like they had been married for

a

see whether she would catch someone she knew having a restless drink of

Richard.

his eyes, he was leaning over the bar, tapping his fingers on a

it right away-he had already had more than just a few drinks in him and was

wanted to leave; after all, he no longer was her problem when he was drunk like this. And yet, perhaps the lingering feelings of connection which her heart still refused to dissolve, made her approach the bar and tap him on the shoulder. "Amelie?" The man widened

11:50

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Whose Claws Are

seat on the barstool next to him and ran her eyes over

think you should be getting this drunk before

somewhat nervously and snapped hi fingers at the bartender, asking for a glass

longer alone, am I?" He almost sang those words as he struggled to remain seated on the stool. "Would you

jacket from the stool next to him, diving her hands into the pockets in search of his cell phone. "Is the lock pattern still the same? I am going to send

was still the same

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pressed "send", hiding the phone back into the pocket of her ex-husband's jacket, instructing the bartender as she was about to leave, "Please make sure this man leaves the

for a missing groom."

rushed to leave the bar, her thoughts in

to marry her and now he is acting like he is being forced to do that. There are so