Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 211

Claire lifted her gaze, her eyes calm and steady, yet they carried a sharp, icy edge. To her, Brian was nothing but an arrogant narcissist.

Where did he get the absurd notion that she would care about his forgiveness? To threaten her with something she couldn't care less about was truly laughable.

"Brian," Claire said, her voice as cold and fragile as glass dipped in ice water, "has anyone ever told you that you're like a wilted rose?"

She traced her fingertip over the wine stain spreading across the golden tablecloth. "The petals still try to flaunt their grandeur, but the core is already rotten."

Over the past five years, Claire had fought through darkness, her body bearing countless scars, yet her spirit had only grown stronger. Brian, on the other hand, seemed blinded by time, his foolishness almost comical.

Claire turned her head away, as if swatting aside an annoying fly, not wanting to look at him for another second. Brian's throat worked as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.

and stoic, his presence commanding, while Claire, despite her fragility, exuded a rare elegance. The sight of them together, a striking couple, made jealousy coil like a

first, yet now it was Sean Foster by her side. All his bitterness and resentment were futile as he was

to life. The men regarded Sean with a wary respect, an instinctual deference to strength, while the women looked at Claire with envy, admiring her ability to capture Sean's

their meticulously chosen birthday gifts to the matriarch. Each gift was of immeasurable value, a testament to their desire to curry

matriarch sat at the head of the table, her face warm with a gentle smile, accepting each

heavy as if they were weighed down with lead. With her head bowed, her voice was thick with guilt and

kindness had been a comforting fire on

health, the matriarch had ensured she ate nourishing meals each day, and in just a month, Claire had regained some color in her cheeks. To ease her leg pain, a massage therapist was hired to tend to

showed disdain. Though Claire's face was drawn and weary, she was often praised for her beauty; though she had once lashed out at her parents in anger, her fiery nature was called gentle and kind by the matriarch; though Claire saw herself as