Chapter 318

Claire felt completely defeated. This wasn’t a test anymore—Julian was straight-up threatening her now. Olivia and Sabrina watched, totally confused, as Claire’s face turned into a sad little puddle. What were they even talking about? Flip flops? Meat? What kind of cryptic nonsense was this? Lillian showed up again, still clutching the flip flops, drenched in sweat. “Good thing I’ve got long legs. Short-legged people? Game over.” Sabrina, who wasn’t short but looked tiny surrounded by tall people: “…” She glanced at Lillian’s model-perfect legs, then at her own solid and shapely ones… Yeah. That one hit hard. Lillian didn’t notice the accidental burn. She just plopped the shoes next to Claire. “Here, Claire, swap these on.” “Thanks.” Claire forced a smile and slipped them on. Julian led her toward the back garden. And of course, insisted on holding her arm the entire way. Claire looked up at him, seriously questioning if this was kidnapping. He’s trying to “preserve the father”—but can