Chapter 52
If the babies were switched at birth and finally returned to their real families,
shouldn’t the engagement be corrected too?
Shirley never liked Octavia. She always thought she was way too uptight. So when Octavia started talking about passing the engagement to Cindy, Shirley couldn’t help nudging Claire.
“See? You’re about to lose your fiancé p>
Claire just rolled her eyes. “So what? It’s not like I care p>
Shirley didn’t buy it for a second.
The Byron family had money, York was handsome, and he actually had a good reputation. Pretty much every rich girl in Apex would have killed for a shot with him. But somehow, Claire had gotten there first.
Everyone thought Claire and York would get married after they graduated, but then the whole James family scandal blew up, with the real and fake daughters.
Now, York-someone girls dreamed about was suddenly going to end up with Cindy, the girl who grew up in the countryside.
“You really don’t care?” Shirley pressed, not convinced.
Claire grinned. “You care way more than I do. But I don’t think Octavia’s ever going to let you near him p>
Shirley’s smile faded. She knew it was true. Octavia had her own daughter now. There was no way she’d let Shirley get the engagement.
Just then, Latham’s voice broke in. He’d obviously overheard them whispering. “Claire, where are you and your grandmother off to? I can have my driver take you p>
If his family didn’t have a daughter, maybe he’d think about letting York get engaged to Shirley. But with Cindy back, Shirley had no chance. Even if he agreed, the Byrons would never go for it.
“We Claire started to make something up, but then the car she was waiting for finally pulled up.
“Latham, our ride’s here. We’ll get going,” she said quickly.
Latham glanced over and frowned. It was just a Cadillac, but it looked like it hadn’t seen a car wash in months. Mud spattered everywhere.
The window rolled down and a young guy with bleached blond hair and a bandana leaned out.
Latham’s frown deepened. “Claire, is that your friend driving p>
Claire nodded, not seeing the problem. “Yeah. Why p>
“You’ve always been a good,
sensible girl. Don’t let a little setback
you give up and start
hanging
with the wrong crowd p>
“If you need money, you can always ask Octavia or me. We raised you like our own
daughter. We’d never let you go without p>
Claire almost laughed. Latham made it sound so generous, but Octavia had always kept her allowance on a tight leash. She never went without food or clothes, but her spending money every we month was barely enough, Octavia always said it wasn’t safe for a girl to carry too much, and she didn’t want Claire picking up any bad habits.
Now that the switch was official, Lance wouldn’t even let her take anything from the James house.
“Thank you, Latham,” Claire said politely. Then she added, “He’s not a bad influence. He’s my friend p>
Latham clearly didn’t like that answer. She could see him getting annoyed. This daughter of his just wasn’t listening anymore.
Lance noticed too. He looked even more upset. “Dad, just leave her alone. She does whatever she wants now p>
“She won’t listen to anything you say p>
Claire couldn’t figure out why Lance was so angry, but she didn’t care. She waved at them and took her grandmother to the car.
Once they were inside, she turned to the driver. “Darwin, how come you’re picking us up today? Where’s Nash p>
“Nash got a job today. He’s running around like crazy, so I came instead p>
Darwin glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Claire, are you embarrassed? I know I
look cool, but maybe I was too much p>
He was definitely the best-looking guy in their group.
“Not at all. You actually made my
Latham’s sour face. For the firet day. Claire smiled, rememberingne
time all day she felt a little dighter