Chapter 129

“I just don’t think you two would work,” Claire said, dead serious.

Valeria couldn’t help but laugh, though she played along. “Oh? And what exactly makes us such a bad match p>

“He’s way too old,” Claire replied, not even trying to sugarcoat it.

Meanwhile, Edison sneezed somewhere, totally clueless that his niece and her new friend were calling him an old man.

Valeria snorted, barely holding back a laugh. “I was just joking. Although, I do have an aunt who’s single p>

But Claire cut her off right away. “Come on, the man’s this old and still hasn’t settled down. He must be super picky. Trust me, it’s better not to try setting him up p>

Valeria was just teasing anyway. Since Claire shot down the idea, she let it drop. She handed over all of Claire’s stuff, even the nearly empty bottle of hemostatic spray that hadn’t been touched.

“Double check your things, just to make sure nothing’s missing,” Valeria said. She looked easygoing on the surface, but she was actually the kind of person who paid close attention to detail.

Claire shook her head, smiling. “Like I wouldn’t trust you p>

Valeria grinned, really liking how straightforward Claire was. “Your hemostatic spray has so many fans, me included p>

“It’s a shame you can’t mass-produce it. You can’t even buy it anywhere p>

Valeria’s family actually had ties to the medical world. Her family ran a pharmaceutical company, plus a chain of pharmacies. They might not be the biggest in Apex, but they were definitely well-off. She didn’t want to take over the family business, but she’d picked up a sharp sense for business just by growing up around it. If this spray could ever be mass-produced, it would totally take over the market.

Claire just smiled, not about to admit she’d made it herself.

“If you ever find a way to produce this on a bigger scale, you’d make a fortune,” Valeria said, sounding a little envious.

She eyed Claire curiously. “You know so much about medicine, and you’re great at treating wounds. Are you in med school or something p>

Claire shook her head. “I’m still in high school. Senior year. Finals are coming up soon p>

Valeria’s eyes widened. “Wait… won’t what happened with your family mess you up for exams p>

From Claire’s point of view, the James family had been awful. They’d kicked her out right in the middle of her most important year. Her life turned upside down

overnight, and people’s attitoets

were bound to shift once the James family made their feelings clear Only a handful of people would treat her the same as before. All of it could easily throw off her studies.

“I don’t think so,” Claire said, though she doubted anyone would believe her. She’d nev never really wanted to be part of the James family. Latham and Octavia always set the bar impossibly high. If their daughter, couldn’t bring them pride, of worse, embarrassed them in public, there’d be hell to pay.

She’d always done well, but to her parents, she was just there for them to brag about. When Latham talked

about his daughter, you could hear voice. But when he

the pride in his

found out her grades were slipping,

his

first thought was how he’d

explain it to his business buddies.

He had to figure out how to hide that

his daughter wasn’t living up to expectations.

What they really wanted was the compliments from everyone around them. They loved being envied and admired.

Cindy had only just come back to the James family, so she probably hadn’t noticed yet. But she would, once she got to know them better.

“You’ve got this. Ace those exams and show everyone how amazing you are!” Valeria said, giving Claire a thumbs-up.

No sooner had she finished than someone called her name.

Both girls turned around. A tall, athletic-looking man was walking toward them. He looked a bit like Valeria.

“Valeria,” Edward called, giving her a once-over. “Are you okay? Did you hit your head in the accident p>