Chapter 179

Since Claire and Pandora were both leaving, there really wasn’t any reason for the Byron family to hang around at the James family’s place anymore. They took the chance to say their goodbyes and headed out.

Claire drove Pandora back to the countryside. The very next day, news broke everywhere: the Byron and James families had teamed up to announce that Claire and York’s engagement was officially off, and that York was now engaged to Cindy.

Claire honestly didn’t care at all. The Byron family meant nothing to her. It’s not like she needed their money or status.

As for the James family, she couldn’t be happier to be done with them. Leaving that house felt like shaking off a heavy weight, and Claire was finally breathing easy again.

But the calls started coming in as soon as the news got out. Friends wanted details, and Shirley called to spill the latest gossip. Apparently, Octavia had already invited their whole family over for dinner the next day, making sure every last relative knew Cindy was now the “real” daughter of the James family.

“Did you hear? Cindy and York are having a big engagement party. When it was you and York, it was just a verbal thing nothing official or fancy like this p>

Claire laughed. “Honestly, that sounds about right. We were just kids back then. It wouldn’t have made sense to throw a big party. We weren’t even sure about anything p>

“Now Cindy and York are both adults, and this party is a big deal. It’s all about showing off and strengthening the partnership between the Byrons and the Jameses p>

Shirley sighed. “You sound just like my parents p>

“I heard Latham wants to buy up a plot of land over on the east side of the city, but the James family doesn’t have enough money. So the Byron family is stepping in, and now the two families are going to develop the land together p>

“Who knows which family will actually get the better end of the deal in the end?” Shirley added.

Ever since she’d picked up some confidence from Claire, Shirley had started paying more attention to what was going on in the family business. She couldn’t help but wonder-what if Lance turned out to be useless? If she ended up being more capable than him, maybe one day the James family business could land in her hands.

Claire didn’t want to burst her

bubble, but honestly, that was pretty unlikely. Even if Lance messed everything up, Latham would just push his son to get married and have a grandson to take over Shirley was always going to be the daughter who’d eventually marry out. How much power or inheritance could she really get?

If Shirley had real talent, maybe she could fight her way into an executive position, and that would already be impressive. If not, she probably wouldn’t even get the chance to step foot in the company.

There was no way Latham or Lance would let Pearce have too much influence either. They’d never risk letting him get too ambitious.

Claire didn’t waste time worrying about what people were saying about her broken engagement with York. She kept her head down, focused on her studies, and spent her free time helping Baldrick and Daniel with their medical needs.

Of course, plenty of people at school were whispering behind her back. Claire just ignored them, pretending not to notice.

The teachers, on the other hand, were worried about her. They kept stopping her in the hallway, telling her not to let her personal life affect her studies, and reminding her to stay focused since she had an important competition coming up She made it through the winter. camp selection, she’d have a shot at early admission to college.

Most people didn’t think Claire would do well in the competition, not after everything she’d been through lately. But her math coach knew better. He could tell she hadn’t lost her edge at all—she was just as steady as ever when it came to solving problems.

When the results came out, Claire made it into the winter camp. After that, she’d get to compete at the

national level, and if she did well net

she’d be able to secure early admission to university. Getting an acceptance letter before graduation-that was every student’s dream.

UM

Claire kept herself so busy that even Pandora didn’t have time to head back to the countryside. When Pandora found out her granddaughter had made it to the winter camp, she was genuinely surprised.

“You’re going to Cabinda early p>

Claire blinked, not sure what she meant. Was there something special about

Cabinda? Why would she be going there early?

“Do you still have old friends in Cabinda p>

Pandora’s look said it all—she definitely knew the place. But with Pandora, there was always something more beneath the surface.