Chapter 305
“Octavia, you know as well as I do that people online aren’t going to change their minds just because I ask them to p>
“Even if I came out and explained everything, they’d just assume you made me do
it p>
“So what’s the point p>
“You’d be better off just holding a press conference and apologizing yourselves… I haven’t even reported you to the police p>
“You did raise me, and I’m not going to forget that p>
Octavia was absolutely fuming as she listened to Claire.
She finally got it. Claire had no interest in pretending to be the loving daughter. The only thing she wanted was a promise to be left alone. If she didn’t get that, she made it clear that even the years of being raised by them wouldn’t matter.
That last line was basically a threat, plain and simple.
“Claire, you think you’re so grown up now, don’t you?” Octavia shot back, unable to hold it in anymore.
Claire really didn’t see it that way.
“It actually hurts to hear that from you. You never really tried to know me, or you’d understand I’m not like that.” In her mind, Claire thought, I’ve never been weak… never let anyone bully me, not even as a kid.
When she was little and had even gone hungry, Claire stopped expecting anything from Octavia a long time ago.
The Jameses had only ever cared about what their daughter could do for their reputation. Things probably weren’t so great for Cindy either now.
“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying I didn’t care about you enough?” Octavia snapped, still believing that raising Claire was already some giant favor.
Hearing Claire talk to her like that made Octavia’s temper spark. If she’d known things would turn out this way, she wouldn’t have bothered raising Claire at all.
“That’s not what I’m saying, and honestly, none of it really matters anymore p>
“I have to get to tutoring. Goodbye, Octavia p>
Claire hung up before Octavia could say another word, leaving her fuming in front of her phone.
She was the adult, but Claire hung up on her anyway!
Claire was done dealing with Octavia, but things at the James house were still a
mess.
Octavia, still upset after getting hung up on, looked at her husband with frustration. “See? That’s how Claire acts now p>
Latham didn’t even try to comfort
her. Instead, he said, “Well, if you and
Cindy hadn’t started drama or-
spread rumors online, do you
really
think Claire would be acting like this p>
“She’s not our biological daughter, so we should have gone out of our way to be good to her p>
“But instead, you go behind her back and hurt her p>
Octavia felt so wronged when he scolded her. “I did it for Cindy! Cindy is our real daughter, why are you always on Claire’s side p>
Latham shot her a disappointed look. “We raised Claire too. She’s no different to me than Cindy p>
“You were the one who said Cindy might not fit in with Claire here after
just coming home, so agreemet
send Claire out to the countryside.
“It was a chance for her to spend time with her grandmother p>
“But that never meant I stopped thinking of her as our daughter.” “Octavia, the way you treated Claire is the reason she doesn’t trust us anymore p>
Latham sounded so upright, like he’d always been the perfect father to Claire.
“What do you mean we broke her heart? She’s the one who broke mine!” Octavia wasn’t buying any of it.
1%et
“I just asked her to make things easier for Cindy… all she had to do was skip the winter camp, and with her grades she’d still get into any college she wanted p>
“But not only did she refuse, she even recorded our conversation and took it to the police as evidence p>
“Obviously she’s been guarded against me, against our whole family, from the very beginning p>
The more Octavia talked, the more wronged she felt. “She’s just so ungrateful p>
“We gave her the best education. Whatever she wanted to learn, we got her the best teachers p>
“And in the end, as soon as there’s a problem, she just cuts us off like it means nothing p>