Chapter 849

“I refused to be reduced to someone’s tool.”

Seraphina’s desire to use him far outweighed her actual feelings for him.

That had really pissed him off.

Owen had been young back then, inevitably proud and reckless.

He wanted a girl whose affection was pure, not someone scheming for the Churchill family’s wealth and status.

“Tell me, was I expecting too much from her?”

Owen casually pedaled his bike as he took Claire home, recounting the tragic romance of his youth.

In a young man’s eyes, love was supposed to be completely unblemished, yet the girl he liked had only seen him as a stepping stone.

Being used was one thing-he was willing to excuse it, assuming Seraphina had her own unspoken struggles.

But facing resentment even after helping her, and then watching her greedily demand more? That was where Owen drew the line.

He wasn’t some monumental pushover. Since Seraphina didn’t appreciate his efforts, he decided to wash his hands of the whole mess.

The moment he walked away, Seraphina was left completely stunned.

She probably hadn’t expected his devotion to expire so quickly.

“Your expectations weren’t too high. You just didn’t want to be played for a fool.” Claire figured the Thorne sisters were probably the exact same breed deep down. Jocelyn was just painfully obvious about it, while Seraphina was far more subtle. Or perhaps the extreme disparity in how they were treated at home was what warped their personalities so differently.

“Exactly. Who wants to be strung along like a moron?”

“I cut all contact with her. Hearing Xavier whine about her sister Jocelyn all these years has been beyond irritating.”

Claire felt that this older sister didn’t live up to her supposed brilliance at all.

If she had just held onto Owen, wouldn’t the rest of her life have been smooth sailing?

By then, the Thorne family would have been begging on their knees for her favor, and she would have achieved her goal anyway.

What was a little parental attention compared to having them entirely at her mercy?

She had really lost the war just to win a petty battle.

Too young and naive.

“Owen, I honestly think family background isn’t that important, but having a brain absolutely is.”

“Otherwise, you’re just squandering the stellar genes my uncle and Eleanor gave you.”

That Thorne girl clearly had a scheming mind, but it was painfully short-sighted.

Any truly brilliant manipulator would have kept Owen completely fooled until the wedding ring was on her finger before dropping the act

After all, marrying into the Churchill family was the ultimate dream for so many people.

Or maybe she just never intended to stay tied to Owen long-term and only wanted a quick escape from her immediate misery.

But regardless of her motives, in Claire’s eyes, Seraphina simply wasn’t smart enough.

She wasn’t even willing to break free from such a toxic household, foolishly clinging to the hope of familial love.

How to put it? She had made things incredibly awkward for Owen, who had bent over backward trying to save her.

“You’re totally right!” Owen decided to drop the angst.

The whole ordeal was officially in his rearview mirror.

As for whatever nonsense Xavier was spouting, it had absolutely nothing to do with him anymore.

On their way back, they stumbled upon Mina and her long-haired friend.

The two girls were on a single motorcycle, and it looked like they were being completely cornered.

Buzz had genuinely believed he was

going to win this time. He wasn’t just

after the prize money he was

banking on his massive bets.

He had wagered hundreds of thousands of dollars on himself.

Walking away completely empty-handed left him seeing red.

In a massive metropolis like Cabinda, his family was barely upper-middle class.

They had some money, but not a lot—just a small factory to their name.

He hung out with a tight circle of rowdy friends, but none of them were exceptionally wealthy either.

They raced out of passion, but mostly just to act tough and show off.

But racing was an incredibly expensive hobby.

Who wouldn’t want to snatch up that massive prize pool?

Plus, it was the perfect chance to cement their status in the underground racing

scene.

From what he knew, there was a driver known as The Legend

ithoed internationally. .net>

whose reputation was

Wontent

People even sent out exclusive invitations begging them to compete.

But that mysterious figure always refused.