Chapter 1829

[ 568 words ]

Sophia grinned wickedly. “Don’t worry, I won’t let Claire lose out. She’s basically our matchmaker anyway.”

She elbowed Len hard in the shoulder. “Right, babe?”

The hit nearly sent Len sprawling, but he managed to catch himself. “Right! We owe the matchmaker a huge cut.”

Shirley’s little scheme had completely imploded.

So Claire wasn’t just avoiding the payout-she was actively cashing in on them?

“How the hell is she your matchmaker?”

Wasn’t the real matchmaker the creep who had been harassing Len in the first place?

If it hadn’t been for that creep, Sophia never would have had the perfect ‘knight in shining armor’ moment to save him!

“She basically watched us grow up-wait, no, she watched us fall in love,” Sophia sputtered, barely catching her slip-up.

“We spent three years glued together in high school. Claire literally witnessed our entire friends-to-lovers arc.”

“How does that not make her our matchmaker?”

Sophia was aggressively determined to force the title onto Claire.

Shirley wasn’t buying it. “By that logic, your homeroom teacher watched you grow up. Why aren’t you cutting her a check?”

For a second, Sophia was completely stumped.

“We’ll send her a massive check too,” Len added seamlessly.

As far as he was concerned, if he actually got to marry Sophia, he would happily bankrupt himself paying everyone off.

Laughing and bickering, the group finally pulled up to the address Pandora had sent.

“Holy hell, talk about loaded!” Sophia muttered, taking in the prime real estate and the sprawling estate. It was painfully obvious The James Family hadn’t truly valued Claire.

With Pandora hiding this level of astronomical wealth, she could have single- handedly bailed out The James Group from total collapse.

Shirley had exactly the same thought.

If her uncle and Octavia had just treated Claire decently, maybe their family empire wouldn’t have burned to the ground.

Hoarding a historical mansion in

Apex was one thing, but sitting on a mult million dollar courtyard estate in the heart of Cabinda?

Seriously, what kind of secret dynasty was Pandora running?

After the four of them took a dizzying tour of the grounds, Claire settled in beside Pandora for a chat.

“Have you owned this estate for a long time?”

“Your great-grandfather bought it. He was studying in Cabinda and wanted a decent place to crash.”

“You don’t know this, but your great-grandfather had a bit of a ruthless tycoon complex.”

“He thought a place like this felt like an ancient royal palace-living here made him feel practically untouchable.”

Pandora’s face softened, a profound, heavy wave of nostalgia sweeping over her features as she spoke of her father.

Thinking about the massive wedding

gift he had prepared for his

daughter, Claire couldn’t help but

marvel at how fiercely he must have loved her content

Pandora had clearly grown up treated like absolute royalty.

But with him gone for decades, she had been forced to bury that ache deep inside.

Walking the halls of the estate he left behind was like walking through a museum of her own grief.

Dewitt was sprawled out on a lounge chair, violently underdressed in a T-shirt and loose shorts.

He listened to their conversation without bothering to chime in.

Meanwhile, Silas-who had been

drafted as head chef-and his

reluctant sous-chef Mabel emere

from the kitchen, bauling out plate after plate of gourmet dishes.

“How’s Silas’s cooking?” Claire whispered, tugging at Dewitt’s shirt.

Mabel suddenly materialized out of thin air, leaning directly over Claire’s shoulder. “It’s garbage!”

“Really?” Claire blinked in surprise.

Pandora hadn’t hired a private chef, so Claire naturally assumed Silas was culinary genius.

Dewitt shot Mabel a withering glare. “You know why she says that?”

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