Blackmailing His Runaway Bride by Dance-is-me (carter reed .txt) 📗

"Good. I love your desperation."

'And how do I know you won't stab me later on?'

Mrs. Oxford chuckled. "I will send you a message soon. It will have an address attached to it. Come to that location and I will give you my guarantee."

'If you say so. I look forward to working with you.'

"Likewise." And, she ended the call.

As she replayed the last few seconds, Claire realized how nice she felt. Claire certainly loved having things her way, it fueled her ego.

"What exactly are you up to, Claire?" an unexpected voice spoke from the entrance.

The person the voice belonged to was someone that always ruined her useless and excess pride and as she turned to face him, Claire felt a kind of softening within her.

It had indeed been a while since she saw her husband.

As he walked closer, she suddenly felt a chill in her spine, her mind wondering if he heard her conversation with Gabriel. 

"Christopher," she instantly changed the mood, determined not to be caught in her crime. "What brings you here?"

"I could ask you the same considering how you left me unattended to in the hospital," he said, the blueness of his eyes boring into hers as his height became more evident. "You left without a word, Claire."

"I... Something came up."

"Hmm. Who were you talking to earlier?"

"Did you hear that?" 

His arm resting on the arched head of a nearby chair, her husband wore a small smile. "Are you trying to sabotage Charles' relationship with Isabella?"

He is aware? Claire questioned her mind as she wore a little crease on her forehead.

 Well, it seemed her husband hadn't lost his sharp mind after all. "I can't let it happen. Their union cannot be." She moved closer and grabbed his right hand which was wearing slightly saggy skin. "You agree with me, don't you?"

"No."

"What?" Her frown deepened.

"In case you have not noticed, you and Isabella are alike." Mrs. Oxford's face instantly wore disgust at that statement. "Yes, you are Claire. The same way her father married her off shamelessly is the same way your father gave you to Ordinaz."

Claire Oxford's pride surfaced instantly and her hold on her husband's hand dropped. "You know I hate that topic."

"You can't avoid it today," he returned sternly. "You need to realize you are wrong to destroy their love."

"Love? She just wants to leach onto my son." 

"Really? The same way you tried to leach onto me before I made you see sense?"

"I was desperate back then. I would have done anything to protect my son. And, that is what I will continue to do."

"Well, Claire..." Christopher straightened his shoulders. "I regret to inform you that if you don't put a stop to this madness, you might lose the very son you are trying to protect."

She let out a sound full of disbelief. "Are you threatening me now?"

"Am I?" he asked no one in particular.

"Is this what I deserve? I don't get warm greetings from my son and my husband anymore?"

"What can I say?" Christopher turned toward the entrance. "I was going to give you one, but I was disappointed by your actions and words."

"Chris-" He stepped out before she could complete his name and that made the woman angry.

And, as she applied pressure on her hands, she blamed that unlucky soul called Isabella Shade for causing drama in her family.