Chapter 403 - 406: Your Appearance Makes Me Sick

Wren Sutton’s attention was entirely on Adrian Lancaster, and she pretended not to have noticed anyone suspicious.

After a moment, she leaned in and whispered a few words into Adrian Lancaster’s ear, her voice so low that no one else could hear.

Upon hearing her, Adrian Lancaster looked at her with doting eyes, patted her hand, and gave a sound of assent.

Then, Wren Sutton stood up from the bench, adjusted her shawl, and turned to walk toward the garden’s exit.

She looked as if something had come up and she had to leave for a while.

Adrian Lancaster watched Wren Sutton’s retreating figure reluctantly, not turning his head away until she had completely vanished from sight. Only then did he turn back and gaze calmly ahead.

Wren Sutton got into a car at the hospital entrance. The car started smoothly, merged into the street, and disappeared completely from the spy’s line of sight, convincing them that she had truly left.

However, after driving for two blocks, the car pulled over in a secluded spot.

Another inconspicuous private car, which Wren Sutton had arranged in advance, was waiting there.

She quickly switched cars, pulled her hat down low, and had the driver take a detour to return quietly through the hospital’s side entrance.

After getting out, she walked quickly up the stairs, heading straight for the viewing balcony with its wide, open view.

From here, she had a panoramic view of the entire garden. It was both hidden and safe.

Not long after Wren Sutton’s "departure," Claire Bennett appeared in the small garden.

Having received the message from her lookout, she happened to be near the hospital and rushed over in just a few minutes.

She had already found out that Adrian Lancaster was being discharged tomorrow.

Once he was discharged and returned to the Lancaster family, seeing him or getting close to him again would be next to impossible.

So, for Claire Bennett, today was another rare opportunity, another day where emotion trumped reason, and an incredibly risky one at that.

Claire Bennett didn’t even have time to disguise herself as she had before. She emerged from around a corner of the garden and approached the wheelchair-bound Adrian Lancaster step by step.

She wore a gentle, light-apricot long dress and had on an innocent yet alluring "first love" style of makeup. Her eyes were soft, her face beaming, and just like last time, she put on an approachable and harmless facade.

"Cousin."

Hearing the voice, Adrian Lancaster frowned and looked up. When he saw it was Claire Bennett, undisguised disgust and aloofness filled his eyes.

’Her again!’

He instinctively turned his wheelchair to move away from her.

Claire Bennett hurried forward to block Adrian Lancaster’s path, her voice sweet and soft. "Cousin, it’s me. I came to see you a few days ago, don’t you remember?"

After speaking, she bit her lip, putting on an innocent and wronged expression.

Adrian Lancaster’s frown deepened. His face was cold, and when he spoke, his voice was devoid of any warmth.

"Stay away from me. I don’t want to have anything to do with you."

The smile on Claire Bennett’s face froze for a moment. Although she was heartbroken, she couldn’t bring herself to blame Adrian Lancaster, much less show him any displeasure.

"Cousin, I’m your cousin, not a stranger. We’re relatives and friends. We were very close when we were young, inseparable even."

"Last time in the hospital room, I didn’t get to finish what I was saying. I came today because I want to tell you the whole truth."

She stared at Adrian Lancaster, her eyes filled with an unconcealable obsession and fanaticism.

"I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. I’ll say it again, stay away from me," Adrian Lancaster said, his tone harsh and full of warning.

"..." Claire Bennett was intimidated by his imposing aura and felt deeply embarrassed.

’I never expected Adrian Lancaster to be so repulsed by me.’

’Last time in the hospital room, he wasn’t like this. At least he let me finish speaking.’

’Why is he like a completely different person this time?’

’It must be that bitch, Wren Sutton! She must have been badmouthing me to Adrian!’

Just then, Claire Bennett’s gaze fell upon the scarf around Adrian Lancaster’s neck, and a despicable glint of calculation flashed in her eyes.

"Cousin, if you don’t want to listen to me, I won’t say any more. I don’t want to make you angry."

"But there is one thing I can’t hide from you. Otherwise, I couldn’t live with my conscience."

She paused, then let out a light sigh, feigning difficulty and sorrow.

"Cousin, the truth is... that scarf around your neck is a free gift."

"..." Adrian Lancaster’s heart sank.

He looked up at Claire Bennett, his already cold eyes now covered in a layer of frost that was chilling to the bone.

He didn’t care if the scarf was a so-called "free gift." All he knew was that it was a gift from Wren Sutton. It belonged to him and him alone, and it was not for others to comment on.

Seeing Adrian Lancaster’s fingers suddenly tighten, Claire Bennett thought her words had struck a nerve. A flicker of triumph crossed her eyes before she quickly concealed it.

"Cousin, you must be wondering how I know."

"To be honest, I happened to be at the same mall the day Wren Sutton bought the scarf. I witnessed the whole thing."

"Cousin, it’s the little things that reveal a person’s true character. You must understand what kind of person Wren Sutton is now, how hypocritical she is."

"She doesn’t love you at all. What she loves is..."

"Shut up!" Adrian Lancaster’s sharp tone cut Claire Bennett off.

He might have amnesia and not remember his past, but he wasn’t stupid.

This woman in front of him, who claimed to be his cousin, had come to the hospital twice, and everything she said was aimed at driving a wedge between him and Wren Sutton.

Last time, she said Wren didn’t love him.

This time, she said the scarf Wren gave him was a freebie.

’What is this if not a deliberate attempt to sow discord?!’

Adrian Lancaster’s gaze was as sharp and cold as ice as it shot toward Claire Bennett.

"I love anything my wife gives me. I don’t need an outsider like you making comments."

"We’ve met twice, and every word you’ve spoken has been to drive a wedge between my wife and me. I’m warning you, if there’s a third time, I won’t let you off so easily."

"Get out! Don’t let me see you again. The very sight of you disgusts me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Adrian Lancaster turned his wheelchair and left without a glance at Claire Bennett’s pale, stunned face, not even deigning to give her a single extra look.

Claire Bennett froze on the spot, as if turned to stone.

Adrian Lancaster’s words, "The very sight of you disgusts me," were like the sharpest knife in the world, stabbing brutally into her heart. It was a bleeding wound, so painful she could barely breathe.

The expression on her face shattered. All her feelings of being wronged, her indignation, obsession, and humiliation instantly overwhelmed her rationality.

Claire Bennett’s eyes reddened and her chest heaved violently. Even her exquisite makeup couldn’t hide her devastated state.

Watching Adrian Lancaster’s back grow more distant, Claire Bennett lunged forward like a madwoman and blocked his path again.

She was trembling uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face, looking utterly wretched and desperate.

"Adrian Lancaster! Do you even know who I am?!"

Claire Bennett roared, her voice trembling and laced with the despairing sound of tears.

"Do you know who I am?! Do you?!"

The moment the words left her mouth, the air seemed to freeze. The atmosphere became strange, tinged with an eerie coldness.

Adrian Lancaster stopped his wheelchair and slowly raised his gaze. His dark eyes were devoid of any ripples, showing only a bottomless indifference and distance.

His thin lips parted, his voice low, hard, and utterly without warmth.

"I don’t care who you are."

"..." The blood in Claire Bennett’s veins instantly froze, and her hysterical screaming came to an abrupt halt.

Extreme devastation and despair washed over her. Her left leg suddenly felt weak and sore, and she could barely stand.

She clenched her fists, her nails digging deep into her palms, using the sharp pain to force herself back to her senses.

’I can’t lose control again.’

’Absolutely not.’

That last question, which was practically a confession, had been a most dangerous mistake.

Her last shred of reason desperately pulled her back from the brink of collapse.

She was still trembling all over, her face streaked with tears, as suppressed, broken sobs escaped her throat.

...

「On the viewing balcony.」

Wren Sutton hid in the shadows, her phone’s camera aimed at the garden below, recording everything that had just happened.

The identity of the "cousin" was finally confirmed. It was Claire Bennett.

’This woman really is trouble. She’s a liar, just as I thought.’

Wren Sutton thought back to the last time she had run into Claire Bennett alone in the garden. It seemed it wasn’t a coincidence at all, but a premeditated, deliberate approach.

Because of the distance, Wren Sutton couldn’t hear the conversation between Adrian Lancaster and Claire Bennett in the garden, but based on their body language and changing expressions, she could guess the gist of it.

She could see very clearly that Claire Bennett had initiated contact with Adrian Lancaster, her posture intimate.

Adrian, on the other hand, consistently exuded an unapproachable coldness. Every one of his movements showed his rejection and disgust for Claire Bennett, drawing a clear line between them without a hint of indulgence or wavering.

Wren Sutton felt relieved.

Just when she thought the entanglement was over and Adrian Lancaster had already turned to leave, something unexpected happened.

Claire Bennett’s face turned pale, and she lost control of her emotions, lunging forward like a madwoman to block Adrian Lancaster.

Wren Sutton couldn’t see the tear tracks on Claire Bennett’s face, but she could see her body shaking violently, her shoulders heaving uncontrollably.

She could see her screaming something emotionally at Adrian Lancaster, on the verge of a complete, frenzied breakdown.

She didn’t know what Adrian Lancaster said, but Claire Bennett immediately returned to normal.

One moment she was hysterical, the next she was desperately holding it all in.

Claire Bennett switched between these two extreme states so quickly.

Wren Sutton frowned slightly, a trace of suspicion and alarm flashing in her eyes.

’Claire Bennett is impersonating his cousin, going to great lengths to get close to Adrian. For her to lose control like this, only to desperately suppress it afterward... it’s too abnormal.’

’This woman must be hiding a secret.’

’Who is she really? And what is she after, trying by any means necessary to get close to Adrian?’