Chapter 446 - 449: Why Should I Believe You?

The words, hoarse from crying and laced with a paranoid finality, shattered the silence of the bedroom, tearing away the last layer of her facade.

Claire Bennett looked up, her vision blurred by tears. All traces of her earlier weakness and deliberate fawning were gone.

In its place was the frankness of someone who had burned their bridges, coupled with the arrogance of one who was certain she was his one unforgettable love.

Even now, laying all her cards on the table, she still believed Adrian Lancaster couldn’t forget their past.

She stared intently at the man before her, waiting for him to show shock, bewilderment, or even the slightest flicker of emotion.

But in the next instant, all the drunkenness, the hazy look, the melancholy in Adrian Lancaster’s eyes vanished without a trace, like a receding tide.

He slowly rose from the bed. The deep furrow in his brow smoothed out, and the drunken flush faded from his cheeks, leaving behind nothing but a cold indifference.

His ink-dark eyes were bottomless, glinting with a bone-chilling cold.

Adrian Lancaster’s gaze landed squarely on Claire Bennett’s face. It was a look of pure scrutiny, devoid of surprise or any lingering affection—only the cold, mocking expression of a hunter watching their prey walk into a trap.

"You lied to me."

"Maya Marshall has been abroad the whole time. She never returned to Aston."

Claire Bennett grew frantic and took a step forward.

"The Maya Marshall who is abroad is a fake. She’s my body double."

Her voice was rushed, thick with suppressed excitement as she explained everything to Adrian Lancaster, word by word.

"She’s not the real me. She’s someone my parents hired to stay abroad, make periodic appearances, and leave a trail for people to follow."

"It was all to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes, to make them think Maya Marshall was still abroad and had never come to Aston."

Tear tracks still stained Claire Bennett’s face as she looked at Adrian Lancaster with pleading eyes.

"I’m not lying to you. Every single word I’ve said is the truth. I’m the real Maya Marshall—the one who has always loved you, who could never forget you."

"I may have had plastic surgery and look like a completely different person, but my feelings for you have never changed."

"I love you, Adrian, more than ever. Please, believe that my feelings for you are real."

"During the two years we were apart, I thought of you every single moment. I thought I was going to go insane."

"To get back to your side, I endured a transformation more painful than death. Whenever I couldn’t take it anymore and wanted to give up, I would just think of you, and all my fear would vanish."

The hand hanging at Adrian Lancaster’s side clenched into a tight fist, his expression as cold as ice.

The recording pen in his pocket was clearly capturing every word of Claire Bennett’s confession about the body double overseas.

His brow furrowed slightly as he maintained a look of skepticism.

"This is just your side of the story. Why should I believe you? What proof do you have that you’re Maya Marshall?"

His words made Claire Bennett’s chest tighten. She felt a pang of hurt and injustice.

She knew words alone weren’t enough. The only way to make Adrian Lancaster believe her was to reveal a secret.

With tears still on her cheeks, Claire Bennett bit her lip. A wave of humiliation washed over her, but after a moment’s hesitation, she made her decision.

Right there in front of Adrian Lancaster, swallowing her embarrassment and shame, she slowly lifted the hem of her dress at the side.

Below her knee, there was no leg of flesh and bone, only an exquisitely crafted but cold prosthesis.

The cold metal, starkly exposed, was the scar she was most pained by, the one she never wanted anyone to see.

Claire Bennett’s body trembled slightly, a mixture of shame and grief.

"You want proof? This is the best proof you’ll get."

Her voice was choked with sobs, her eyes swirling with years of suppressed resentment and pain.

Claire Bennett looked down at her left leg, her fingertips lightly tracing the edge of the prosthetic.

"That year, at the Quinn Family’s estate, I fell from the highest point of the attic. I lost consciousness on impact. They saved my life, but I lost this leg forever. It had to be amputated, and I was told I’d spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair."

"I was too young to accept spending my life in a wheelchair. And so I could stand by your side again, I chose to get a prosthetic and learn how to walk with it. The pain was excruciating, something no normal person could possibly imagine."

"But I persevered. You were my only motivation."

"I had plastic surgery, changed my identity, and became Claire Bennett. I hid for so long because I didn’t want anyone to see me like this, broken. But today, to make you believe me, I’ve thrown away all my dignity..."

Adrian Lancaster watched her in silence, saying nothing.

’As far as he knew, Maya Marshall losing her legs had been a plot she orchestrated herself. Her original intention was to frame Wren Sutton and make her look like the culprit.’

’In the end, she reaped what she sowed and lost her left leg.’

’A person like that deserved no sympathy whatsoever.’

"It’s not just this leg that proves who I am," Claire Bennett said, her voice still choked and trembling.

"You have a faint old scar just below your left shoulder blade from a fall when you were a teenager. It’s in a very hidden spot."

"You only drink red wine from specific appellations and vintages. You never touch sweet wines."

"The files on your desk are always arranged from top left to bottom right in order of urgency. The pens in your holder are always tilted inward at a perfect 45-degree angle."

"You’re an extremely light sleeper. You can’t sleep if there’s even a sliver of light or the faintest sound. That’s why your bedroom has double-layered blackout curtains, and you keep a pair of custom-made soundproof earplugs on your nightstand. The case is made of black sandalwood."

"You hate any kind of strong fragrance. You don’t use air fresheners in your car or home, only allowing a type of dehumidifier pack with a very faint cedar scent."

"When you wear a suit, you have a habit of rolling up your left cuff twice, just enough to expose your wrist bone."

"One year for your birthday, I knitted you a dark gray scarf by hand. I secretly wove a tiny ’M’ pattern into the corner. You wouldn’t even notice it unless you felt for it."

"I may have a new face and a new name, but the memories are etched into my heart. I remember everything about our past together, clear as day. I haven’t forgotten a single thing."

Claire Bennett’s eyes were so red they looked ready to bleed. She steadied herself with a hand on her prosthesis, which felt hot to the touch. Her body swayed, and her gaze was filled with a desperate, obsessive plea.

Tears streamed down her face as she prayed that these memories, which belonged only to them, would be enough to make the man before her finally believe.

"With all this proof... isn’t it enough to prove that I’m the real Maya Marshall?"