Chapter 006

Saskia agreed immediately. "Okay, got it. I'll have someone search for it. Now that you've moved out of the Sullivan family, where are you staying? Want me to have someone buy you a big castle?"

"No need. I have a place to stay."

Claire felt a little guilty. She didn't dare tell Saskia she was living at Ethan's place now. And that they were married.

Though they hadn't gotten the certificate yet.

Saskia didn't press her. "You're just too low-key. Who would ever believe that Dr. Quinn, ranked number one in the international medical community, is actually you—someone who didn't even finish high school?"

Claire smiled and hung up.

Then, as if all her energy had drained away, she slumped onto the sofa.

Since being reborn, so much had happened in quick succession. She was utterly exhausted. After washing her face, she collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

She slept straight through until one in the afternoon.

When she came downstairs, she saw Ethan sitting on the sofa.

He held a finance book, his fingers—slender and beautiful as white jade—slowly turning the pages.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating his stunningly handsome profile. Cool, noble, refined.

So gorgeous.

Every time Claire saw him, she wanted to marvel at how incredibly handsome Ethan was.

She greeted him with a beaming smile. "Honey, good afternoon."

Ethan glanced up at her briefly, nodded slightly, then returned to his book.

Isn't that a bit too cold?

Claire's smile instantly faded, replaced by a wounded expression. "Honey, I greeted you. How can you be so indifferent? You should say good afternoon back."

Ethan frowned.

The servants around them immediately held their breath on Claire's behalf.

Mr. Yost had always been this way. Even Daniel, his friend of many years, wouldn't dare speak to him in that tone.

Besides, Ethan had already responded. That was already pretty good.

If Claire was overly enthusiastic or demanding, Mr. Yost might get angry.

Everyone watched Ethan with bated breath.

After a brief silence, his brow relaxed slightly. He said coolly, "Good afternoon."

The servants were shocked. They looked at Ethan in disbelief. Was this the same Mr. Yost they knew?

Everyone seemed to understand something. They smiled knowingly.

Only butler Keller wasn't surprised. He smiled warmly at Claire. "Mrs. Yost, are you hungry? Shall we have lunch?"

Claire was taken aback. "It's past one. You all haven't eaten lunch yet?"

As Claire walked toward the dining room, Keller leaned close and whispered, "Mr. Yost may seem cold, but he's been waiting to have lunch with you."

Claire's face lit up with joy. She skipped over to Ethan and planted a loud kiss on his cheek. "Honey, you're so good."

The servants were shocked again. Was Mrs. Yost being… too forward?

They hardly dared look at Ethan's expression, afraid he'd get angry.

After all, Ethan was a germaphobe. He never liked people getting close to him, especially women.

But they couldn't help sneaking glances.

Ethan's expression remained calm. He pushed Claire's face away with his hand. "Stop that."

Everyone's eyes widened once more. Mrs. Yost had been here less than twenty-four hours and had already taken liberties with Mr. Yost twice?

Of course, they didn't know about the time in the bedroom.

What was even more unbelievable was that Mr. Yost wasn't angry. He wasn't even rejecting her?

This was absolutely surreal.

Claire didn't get upset at Ethan's coldness. The first time she kissed him, he said, "Don't get this close to me." The third time, he said, "Stop that." That was major progress.

She wasn't in a hurry. She'd take it slow.

After they finished eating, Keller said to Claire with a warm smile, "Mrs. Yost, normally, after you and Mr. Yost marry, you should go on a honeymoon."

"However, Mr. Yost has limited mobility, so we're not planning any long-distance trips in the near term."

"To avoid upsetting your parents, Mr. Yost said he could go home with you to visit. I've prepared some gifts. Here's the list. Does this look appropriate?"

Keller handed over a list.

Claire glanced at it casually and was immediately stunned.

This was what they called "some gifts"?

By her rough estimate, it was worth at least fifty million dollars.

Giving it to the Sullivan family? Wouldn't that be letting them off too easy?

Seeing her less-than-pleased expression, Keller quickly added, "If Mrs. Yost feels it's not suitable, we can change it."

Meaning: if you think it's not enough, we can add more.

Keller just didn't say it so bluntly. That was the refinement of a great household.

Claire shook her head immediately. "Don't give them anything. And I don't need to visit them."

As Claire spoke, she looked at Ethan.

He was looking at her too.

Their eyes met. She smiled. "I've already cut ties with the Sullivan family. So, why don't you give these things to me instead?"

Though she wasn't short on money, who'd ever complain about having more?

Ethan frowned. "You cut ties? Why?"

Claire said, "Honestly, I should've done it a long time ago. The Sullivan family only adopted me because Rachel and I both have RH-negative blood. Rachel has severe aplastic anemia and constantly needs transfusions. The Sullivan family used me as Rachel's blood bank. When we were little, Rachel would deliberately injure herself so they'd draw more of my blood. They'd often drain me until I passed out."

Claire spoke lightly, but the servants were horrified.

After the shock came heartache.

When she was little—how young must she have been—to be drained until she passed out?

The Sullivan family was utterly inhumane.

Ethan's gaze darkened.

He'd looked into Claire's background and knew she hadn't had it easy, but he never imagined it was this bad.

Even if Claire was the Sullivan family's adopted daughter, she was still Rachel's lifesaver. How could they treat her this way?

Ethan wanted to comfort her but didn't know what to say. With something like this, unless you'd experienced it yourself, no one could truly empathize. Any words would just sound hollow.

Claire sensed the heavy atmosphere. She looped her arm through Ethan's and smiled. "Don't be sad. I didn't have it good before, but now I have Ethan. And all of you at Begonia Villa are with me. I'm not sad at all."

As Claire spoke, her eyes curved into crescents, like a little sun.

The Sullivan family's affection that she'd once valued so much had died along with her in her past life.

From now on, she'd cherish everyone who was good to her.

The servants' hearts ached. They were just servants, yet Mr. and Mrs. Yost treated them like family. How could they not be moved?

They had to treat Mrs. Yost very, very well.

After a moment of silence, Ethan said directly to Keller, "Transfer all those things to Mrs. Yost's name. No need to give them to the Sullivan family."

"Yes, Mr. Yost. I'll take care of it right away."

Keller agreed immediately.

Claire threw her arms around Ethan's neck and gave him another loud kiss. "Honey, you're so good. Love you."