Chapter 12 Evan, Control Your People

After taking two steps, Evan, whose call had already ended, turned around to look at Harper. He had so much to say, but it all came down to one sentence: "Claire isn't feeling well, I need to go check on her..."

This was the first time Evan had bothered to explain before going to see Claire, but his reaction just now had already given the answer.

With just one phone call from Claire, he would drop everything without hesitation and rush over to her.

Harper smiled, as docile as she had been long ago: "Go ahead. You'd better take Miss Martinez to the hospital. After all, she's pregnant and needs to be careful."

Evan felt like he was losing something, and Harper's attitude was also puzzling.

But his worry for Claire won out, leaving him no mind to explore other matters. After nodding to Harper, Evan turned and left, his steps swift as wind, his figure quickly disappearing.

Watching Evan turn and leave without hesitation, Harper felt no ripples in her heart anymore.

The slight ripple caused by Hank's words had completely subsided.

It wasn't that she wasn't giving Evan a chance—he simply didn't need one.

On the other side, hearing Evan's worried voice on the phone, Claire smiled.

Still the same as before—one phone call could make Evan drop everything to be with her.

It seemed that she was still the most important person in Evan's heart. She shouldn't have panicked just because Harper had sent her a Ruby necklace.

--

The next day, Claire was in a good mood, smiling as she prepared to go shopping. Walking past a café, she saw Harper.

Harper was alone, with some things placed in front of her. Claire was curious about what Harper was doing there, and with a desire to show off, she walked right in.

"This seat isn't taken, is it?" The words were a question, but her actions showed no hesitation. Without waiting for Harper's answer, Claire sat down across from her.

These past few days, it was either Claire's phone calls or running into Evan—they kept appearing in front of her one after another, ruining her mood.

Harper couldn't be bothered with Claire. She had just met someone here to discuss business. After the conversation ended, the other person left first, and she stayed a bit longer. She hadn't expected to run into Claire.

Claire lowered her head slightly, her face showing a gentle expression as she gently stroked her belly. "Yesterday my stomach was a bit uncomfortable. I called Evan and he rushed over immediately. You can see how much he loves and values this child."

From the corner of her eye, she watched Harper. She was doing this on purpose—deliberately showing off to provoke Harper.

Putting down her coffee, Harper's expression was indifferent. "If you're not feeling well, you should rest properly. Recovering this quickly, people who don't know might think you were faking it."

The smugness on Claire's face diminished somewhat. Harper had hit the nail on the head, stabbing right at her heart.

Because she had indeed been pretending, just to test how much space she occupied in Evan's heart.

"I have a good constitution. Evan has never treated you that way, has he, Miss Wilson? Why do you keep persisting?" Claire quickly recovered her smile. She had reason to be smug.

Smiling, she caught sight of several papers in front of Harper. Her eyes narrowed, and she directly grabbed two of them.

These two jewelry design sketches had a style similar to Ruby's—the designs were inspired and eye-catching.

This was the first time she knew that Harper could design jewelry.

Thinking back, she vaguely remembered that Evan had once said Harper had studied design before, but interrupted her studies because of marriage.

She hadn't expected her to have such talent. If she weren't unknown, someone would definitely hire her as a company designer, and a lead one at that.

Harper frowned, her expression showing displeasure. She reached out to take back the designs, but Claire dodged. "Give them back!"

Harper's voice was heavy, her dissatisfaction with Claire reaching its peak.

Claire didn't care at all. She already had a plan in mind. "Why the rush? I think these designs are quite striking. I didn't know Miss Wilson had design talent. It's just..."

At this point, Claire paused and raised her voice. "It's just that these designs look so familiar, like I've seen them somewhere. Ah, I know!"

Her exclamation successfully attracted everyone's attention in the café.

Claire looked at Harper with an incredulous expression. "How could you plagiarize Ruby's designs? This is completely copying Ruby's work."

"No wonder you could send me a necklace from Ruby's designs before—you made it yourself, didn't you?" Claire had an expression of understanding. "I get it now. You hyped up the divorce to lay the groundwork for releasing these designs! To become a designer!"

These words combined were enough to make people imagine much more. The people in the shop looked at Harper differently.

People felt disgusted by those who plagiarized others' work—such people had character problems.

Harper took the designs back from Claire's hands, her gaze piercing directly at her, making her body involuntarily lean back.

Harper raised the designs in her hand. "These are my designs. From the initial drafts, I have all the process drawings with my signature. The necklace I gave you was indeed designed and made by Ruby. If your eyes are useless, then donate them!"

Ruby's designs were rare, and each piece was handcrafted by her personally, making them difficult to purchase.

Putting away her things, Harper looked at Claire with warning. "This is the last time. If there's a next time, I will definitely pursue your legal responsibility—all of it together!"

Watching Harper turn and leave, Claire didn't dare say anything. She could feel that Harper wasn't joking with her.

The customers around finally understood—Harper had just been falsely accused.

"So she was being slandered. I knew that lady looked distinguished and wouldn't do such a thing."

"People nowadays really say whatever comes to mind, not caring how much trouble they cause others."

"She looks quite pretty, but how could she slander someone like that? Really didn't see it coming—such a bad heart."

All kinds of looks now fell on Claire, making it impossible for her to stay. She could only leave in embarrassment.

After leaving the café, Harper got angrier the more she thought about it. Claire was pregnant, so she couldn't do anything to her, but she couldn't just let it go either and let Claire keep coming around to disgust her.

Taking out her phone, Harper dialed Evan's number.

Evan, who was processing documents in his office, saw Harper's incoming call and felt a flash of joy in his eyes. Was Harper ready to give him yesterday's answer?

After leaving Claire's place last night, it was already very late. Afraid of being rejected, he hadn't called.

With an anxious heart, Evan answered the call.

Before Evan could speak, Harper's angry voice came through: "Evan, control your people. If you can't control them, I don't mind taking matters into my own hands!"