Chapter 6 A Hundred-Dollar Bill

The car left the airport very soon after. After some distance, Javier looked ahead and said calmly, "Let go."

At his reminder, Claire regained her senses and hurriedly let go of his hand. Feeling somewhat mortified, she tucked her hair behind her ear and said, "Thank you for just now."

Next to her, Ollie shouted eagerly, "Thank you, Dad!"

"Stop it." Claire hastily covered her son's mouth with a hand and then put her index finger to her lips, gesturing for Ollie to quiet down. "You can't simply call people that."

"But why?" Ollie blinked confusedly and stared at her. "Dad saved us from the bad guys just now…"

Claire was at a loss. She really couldn't figure out why Ollie kept taking the stranger as his father, and she was even more perplexed by Javier's behavior.

Clearing her throat, she looked at Javier apologetically before speaking to Ollie softly, "This man is not your dad. He only helped us out of kindness when he saw us getting bullied."

Then, she tapped on Ollie's nose and added with a smile, "So, don't call him dad anymore, okay?"

Javier, who had been looking out of the window expressionlessly, heard Claire's words and sneered. "I only helped out for the child's sake. Don't take my kindness as something to be provided at any time and anywhere."

After that, he turned to size her up before looking away with his arms crossed. "I definitely do not wish to take responsibility for your life choices either."

Obviously, Javier had overheard Armand calling Ollie a bastard during their dispute earlier. His words added salt to Claire's wound, making her expression turn cold.

Consequently, her gratitude for his help was transient. It seemed like he was no better than Armand and Chantelle for looking down on her.

"Stop the car." Without an explanation, she told the driver to pull over.

With a questioning gaze, Javier watched her take Ollie out of the car when the car stopped. "What are you doing?"

Claire retrieved her luggage and then fished out a hundred-dollar bill from her purse. She tossed it on the car seat and said curtly, "Thank you for your kindness. This is for the ride. I hope we never meet again."

Then, she held Ollie's hand and carried her luggage before walking off to the road curb, ready to hail a taxi. Javier wasn't given any chance to react.

He looked at the hundred-dollar bill on the car seat, and his eyes narrowed dangerously, not used to being treated so lightly by a woman. Throughout their interaction, Claire showed neither respect nor care toward him.

Clenching his jaw, Javier snatched the bill and threw it out of the car window. Then, he waved his hand to signal the driver to start the car. "Drive."

…

Claire didn't head home after getting off Javier's car. Instead, she took a taxi to her grandmother's house.

Even though years had passed, her grandmother's backyard looked the same as in her memories. Conversely, her grandmother had aged a lot.

Claire ran to hug the elderly woman. A warm current surged in her chest as her eyes became moist. "Grandma, I've missed you so much…"

"Claire, my sweet child…" Nadia Torrance patted her back lightly, her voice full of warmth and assurance as she comforted Claire, "You've suffered enough…"

While Nadia was naturally gleeful to see her beloved granddaughter, she was even happier to see the adorable Ollie. As someone who had experienced the ups and downs of life, Nadia was wise to know whether she should probe certain matters. Since Claire didn't tell her about Ollie on her own initiative, Nadia didn't question her either.

Following that, Claire stayed at her grandmother's house for the night. The next morning, she took Ollie shopping. Recalling the places she'd used to frequent when she was young, Claire couldn't help feeling joyful.

Coincidentally, she bumped into Armand and Chantelle at the entrance of the residential area. Instantly, Claire put away the smile on her face and stared at the two of them impassively. "I don't think we have anything to talk about. Please don't come to harass me anymore."

Of course, Chantelle didn't come here of her own accord. She truly hated Claire and wanted to avoid her as much as possible, let alone seek her out to fight.

"Do you think I want to be here?" Chantelle snorted and crossed her arms, grumbling with a pout, "Dad wants to see you. Come home with us."

Hearing this, Claire suddenly fell silent. Honestly, she didn't want to be involved with the Weiss family anymore. However, she knew that both parties had to talk and clear things up over the misunderstanding all those years ago.

After standing there for some time, she finally followed Armand and Chantelle into their car with Ollie. Along the way, the three adults were burdened with their respective concerns, and everyone kept quiet.

Very quickly, they arrived at an area filled with villas. Through the car window, Claire saw that the scenery in the yard was not much different from when she had left. It was just that time had passed, things had changed, and now she could no longer face this family with her usual calmness.

"You're finally back." As soon as Claire stepped into the house with Ollie, Jeanne came to welcome her in a hurry. Looking at Claire with a pretense of adoration, she said, "You be tired out from your journey home. Do you feel jet lagged? Are you hungry? I've prepared some food for you."

Jeanne's ostentatious act aroused Claire's disgust. She clearly didn't give a fuck about her well-being in the past five years, so what was the point of pretending to be a caring mother now?

"I know you don't like me." Claire ignored her and said, "You don't have to try so hard to act like this."

"Watch your tone when you speak to your mother!" At this moment, Liam's furious voice sounded from the living room. When he stood up and approached Claire, his brows furrowed deeply upon catching sight of the child she was holding hands with.

"I sent you abroad so you could repent, but look what you've done instead! I can't believe you brought back an illegitimate child!" Liam reprimanded angrily. His body trembled with rage as he pointed at Ollie who'd hidden behind Claire. "I'm telling you, I won’t accept him as part of our family!”