Shattered Rose He Held On Tight novel Chapter 206

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11:51 Fri, Oct 10 d

Shattered Rose He Held On Tight

Chapter 206 She Just Liked Watching Them Sink

72

Finished

Claudia stroked the skink and smiled. “Alright, you can stay here with me for a while. When I leave, I’ll drop you off at the front desk so your owner can find you.”

Logic told Frederick to walk over, retrieve his pet, and leave right away.

But for some reason, he stopped a few yards away from her.

He leaned against the wall and watched her. They waited out the rain together under the eaves, just like strangers passing through life.

After roughly two hours, the rain finally eased.

Neither her phone nor his made a sound the entire time.

As promised, before she left, Claudia took the skink to the front desk. When Frederick went to retrieve it, he looked back just in time to catch one last glimpse of that slender girl, running into the drizzle with her backpack.

Seven years had gone by. Frederick could barely remember what that girl had looked like, but he never forgot the feeling of watching the rain with a stranger, or her profile as she looked up at the sky from under the eaves.

When he saw her at Paula’s funeral, recognition struck him instantly.

She hadn’t changed much since high school; she was just a bit more mature and even more striking now.

Back then, Claudia’s beauty always seemed shadowed by something melancholy, making him wonder if the gloom that clung to her would swallow her up one day.

Their brief, passing connection had left him with a lasting impression.

He had witnessed countless ambitious youngsters eager to climb the ladder, but most never made it past the halfway point of metamorphosis. She faced more setbacks than most, yet she still managed to succeed.

Her gaze felt unfamiliar when it landed on him.

He wasn’t surprised.

After all, he’d had an allergic reaction from fieldwork during the quiz, so he’d worn a mask the entire time.

And in the end, they’d never even spoken a word to each other.

11:51 Fri, Oct 10 d…

Chapter 206 She Just Liked Watching Them Sink

A

72

Finished

Sometimes Frederick wondered what would have happened if he’d actually spoken to her back

then.

But fate seemed to have a mind of its own.

By the time he realized he could have tried to get closer to her, she already had someone else beside her.

She had Sterling now.

Sterling was his cousin in name, though he was actually his nephew.

Frederick had heard his name long ago.

He’d heard all about Sterling. He was supposedly a genius–ruthless, decisive, and cold–hearted.

Countless people hated and feared him, but just as many looked up to him and chased after him.

He was like some mountain no one could climb, watching everyone else from above, untouchable and emotionless.

Somehow, these two unlikely people had ended up together.

When his parents finally told him the truth about his background, Fiona once asked if he wanted to compete for the Romeros‘ patriarch position.

Not pushing him into the Romeros‘ drama was one of the few gentle things Fiona ever did as a mother.

Fiona believed her own hatred had run its course in her generation, so she let Frederick decide his own future.

If Frederick didn’t want to get involved, she would respect it.

But if he wanted to dive into the mess, she wouldn’t stop him either.

Winning or losing didn’t matter to her.

She simply enjoyed watching the Romeros sink, little by little.

The feeling reminded her of the day she touched her father’s body after his suicide—cold, rotten, decaying.

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