Tempting Him to Lose Control

Chapter 120: Chapter 120: His White Moonlight Has Returned

The call ended, and Claire Kendall’s phone screen faded to black.

Ginger sat on the soft carpet, tilting its head to look at her and letting out a "meow."

Claire Kendall ruffled the little one’s head.

No matter how much they argued, Louis Warren was still Miles Warren’s father. Now that she was legally married, she had to face his family sooner or later.

She got ready and took a taxi to the Warren family’s old residence.

The butler was already waiting for her at the door. "Ms. Kendall, the master is in the living room."

’Not Mrs. Warren, not the young mistress, but Ms. Kendall.’

Claire Kendall said nothing and followed him inside.

When Louis Warren saw her enter, he put down his teacup. His tone was neutral.

"How have you and Miles been getting along recently?"

"Just fine."

Louis Warren got straight to the point. "Miles is immature. He ignores an empire as large as the Warren Group and insists on being a doctor. But Miles’s wife should not be so immature."

He took a document from under the coffee table and handed it to Claire Kendall.

An asset transfer agreement.

"As long as you convince him to return to the company, that entire block of villas in the western suburbs can be transferred to your name, plus zero-point-five percent of the group’s shares."

In black and white, the offer was indeed tempting.

Her fingertips landed on the agreement, and she pushed it back.

"Warren, I believe I made myself very clear in the study the other day."

"Miles loves his profession as a doctor. I won’t persuade him to give up something he loves."

Seeing that she was still impervious to his persuasion, Louis Warren became enraged.

"Claire Kendall, don’t think too highly of yourself! I was the one who let you through the doors of the Warren family, and I can just as easily throw you out!"

Before Claire Kendall could speak, a clear, gentle voice came from outside the living room.

"Mr. Warren, what’s happened to make you so angry?"

A woman walked in, dressed in a pale cyan qipao. She was gentle and elegant, like a figure who had stepped out of an ink wash painting.

She set down an expensive-looking gift.

"At your age, you really should get angry less often."

The moment he saw her, the anger on Louis Warren’s face instantly subsided.

"Stella, my dear girl, when did you get back?"

"I just returned to the country. I came to see you right after my plane landed."

"Does Miles know?"

Stella Locke nodded lightly. "I told Miles, but he’s very busy today. He said he would make time to pick me up, but I told him not to and drove over myself."

"You’re such a considerate child."

After a long moment, Stella Locke finally shifted her gaze to Claire Kendall.

She smiled gently. "Nati? What a coincidence. I didn’t expect to see you here."

Claire Kendall hadn’t expected to be recognized.

Stella Locke continued, "At the International Fashion Competition, I only won the bronze prize. I saw you from a distance at the awards ceremony. Your ’Nova’ collection was truly perfect!"

Louis Warren spoke up at the right moment.

"Stella, there’s no need to be so modest. You’re doing very well yourself now."

He glanced at Claire Kendall.

"Stella here majored in fashion design, just like you, and she and Miles went to the same university."

’Just returned to the country, same university.’

Claire’s heart sank as she pieced together these key phrases.

’So the person standing before me is Miles Warren’s ’one he never got over.’’

Her fingers tightened slightly, but her expression remained impassive.

"Back when they were in school, Miles attended quite a few fashion design classes for Stella’s sake. Even now, there’s still a pile of design books in the study here at the old residence."

Stella Locke smiled faintly. "Miles is so talented; he excels at everything he does."

Claire Kendall’s back tensed involuntarily.

She remembered now.

Why Miles Warren had invested in the nearly bankrupt Crescent, why he could converse so eloquently with design professors, and why he had even read works that she herself hadn’t.

’The same design major, the same fondness for wearing qipaos.’

’It all made sense now why he had chosen me as a substitute.’

Claire Kendall pressed her lips together, unable to describe the feeling in her heart.

She had known she was a substitute from the moment she deliberately approached Miles Warren. She always thought it didn’t matter, even believing it was a natural advantage that worked in her favor.

But now, with the original person standing right in front of her, she found it impossible to be completely indifferent.

She extended her hand politely.

"Hello, my name is Claire Kendall. Nati."

Stella Locke shook her hand but didn’t let go. Instead, she lifted Claire’s right hand and stared at the blue diamond ring.

She looked at it for a long while before curving her lips into a smile and saying in a deliberately casual tone,

"So this is where this ring ended up."

Claire Kendall quickly pulled her hand back. She subconsciously clenched her right hand, her thumb rubbing hard against the ring.

"That’s the one Miles bid on at the South African National Museum six years ago. ’Clear Blue.’ It symbolizes an undying, pure, and selfless love."

Stella Locke’s eyes lowered slightly, and she fell silent for a moment.

"Claire, this ring suits you very well."

Claire Kendall didn’t speak.

’Right now, I feel like a thief who has stolen someone else’s property.’

"Stella, don’t be in a hurry to leave. Stay for dinner tonight. I’ll call Miles and tell him to come back."

Louis Warren glanced at Claire Kendall and added,

"And while you’re at it, you can help me persuade him to come back and take over the Warren Group."

He picked up his teacup and spoke slowly.

"Claire Kendall, go entertain our guest. Cut up some fruit and bring over a pot of tea."

Making his officially and legally wedded wife serve tea and wait on a guest.

’This isn’t entertaining a guest. This is public humiliation, laying down the law, telling me in no uncertain terms that even with a marriage certificate, if I don’t obey, I’m not worth half as much as Stella Locke.’

Claire Kendall looked up at Louis Warren, the last shred of polite deference in her eyes completely gone.

"Sorry, I have something else to do. I’ll be leaving now."

"You dare!"

In this family, besides Miles Warren, no one had ever dared to defy him like this.

Seeing the situation, Stella Locke quickly tried to intervene, smoothing things over with a smile.

"Mr. Warren, there’s no need. Miles and I have known each other for so many years; I’m not a stranger. There’s no need to trouble Ms. Kendall."

"What do you mean, ’trouble’?" Louis Warren set down his teacup, his gaze suddenly sharp and his tone chillingly grim.

"Since she has entered the Warren family, she must abide by the Warren family’s rules. Can’t she even perform this basic duty of hospitality?"

"If she can’t handle it, then get a divorce."

He was pressing her at every step, controlling her every move.

Claire Kendall stood her ground, suppressing the moisture welling in her eyes, her posture neither servile nor overbearing.

"Warren, you specifically called me here to talk today, not to be a servant."

"As for divorce," Claire Kendall glanced at Stella Locke, "that is a matter between Miles Warren and me."

"How we do it, and when we do it, is no one else’s business."

With that said, she didn’t stay a second longer and turned to leave.

"You! Stop right there!"

Louis Warren flew into a rage, slamming his palm down hard on the mahogany table.

"Mr. Warren, don’t be angry. If Claire has something to do, just let her go. Would you like some fruit? I can cut some for you. And I can make tea! I’ve been learning recently..." Stella Locke held onto the old man, trying her best to placate him.

Louis Warren was seething. He violently threw his teacup onto the coffee table.

"Claire Kendall! Is that how you speak to your elders? You have no respect for your superiors, no manners at all!"

She didn’t stop, not bothering to argue back. As she reached the living room entrance, a tall, slender figure appeared, silhouetted against the light.

Miles Warren’s voice was terrifyingly cold.

"She is my wife, not a servant."

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