Tempting Him to Lose Control

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: He Gives Her Whatever She Wants

Claire Kendall watched Miles Warren’s Phaeton merge into the flow of traffic. She lowered her head, sighed softly, and walked to the subway station.

’Oh well. He’s in a bad mood, so I won’t hold it against him.’

On her way, she took the initiative and sent him a message: [Dr. Warren, you have to make time for a meal with me in the next couple of days when you’re not busy.]

She followed it up with a sticker of a cute cat begging pitifully.

But she didn’t get a response.

On the second day of Moonstone’s opening, customers came in a continuous stream. Wendy White and the few new employees were run off their feet.

Faced with a tall, thick stack of orders, Claire Kendall forced herself to work, sketching designs, checking fabric information, and inspecting the craftsmanship of finished products.

But whenever she stopped, she found herself unconsciously reaching for her phone.

The pinned chat window remained silent.

For the entire day, Miles Warren didn’t reply.

Claire Kendall stared at her phone screen, her fingertips swiping unconsciously as she scrolled through their past chat history, her heart a tangle of complicated feelings.

She had only mentioned his birthday because she didn’t know it was a sore subject. Why had he gotten so angry?

A sour ache bloomed in her chest. She wanted to clear things up with Miles Warren in person.

In the evening, after finishing the last design sketch, Claire Kendall went to the hospital anyway.

She took a detour to a famous dessert shop in the west end of the city, waited in line for half an hour, and bought a slice of low-sugar mousse cake.

’A little dopamine boost might improve Miles Warren’s mood, right?’

After visiting her mother, Claire Kendall headed straight for the third-floor office.

The door was ajar. She peeked inside and saw Jonathan Keller with several medical interns. She could faintly hear Miles Warren’s cool voice analyzing a patient’s condition.

She didn’t go in. Instead, she lowered her head, stared at the tips of her shoes, and waited quietly.

After a good while, the interns came out one by one.

Just as she was about to enter, Jonathan Keller, the last one out, stopped her.

"Claire," Jonathan Keller stammered, finding it difficult to relay the message. "Warren said he needs to work and told you not to go in and disturb him."

Claire Kendall froze, her fingers tightening around the small cake box. "Okay, I understand."

"Um..." Jonathan Keller scratched his head. "Warren’s in a bad mood because of some family stuff. It’s not about you, so don’t take it to heart."

She gave a soft "mm," placed the small cake by the door, and turned to leave.

Jonathan Keller pushed the door open a crack, glanced inside, and deliberately raised his voice.

"Whoa, is that a cake from Tiana Rowe’s? Looks like Ms. Kendall went out of her way to buy it. If you don’t want it, I’ll eat it. The line at that place is a killer."

Before his hand could touch the paper bag, two ice-cold words came from inside the room.

"Drop it."

Jonathan Keller released his hand, clicked his tongue, and muttered to himself as he walked away.

"What’s his problem? He obviously cares but has to pretend he doesn’t. Why take his own issues out on Claire?"

"Just wait. He’s going to have to grovel to win her back eventually. He’ll get what’s coming to him."

Miles Warren walked out of his office. The exquisite dessert bag was sitting by the door.

He looked down at it for a long time before finally bending over and picking up the paper bag.

After leaving the hospital, Claire Kendall returned to Regency Gardens to get her car.

She drove toward Viridell County, next to Aethel, heading straight for the temple on Mount Viridell.

The GPS showed a five-hour drive. She barely stopped along the way, only reaching the foot of Mount Viridell at ten o’clock at night.

It had started to rain. She parked her car, found a small inn to stay at for the night, and planned to go up the mountain the next day.

She took out her phone to message Miles Warren, but there was no signal at all.

Staring at the spinning circle on her screen, Claire Kendall paced back and forth inside the inn, searching for a signal.

The owner, sitting at the counter cracking melon seeds, asked, "Sending a message to your boyfriend, miss?"

"Don’t bother. This place is remote; the signal always goes out when it rains. If you’re worried he’ll be anxious, there’s a landline here you can use."

Claire Kendall glanced at the time. Miles Warren was probably already asleep. It was best not to disturb him with a phone call.

She shook her head. "Thank you."

-

「In the Regency Gardens parking garage.」

When Miles Warren returned from the hospital and parked his car, he noticed her parking space was empty, and no light shone from the windows of 502.

’Claire Kendall isn’t back yet?’

Miles Warren went upstairs carrying the cake, put it in the refrigerator, showered, and got into bed.

He stared at the dull ceiling, feeling no sleepiness at all.

When he closed his eyes, Claire Kendall’s charming, radiant smile and her merciless rebuttal to Louis Warren the previous night battled in his mind.

He opened his phone and refreshed his social feed. No updates from her.

The restlessness and irritation in his heart grew stronger. He got out of bed, opened the refrigerator, and drank a bottle of ice-cold water.

His gaze fell upon the small cake, and he took it out.

He unwrapped it. The cake had already started to melt a little.

Miles Warren took a bite. It was sweet but not cloying, with a faint, subtle bitterness.

’Just like Claire Kendall.’

’Delicious, but with shards of glass mixed in. The slightest carelessness, and she would cut him until he was bleeding.’

’It was true ten years ago, and it’s still true now.’

’First, it was the kidney. Now, it’s the resources my grandfather can provide her.’

’To Claire Kendall, he was like an NPC who’d dispense rewards just by being near.’

The cake was gone. The sound of the plastic spoon scraping against the container was exceptionally clear.

For a moment, he felt a surge of panic.

’He wasn’t afraid of being used. He was afraid that when he no longer had any value to her, she would disappear.’

’Just like this cake.’

’So what if I’m an NPC? Connections, resources, money...’

’If she wants them, I’ll give them to her.’

Miles Warren opened his phone, immediately tapped the input box, and replied without hesitation.

[Tomorrow, come back to the old family house with me for my birthday.]

He wouldn’t wait for her to ask. He would take the initiative.

It was the last thing he wanted to do, but for her, he could compromise.

After he hit send, he received no reply.

’Is she asleep? Or does she just not want to reply?’

That night, Miles Warren watched his phone, barely closing his eyes.

「Mount Viridell.」

Claire Kendall got up just as the sky was beginning to lighten at dawn.

The owner teased, "Miss, you’re on vacation. Why are you working so hard?"

"I’m not here on vacation. I came to ask for the blessed prayer beads from Viridell Temple."

The owner was astounded. "Those blessed prayer beads... they’re said to be truly effective, but you have to kowtow every hundred steps. The three thousand six hundred steps are no joke. For years, almost no one has come to ask for them."

"It rained yesterday, so the steps are wet and slippery, which will make it even more grueling. If it’s not that important, you should probably just give up. You can check out the other sights..."

Claire Kendall smiled and shook her head. "It’s important."

"I have to get them."

The mountain mist was thick. Claire Kendall focused completely, making sure each step was firm before daring to continue upward.

Every hundred steps, she would kneel. On the bone-chillingly cold stone stairs, the cold pierced through the thin fabric of her pants and into her knees, so frigid it made her teeth chatter.

She would press her palms together, close her eyes, and bow reverently, kowtowing on the ground.

A hundred steps, then kneel.

Another hundred steps, then kneel again...

At first, it was just the cold. But later, every time she tried to stand up, it became a struggle. She had to push herself up with her palms, and the sharp stones scraped bloody marks into her skin.

She had no other thought in her mind. She just wanted to obtain this string of blessed prayer beads. Whether it was to help him or to help herself, this string of beads had to end up on his wrist.

After kneeling countless times, Claire Kendall finally reached Viridell Temple.

The air inside the temple was filled with the swirling aroma of incense, calming the heart.

An old monk chanted a Buddhist phrase and carefully placed the consecrated blessed prayer beads into her hands.

"Almsgiver, your heart is sincere. These beads will naturally bless their wearer with peace and safety."

"Thank you, Master."

Miles Warren had stayed up all night watching his phone but still hadn’t received a message from Claire Kendall.

Restless and uneasy, he drove directly to The Keystone Building.

There weren’t many people in the shop. Wendy White was organizing orders when she saw Miles Warren and froze for a second.

"Dr. Warren, what are you doing here?"

"Is Claire Kendall here?" Miles Warren’s gaze swept across the room. When he didn’t see her, his tone became unconsciously urgent.

Wendy White shook her head. "Claire didn’t come to the shop today. She left yesterday afternoon and said she was taking a trip to Viridell County."

Viridell County?

The color drained from Miles Warren’s face.

His phone suddenly started vibrating wildly. It was Jonathan Keller’s voice.

"Warren, you can’t go to Viridell County tomorrow! There was a landslide over there, the roads are all blocked, and traffic is backed up for miles. There have already been several car accidents. Just wait until next week when the weather clears up to go pay respects to your aunt..."

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