Tempting Him to Lose Control

Chapter 90: Chapter 90: He Was Never Chosen by Her

Yvonne Warren hid behind a gallery pillar, raising her phone and aiming the camera at the two overlapping figures ahead.

Miles Warren was looking down at Claire Kendall in his arms, his gaze gentle. His hand was wrapped securely around her slender waist, the gesture both intimate and intense.

Yvonne quickly pressed the shutter, snapping five or six pictures in a row.

Every shot was perfectly clear, capturing Miles’s face, Claire’s face, and the intimate pose between them.

A cold smile slowly curved her lips.

’So the one who ran up the bids for Claire Kendall at the auction was also my high-and-mighty, aloof little uncle.’

’No wonder Claire Kendall has been so arrogant. No wonder a brand-new studio could have such smooth sailing in Aethel.’

’So the person backing her was Miles Warren all along.’

A sinister look flashed in Yvonne’s eyes. She saved the photos and put her phone away.

’Claire Kendall, just wait until I expose your true colors. Your good days are numbered.’

Inside the banquet hall, Grace Rhodes’s birthday party continued.

Just as Claire Kendall returned, a crowd gathered not far away, and panicked shouts erupted.

"Ms. Joyce? Ms. Joyce, what’s wrong?"

"Someone help! Somebody fainted!"

"It’s Ms. Joyce! Get help, quick!"

’Lindsay Joyce?’

Claire’s heart tightened. Even though the two of them had become like strangers, they had known each other since they were young.

She ran over. Lindsay Joyce was on the floor, her face ashen and completely drained of color. Ian Rhodes knelt beside her, a helpless look on his face.

Claire immediately called Miles Warren.

Two minutes later, Miles’s calm, firm voice cut through the noise.

"Please, make way."

The clamor instantly died down, and the crowd parted.

Ian Rhodes looked up at him, stunned. ’Why is Miles Warren at the resort?’

Miles ignored his shocked expression, stepped forward, and knelt down. He lifted Lindsay Joyce’s eyelid to check her pupillary response, then felt for her pulse.

He looked up and asked Lindsay’s assistant, "Has she had any problems with her vision recently?"

The assistant paused, then recalled, "Ms. Joyce did mention recently that she was having trouble seeing clearly. We thought it was just from staying up too late..."

Miles’s brow furrowed. He took out his phone and called the resort’s general manager.

"Get a medical emergency vehicle ready immediately. I need it fast. We’re going to Aethel General Hospital."

Ian tried to reason with him, "Dr. Warren, is it that serious? Couldn’t it just be low blood sugar? Maybe we can have the hotel’s on-site doctor take a look first..."

"We can’t wait."

Miles cut him off, his tone icy.

"Every minute we delay could cause irreversible damage."

His certainty was impossible to argue with.

Claire said to Ian, "Ian, trust Dr. Warren’s judgment."

Ian Rhodes pressed his lips together and said no more.

The resort’s emergency medical staff arrived quickly and placed Lindsay Joyce on a stretcher.

Claire followed, her heart heavy and her palms slick with cold sweat.

She couldn’t remain indifferent to Lindsay’s condition.

「Aethel General Hospital.」

Lindsay Joyce was wheeled into an emergency examination room for a full workup.

Miles immediately changed into a white coat and oversaw the entire process.

The narrow corridor was quiet and oppressive. Claire waited outside, every second an agony.

Scenes of the two of them founding OCHH back in college played uncontrollably in her mind.

After a long while, Miles finally walked out of the examination room.

"It’s confirmed. An intracranial tumor, pressing on the optic nerve region."

"We’ll need to wait for the pathology biopsy results to know if it’s benign or malignant."

Claire’s throat tightened. "Is it dangerous?"

Miles looked at her tense profile, his heart sinking. He patted her shoulder, his professional ethics preventing him from offering any false comfort.

"I’m going to send the samples off. She’s awake, you can go see her."

Claire nodded and pushed the door open to the hospital room.

In the hospital bed, Lindsay was hooked up to an IV. Her face was pale, but her expression was remarkably calm.

She looked at Claire, a faint smile tugging at her lips.

"Were you crying?"

She paused, then drawled, "Claire Kendall, don’t you hate my guts?"

Seeing her with that same punchable look from all those years ago made Claire’s nose sting even more.

"I wasn’t crying. It’s not like it’s anything serious..."

Lindsay smiled faintly, a look of resignation on her face.

"I know my own body. There’s something in my head, isn’t there?"

Claire froze, saying nothing.

’No wonder she came back to the country so suddenly, so desperate to find someone to take over OCHH.’

"Claire," Lindsay said, looking at her, "back at the Fenghua Design Competition, I didn’t maliciously destroy your entry for OCHH."

"Our design philosophies didn’t align, but I fight fair. I would never do something like that to ruin your future."

"I know," Claire said, her voice heavy, but now tinged with a sense of relief.

"Lindsay Joyce, I know you. I knew it wasn’t you."

"What I don’t understand is, you saw who did it. Why wouldn’t you testify for me? You knew how much I put into that competition."

’After working so hard for so long, I thought I could finally help OCHH take off, only to be ruined by someone close to me.’

Lindsay’s eyes filled with guilt.

"I’m sorry, Claire. I was wrong."

"OCHH was just starting out. With you as our rising star designer, we became an overnight success. It was the perfect time to expand, and Victor Warren had just invested."

Claire’s gaze faltered.

’Victor Warren... Yvonne Warren’s father.’

"Yvonne didn’t know the entry was yours. But if I exposed her, Victor Warren would have immediately pulled his funding."

Lindsay shook her head with a bitter smile. "Yvonne was the winner of that competition. After all these years, going around in circles, you two are still tangled up with each other."

Claire let out a long breath.

Lindsay asked, puzzled, "That doctor who took me for the exam just now... are you two together?"

"Yeah."

"But he’s Yvonne’s little uncle. And there’s you and Jacob Sinclair..." Lindsay trailed off. "Being with him, you don’t need to get dragged into this mess."

Claire lowered her gaze.

"Jacob and I ended things a long time ago. My being with Miles has nothing to do with anyone else."

’Her motives weren’t pure at first, but now, she was sure she liked him.’

Claire knew she couldn’t hide her past with Jacob Sinclair forever. She had to find the right opportunity to confess everything to Miles.

’Whether he accepts it or not, the decision is his to make.’

The thought of a potential breakup made Claire’s eyes flicker with emotion.

"As for Miles and me... for now, we’ll just have to be like this. We’ll take it one step at a time."

"If it really doesn’t work out, then I guess that’s that."

The light, casual words floated out and fell, crystal clear, into the ears of Miles Warren, who was standing just outside the door.

He had just returned from delivering the samples and was about to push the door open when he heard what she said.

’Take it one step at a time... If it doesn’t work out, then I guess that’s that...’

He froze on the spot, the temperature around him seeming to plummet instantly.

He waited at the door for another moment, suppressing the turbulent emotions in his eyes, before knocking softly.

"The patient needs to rest. You can’t talk for too long."

Claire immediately stood up. "Lindsay, listen to the doctor. You should get some rest."

She walked out of the room and, seeing the thick stack of forms in his hand, asked in a low voice,

"Given her current condition, are there any treatment plans?"

Miles opened the medical chart.

"The primary option is surgical removal, but the tumor’s proximity to the optic nerve makes the surgery high-risk. If the pathology results show it’s malignant, we’ll also need to consider a combination of chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy..."

He explained everything in great, professional detail, and Claire listened intently.

"Okay. We still have to wait for the other test results."

A faint chill laced his voice.

Claire keenly picked up on the change in his demeanor. "What’s wrong?"

Miles closed the chart. His gaze swept over her, flat and unreadable.

"Nothing. I’m just a little tired. I have another surgery tonight, so you should go home and rest early."

"I’ll let you know as soon as there’s any news. I’m going back to the break room for now."

Miles turned and walked away.

「In the quiet break room.」

Miles lay on the simple cot, his fingertips tightening until his knuckles turned white.

’If she hadn’t left just now, he wouldn’t have been able to hold it together.’

’He wanted to pin her right here and demand to know what she meant by "take it one step at a time." She had promised him—she wouldn’t leave.’

’He had never been Claire Kendall’s definitive choice.’

’Not ten years ago, and not now.’

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