Chapter 365: Believed Him
Claire felt her heart softening as she gazed steadily at Arthur, whose eyes were filled with concern, and began to speak. She knew what she was doing. True, since the truth about her identity came out four years ago, no one except Elizabeth had shown her such care. This long-forgotten warmth touched her deeply. But being touched didn’t mean losing her head. He was Arthur, a man she’d feared since childhood. She didn’t dare lose her composure in front of him. With Arthur, she had to stay clear-headed at all times.
“Alright. Everyone, please leave us.” Arthur didn’t hesitate when he heard Claire’s words, nodding and ordering all the servants to leave the room.
“Tell me, what do you want to discuss?” After the servants left, Arthur pulled up a chair and sat beside Claire’s bed.
“Arthur, when did you start having feelings for me?” Claire cut straight to the chase without hesitation. With Arthur, there was no need for beating around the bush.
Arthur had always been clever since childhood, incredibly perceptive, and ruthlessly decisive in his methods. She could have just asked him directly. Before losing consciousness, she had already questioned Arthur about why he liked her. Arthur’s response was that love between a man and a woman never needed any reason. Indeed, she felt the same way. She was just like that herself, never knowing why she fell for Frederick, yet her love had endured all these years. So now, she decided to ask Arthur a different question: When did he start having feelings for her? Even now, Claire still couldn’t believe the fact that he had feelings for her. Arthur was the type of person who was impossible to figure out. She never knew whether his words were actual or lies. She had to verify everything from multiple angles and analyze it carefully before making any final decisions.
After Claire posed her question, he seemed to genuinely ponder it, taking a long time before finally speaking.
“Claire, when you ask me this question, I can’t give you an immediate answer. I don’t even know precisely when I started falling for you. But as a grown man, as someone who’s emotionally mature, I can tell you with absolute certainty that I have feelings for you.”
“Real feelings! They’re so strong that I can’t even control them anymore. Otherwise, why would I bring you to stay at my villa during this crucial period of the presidential campaign?”
“Moreover, you’re my brother’s fiancée. After saving you, I could have easily sent you back to him. But I just couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“You know what? When I saw how badly you were hurt, I had only one thought consuming my mind: I want to grab Frederick and beat the hell out of him.”
“Why is it that even after you became his fiancée, he still doesn’t treasure you? The way he tormented you before was bad enough. I know there’s a death between you two.”
“I also know how deeply you love him, but now that he’s threatening your life, I can’t stand by and watch anymore. As for when I started having feelings for you, heh…” At this point, Arthur let out a bitter laugh.
“Maybe it started when I witnessed your selfless devotion to Frederick time and time again. Or perhaps it began that time in childhood when I played that trick that made you terrified of high fevers.”
“Or maybe it’s because we grew up together, our families were so intertwined, and we kept running into each other at parties and social gatherings…”
Arthur stood there talking for what seemed like forever, pouring out his heart. Claire listened to every word. And in the end, Claire believed him. She honestly thought that he had feelings for her!