Too Late to Love Her: When She Divorced, He Fell Apart-Chapter 168: Should We Ask Tristan Lockwood?

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: Should We Ask Tristan Lockwood?
"So it was them."
No wonder these events always remind her of those unpleasant memories from that time.
"Them? Have they approached you already?"
"Sort of." Claire’s voice was very calm, with no discernible emotion.
Renee was worried and said, "Cynthia and the others know you were adopted by the Lockwood Family, so they’ve held back all these years and didn’t bother you. But now your relationship with Tristan Lockwood is so strained. Even though not many people know about it, there’s no guarantee it won’t reach Cynthia and her crowd. Seeing you without protection, they’ll definitely try to bully you even more fiercely."
"I’m not who I used to be."
Claire said flatly.
"The things they bullied me over in the past, I didn’t pursue them all these years, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven them. Since they’ve come to me now, I’ll see it through to the end."
Listening to the confidence and calm in her tone, Renee felt relieved yet guilty: "If you need any help, be sure to tell me. I’ll also contact you as soon as I catch any news about their actions."
"Hmm, thank you."
Outside the office door, hearing Claire say no more, Tina Hayes and Joy Sharp exchanged a glance and quietly returned to their workstations.
After work, Joy found Tina and worriedly said, "You heard President Hale’s call today. She hasn’t talked to us about this matter yet, she must be thinking of handling it alone again."
Just thinking about the malicious words sprayed on Claire’s car, and the incident at the bar where she was soaked, made Joy feel awful. Not to mention, in childhood, she suffered worse bullying.
Joy Sharp: "President Hale used to be alone, so those people bullied her recklessly. Now she has us, Tina, we must think of a way to help President Hale."
Tina Hayes was also frustrated, with anger lingering inside her.
She calmly analyzed, "But those who bully President Hale are probably from the upper class, what means do we have to approach them? We can’t just go to their turf and cause chaos without cause, can we?"
Doing that would just make things worse.
Joy hesitated and said, "How about we find Tristan Lockwood?"
Tina hesitated, then said with difficulty, "Even if Tristan Lockwood wanted to help, President Hale probably doesn’t want him involved in her affairs."
"But last time at the bar, when Tristan Lockwood arrived at the private room, it was obvious in his eyes that he cared about President Hale."
"Really?"
Tina wasn’t quite convinced.
Joy was very certain, "Trust me, as someone who’s been there, I can absolutely recognize the look of someone in love."
...
A few days later, Claire received a call from Nathan Quinn saying that the man who threw water on her at the bar had been found and was now at the police station.
The man confessed to everything he had done without denying a single thing.
When Claire arrived, she stared into the man’s lifeless eyes and said, "Last year at the bar, it was you who hit me with a broken bottle."
"Yes."
The man admitted at once.
Claire: "Why?"
"No reason. Doesn’t one need a reason to dislike someone?"
The man’s lips curled into a sinister smile, surrounded by unkempt stubble, making his smile chilling.
"How can a woman like you, who should have never been born, live so well, earn so much money, and hold such a high social position? Why? Someone like you, an illegitimate child, deserves to die, deserves to be hidden away, trampled under everyone’s feet."
The man’s words were so malicious that even the eavesdropping officer couldn’t bear it and barked at him.
Claire, however, remained unfazed and calmly asked, "How did you know I’m an illegitimate child? Who told you? Was it Cynthia Hale? Or Jade Sutton?"
The man’s eyes flickered briefly, then he resumed his indifferent smile.
He said nothing more to her.
Claire knew that for what he’d done, he might end up with just a couple of years in jail, a trivial thing for someone like him.
She understood this and didn’t waste words with him.
But before leaving, she coldly said, "Don’t you have anyone you care about in this world? If you think I’m a damnable bastard, how do you suppose I might retaliate against those you care about?"
The man’s face fell at once, though he still said nothing.
His gaze grew increasingly fierce.
Claire’s lips curled into an ambiguous smile, then she turned abruptly and left without looking back.
...
The lawyer from Shawn Sykes’s side came to see Claire, saying Shawn was willing to settle with Crystal Warren and provide a thousand bucks a month in child support.
"Does he think this is a gesture of reconciliation? Why doesn’t he just toss a hundred bucks to dismiss a beggar?"
Crystal almost laughed in anger looking at the thousand-dollar offer on the settlement paper.
"I doubt Mr. Sykes genuinely wants to settle, right?"
If anything, it felt more like a move to disgust them.
Claire pushed the settlement papers back to the other party.
"Lawyer Liu, please tell Mr. Sykes to keep his thousand-dollar child support for himself to burn as paper money. Those who commit too many wrongdoings, who knows, one night they might be dragged away by ghosts on their way home."
Shawn apparently anticipated their response. Lawyer Liu returned the settlement calmly, smiling, "Mr. Sykes also asked me to pass on a message to you. He wanted me to ask, why is Lawyer Hale so eager to help an illegitimate child with her lawsuit? Is it because she’s a bastard herself and therefore empathizes?"
Claire’s expression darkened, but before she could respond, Crystal hurled a glass of tea at Lawyer Liu, fuming:
"Has no one ever taught you, when you’re working for others, mind your words or the consequences will be yours to bear?"
"Since neither of you is willing to settle, we’ll wait for the lawsuit. Mr. Sykes specifically mentioned that now that he’s been demoted and has time, he’s ready to play this out slowly with you."
Lawyer Liu calmly dried his face with a tissue before taking the settlement papers and leaving.
Then Crystal’s tears began to flow.
Claire patted her back, trying to comfort her.
"Were his words earlier true?"
Crystal suddenly asked.
Claire knew exactly what she meant.
She lowered her eyes, contemplated for a moment, then said plainly, "It’s true. If you feel my background isn’t fitting, I can find you a more suitable lawyer."
"No, it’s not that."
Crystal looked at her, without the prejudice Claire expected, and instead said earnestly, "Lawyer Hale, you’re truly an exceptional woman. I was very worried that Cherie’s background might trouble her, making her unhappy for life. But seeing you, I now have confidence Cherie can lead a happy life."