Chapter 6

Claire Hayes POV

After I returned to the Hayes house, I first placed the engagement ring in my mother’s study.

I had not worn that ring yet, and it had been sent by the Grant family according to my size.

The diamond was bright and the design was expensive, but looking at it now, I only felt like it was a trap exposed too early.

Vivian Hayes had someone pour me warm milk.

“Were you scared?”

“No.”

I sat on the sofa.

“I just feel disgusted.”

Vivian Hayes smiled faintly.

“Disgust is good.”

“It’s better than feeling disgusted after marrying into the family.”

I looked at my mother.

“Do we still need to continue discussing this marriage?”

Vivian Hayes did not answer right away.

After all, my mother had told me that she had agreed to the Grant marriage because Richard Grant had indeed honored a few old loyalties when he was young.

Ethan Grant was capable, his reputation in public was good, and I had just returned to New York and needed a steady identity to enter its social circle.

She was not determined to make me marry for family interests, but had believed the Grant family at least understood boundaries.

But tonight proved that the most important heir of the Grant family did not.

“Your marriage is your decision,” Vivian Hayes said.

“I am only responsible for being your safety net.”

Those words warmed my heart.

I’d spent most of my youth studying abroad, while Mother’s schedule kept us separated far more often than not.

The public saw Vivian Hayes as icy, unemotional. Only I understood the freedom she’d granted me was never neglect—she’d laid a clear escape path right in front of my eyes all along.

Adrian Lawson brought in the preliminary materials.

“The hotel has sealed the surveillance footage, and the design studio has also confirmed that the signature in the corner of the draft and the delivery records are complete.”

“It would have been impossible for Lily Carter not to know that this main visual draft belonged to Miss Hayes before she filmed.”

I flipped through a few pages and asked, “If I cancel the engagement, will it affect the cooperation between the Hayes family and the Grant family?”

Adrian Lawson said, “It will, but the impact is controllable.”

“The Grant family will be affected far more.”

Vivian Hayes looked at me.

“No need to feel sorry for the Grant family.”

I closed the materials.

“Then cancel it.”

“We don’t need to scold anyone publicly, just say our values don’t align.”

Adrian Lawson nodded.

Vivian Hayes asked, “You’re letting them off that easily?”

I shook my head.

“I’m not letting them off.”

“It’s easy to curse them out over someone replacing the main engagement visual.”

“I want them to return every bit of favoritism, disrespect, and lying one by one.”

My tone was very calm, but I was no longer the unfamiliar girl who had just arrived in New York and stood in that banquet hall.

After returning to my room, I opened my suitcase and took out each piece of jewelry I had originally prepared for the engagement.

Some were from my mother, and some I had brought back from overseas myself.

I had originally thought that since I was formally entering New York society, I should be as considerate as possible and not let anyone think I was slighting the Grant family.

Now it seemed that the more thoroughly I prepared, the more absurd the Grant family looked.

I put the jewelry away again, leaving only the ring sent by the Grant family.

I placed the ring box at the very edge of the desk, like a package delivered to the wrong address and waiting to be returned.

When Vivian Hayes came in, she happened to see this scene.

She did not advise me to be magnanimous, nor did she say the cooperation with the Grant family was still worthwhile.

She only asked, “Claire, after tonight, do you regret coming back?”

I thought for a moment.

“I don’t regret it.”

“It’s better to see clearly early than to fall in too late.”

Before Adrian Lawson left, he listed the ways the Grant family might try to fix the situation.

“They will most likely suppress public opinion first, then ask the elders to plead on their behalf.”

“If Ethan Grant comes in person, it is best not to meet him privately.”

Looking at the list, I could not help saying, “You even guessed how they would try to fix it?”

“It isn’t a guess,” Adrian Lawson said.

“People who make mistakes but still want to preserve decorum usually follow the same playbook.”

Vivian Hayes heard this and looked at him lightly.

“You seem to understand it well.”

Adrian Lawson’s expression did not change.

“I’ve seen too many people like that.”

I lowered my head and drank tea, nearly laughing.

After being tense all night, I finally felt a little lighter.

I did not sleep well that night.

I was not sad over Ethan Grant, but scared that I had almost handed my life over to a pretty file.

Files could lie, family backgrounds could lie, and the “suitable” person described by elders could also lie.

At the critical moment, who a person protected first and who he blamed first was far clearer than anything on a résumé.

Ethan Grant protected Lily Carter.

I pushed the ring box to the corner of my desk and would have Adrian Lawson return it to the Grant family tomorrow morning.