Chapter 308: Very Tired, Very Suffocated

Claire's face stiffened. Her breathing stopped in an instant, and her chest felt like it was being pressed down by a cotton ball soaked in ice water.

She was falling heavily into an abyss.

How could she not catch the sarcasm in Rachel's words?

Rachel was using the coffee to insult her.

Calling her two-faced.

Ridiculous. How was she two-faced?

Which of her words just now wasn't the truth?

She clenched her teeth secretly, the resentment in her heart rapidly fermenting, almost corroding away what little rationality she had left.

She still turned her head to glance at Benjamin, who was two people away, his expression still cold and indifferent.

Only then did her turbulent emotions settle down a bit.

But her mood didn't improve much.

Benjamin seemed to not care about this small matter at all.

Well, he was the one who reminded Rachel to drink that coffee.

Could it be that he thought so too?

Did he think she was two-faced?

At this thought, she clenched her fists, her eyes reddening, looking like she had no choice but to swallow this frustration and grievance. She picked up the coffee beside her and took a few small sips.

She forced down the sourness in her throat with difficulty.

She stopped talking.

She looked extremely innocent and sad.

Miranda and Aurora's niece were furious seeing her like this.

They thought Rachel was pretentious and detestable.

They couldn't stand it either.Claire was just telling the truth, so what right did Rachel have to be so passive-aggressive?

And calling someone else two-faced,she was the ultimate two-faced person.

She was just relying on having her cousin here to back her up. Otherwise, what was she?

Why should someone as gentle and kind as Claire be trampled and bullied by her like this?

It was so unfair!

Miranda stood up, about to point at Rachel's nose and question her, but then Betty suddenly spoke up, breaking the awkward silence.

She asked Benjamin, "Benjamin, do you want to go in and see Mom? She's awake now. She's already taken her medicine, though she's a bit confused, but at least she recognizes people."

When Aurora first woke up, she almost mistook Jacob for her father.

But after a few seconds, she came to her senses, saying she thought she was still at home.

Hearing this, Benjamin frowned slightly.

If Aurora was having an episode, he was reluctant to appear before her.

But hearing Betty say she could recognize people, and thinking that his purpose in coming here was to see her, he didn't hesitate and nodded.

He told Rachel beside him, then went into the inner room with Betty.

The spacious outer hall instantly became dead silent.

Rachel ignored the resentful and disgusted looks directed at her, drinking her coffee on her own, and even casually picked up a piece of white, unknown sweet pastry to taste.

It really tasted good.

The pastries weren't large, basically two bites each.

They had a sweet, fragrant taste with a faint floral and fruity aroma.

She ate two, and from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Miranda across from her, trying hard to calm herself down.

Originally, after Benjamin went in, Miranda wanted to attack Rachel while her cousin wasn't around, but her father Jacob stopped her with a look.

But now, with a bellyful of anger and complaints that she couldn't hold back, yet unable to speak them out loud, she could only channel her fury into appetite, also grabbing the pastries nearby and eating them.

Rachel gave a faint snort.

This girl was really spoiled by her family, not very bright, and foolishly naive.

Shewas lucky that the two sisters didn't question her on the spot , or she would have made them lose face along with Claire.

As Benjamin said, it would have been the Rivera family's reputation at stake.

Multiple people's reputations lost at once.

Her earlier warning to them had been wasted.

But then again, this was one of Claire's talents.

There were always people willing to be her pawns, one after another.

That was quite a skill.

Not to be underestimated.

It also showed just how ruthless and unscrupulous she was, completely unlike the gentle, kind, and virtuous person she appeared to be on the surface.

Someone who would use even her own relatives, was like a blade that could hang at your throat at any moment.

Too dangerous.

But to make this pawn disappear, Claire would have to die.

Unfortunately, she didn't have that kind of power right now.

And she wasn't bold enough to trade her life for Claire's.

She hadn't lived enough yet.

And there was no need for that.

Though the outer hall was awkwardly and terrifyingly quiet, fortunately Benjamin came out quickly.

He couldn't even last a minute in the inner room before coming out. Aurora's sharp voice could be faintly heard from inside. When Eileen heard the commotion, she instinctively wanted to go in, but Jacob stopped her.

Benjamin didn't sit back down either. He reached out and wiped the pastry crumbs from the corner of Rachel's mouth.

He said in a hoarse voice, "Let's go. We're going back to Quadrangle Court."

Rachel was startled but didn't show any shyness or other unusual expression. She just pulled out a tissue to wipe her hands.

She replied "okay" and stood up, still able to set aside the earlier disputes and ignore their angry, almost jumping-mad attitudes.

She nodded politely to them, turned, and left the room.

The sky was still gloomy, with occasional pale rays of light leaking through gaps in the clouds, only to be quickly swallowed up again.

Distant rumbles of thunder could occasionally be heard, unclear and indistinct.

It looked like another heavy rain was coming.

After they walked out of Harmony Manor, Benjamin asked her, "Grandma should be resting too. If we go over there, we'll just be dealing with those relatives. Are you tired? Do you want to go rest at my courtyard for a bit?"

In just a few hours, she had expended so much energy making small talk with people and had gone through too much intense psychological battles.

Now that she had a moment to recover, she did feel a deep fatigue washing over her like a tide from all directions.

It pressed down on her, making it hard to breathe.

So tired, so suffocating.

She suddenly felt like she was back when she hadn't divorced Steven yet, battling wits with his mother.