New beginning: Billionaire love story

Claire stormed back into her office like a hurricane, her heels clacking furiously against the floor. The door swung open, and she tossed her bag onto the couch with a dramatic flair. The poor couch groaned under the weight, but not as much as Matthew, who sat at her desk, completely startled. His eyes widened as he took in the sight of Claire, who was clearly having a 'day.' "Whoa, what's going on?" he asked, eyebrows shooting up in surprise. He had never seen her this worked up before.

Claire didn't even sit down. Nope, sitting was not happening today. Instead, she planted her hands on her hips like she was ready to take on the world-well, at least one very annoying world-and started pacing. Back and forth, back and forth. Her face was a mix of frustration and anger, and honestly, Matthew wasn't sure if she was going to explode or just keep pacing holes in the floor.

"Claire?" Matthew stood up, trying to make sense of it all, his voice more confused now than worried. "What happened?" He stepped closer, cautious as if she were a ticking time bomb.noveldrama

Claire stopped dead in her tracks, right in front of him, her eyes locking onto his. The look she gave him made him flinch like he'd just stepped on a Lego. It was that intense.

"Is this...about the trial?" Matthew ventured, throwing out a wild guess. Given the look on her face, he was pretty sure he hit the nail on the head.

Claire let out a groan of pure frustration, loud enough that it could've shattered glass. "It's all a mess!" she practically yelled, throwing her hands up in the air like she was surrendering to the chaos of it all.

Matthew frowned. "Okay, what exactly happened?" He could feel his stomach knotting up; if Claire was this upset, things were definitely not good.

Claire wasted no time diving into her story, her words tumbling out in a rush. "So, I gave my testimony in court today, right? Everything was going as planned. And then it was supposed to be Lisa's turn-her lawyer was all ready to deny everything, as usual." Claire rolled her eyes so hard, that Matthew was surprised they didn't get stuck. "But right before the judge was about to make a decision, the court clerk ran up to him and whispered something."

"Uh-huh..." Matthew nodded along, his eyes wide with curiosity. "And?"

Claire crossed her arms, clearly annoyed just recalling it. "Turns out the clerk had some news about Lisa."

Matthew raised an eyebrow. "What kind of news?"

Claire sighed, clearly exhausted. "She's in the hospital. Apparently, she tried to hurt herself."

Matthew's jaw dropped. "Again?"

"Again," Claire confirmed with a nod, her frustration bubbling just below the surface. "I don't know how she does it, but it's like she always has a plan to avoid facing the consequences. She knows she's going to end up in jail, so this... this is her way out." Matthew blinked, still trying to process everything. "Wait, so what happens now? Does this delay everything?"

Claire threw herself onto the couch, sinking into the cushions with a deep, tired sigh. "Well, after I found out about her little trip to the hospital, I went straight there to confront her. I needed to see her face. But guess what?"

Matthew shook his head, feeling like he was about to be hit with another bombshell. "What?"

"Her room was being watched." Claire clenched her fists, clearly still furious about it. "There was an officer standing right outside her door, and no matter what I said, they wouldn't let me in. I told them I was the victim, that I had every right to speak to her, but nope. Nada. Couldn't get anywhere near her."

Matthew was in disbelief. "You're kidding me, right?"

"I wish," Claire muttered, rubbing her temples as if she could somehow massage the stress away. "It's like she's playing this whole thing like a game. She's sitting there in the hospital, knowing she's out of reach. It's infuriating." Matthew walked over to the couch and sat down beside her, leaning back with a sigh of his own. "So... what do we do now?"

Claire shrugged, looking as lost as he felt. "I don't know. I honestly don't know. We didn't expect any of this to happen, and now it's all a big mess. I mean, she can't stay in the hospital forever, right?"

Matthew glanced over at her, the hint of a smirk tugging at his lips. "I don't know, Claire. You'd be surprised. If anyone can drag out a hospital stay, it's Lisa."

Claire groaned again, this time softer, as if she'd used up all her energy being mad. "You know what? I wouldn't even be shocked at this point. Nothing shocks me anymore when it comes to her."

They both sat there in silence for a moment, letting the weight of the situation sink in. Claire stared at the ceiling like it held the answers, while Matthew picked at a loose thread on the couch cushion.

Finally, Claire broke the silence. "I guess we just wait and see what happens next. I mean, what else can we do? The system is going to drag this out as long as it can, and Lisa's just going to keep playing her games." Matthew nodded. "Yeah, but you know this isn't over. She can't avoid it forever."

Claire leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes. "I know. But right now, it feels like forever."

Claire slammed her laptop shut for a

moment, frustrated. She leaned

back in her chair and ran a hand through her hair. Her office was quiet, buther mind was a mess. Lisa. The case. All the months of work. It felt like everything was slipping through her fingers and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She let out a long, irritated groan and tried to shake the

thoughts away.

"Come on, Claire. Focus," she muttered to herself, sitting up straight and cracking her knuckles before going back to her computer. But no matter how hard she tried to push the thoughts of Lisa aside, they kept creeping back into her head like an annoying song stuck on repeat.

Then, like a lightbulb flashing above her head, she suddenly remembered something. She grabbed her phone from the desk and quickly scrolled through her contacts, finding Alexander's name. Without wasting another second, she hit the dial button. It rang twice before he picked up.

"Hello? Claire? Can I help you with something?" Alexander's voice came through.

Claire didn't waste time with small talk. She switched to her business tone, the one that made everyone in the room sit up a little straighter. "Alexander, have you talked to that Claudia yet? I mean, about letting the public know who she is? checked social media, and people are still buzzing about this mystery woman.' It's all over the place. You said you'd handle it."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then she heard Alexander sigh. "Yeah, I'll handle it. Don't worry. I'll get back to you, alright?"

Before Claire could say anything

else, the line went dead. She blinked at the phone, her brow furrowed. It was rare that someone hung up on her. Usually, she was the one calling the shots, especially when it came to cutting conversations short. She stared at the screen for a moment, then shrugged it off and went back to her typing.

Whatever.

Alexander could deal with it, but he better do it soon.

Meanwhile, Alexander leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. Of course, Claire had to remind him about the whole thing with Claudia.

He picked up his phone and dialed her number, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Of course it does," he muttered under his breath. He tried again. Same thing. Voicemail. With a heavy sigh, he quickly typed out a text.

"Hey, Claudia. Need to talk. Call me back ASAP. We need to clear up your appearance at the press release."

He hit send and tossed the phone onto his desk, running a hand down his face. He muttered to himself, "Now she's acting like she's too important to be reached. What does she want? A red carpet or something?"