The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 700

"I just wanted to do what's within my power."

Mary patted her shoulder. "It's alright. Don't carry that weight on your shoulders."

"The sins of the adults have nothing to do with you."

Cindy's eyes welled with tears; she understood exactly what Mary meant.

She just hadn't expected the older woman to be so gracious and comfort her during such a crisis.

"I understand. Thank you," Cindy choked out softly.

Mary nodded and found a quiet spot to eat her breakfast.

Cindy headed inside to find Octavia.

Seeing her daughter's reddened eyes, Octavia frowned deeply. "What happened? Who bullied you?"

"Was it..."

Mary had just stepped out, and Octavia immediately suspected her mother-in-law was the culprit.

After all, she knew exactly how intimidating Mary could be.

The old woman might act like she didn't care about Cindy's true parentage, but deep down, she probably despised the illegitimate girl.

"No," Cindy hurriedly shook her head. "Mary is outside eating breakfast."

"Then what's wrong with you?" If it wasn't Mary, could it be Claire?

"What did Claire say to you?"

"Right, where is she anyway? Why didn't she come in to check on your brother?"

Even though Octavia disliked Claire, she couldn't deny the girl's medical brilliance.

Mary was too old to endure sleepless nights, so if Claire stayed at the hospital to care for Lance, it would be perfect.

Octavia was in decent health herself, but after years of a pampered, luxurious lifestyle, she wasn't built for pulling all-nighters in a hospital.

She couldn't handle it and desperately wanted Claire to take over.

Since Claire was a medical professional, she'd be the perfect person to keep watch overnight.

Cindy shook her head again. "Claire said she had other things to do. She already left."

"How incredibly irresponsible! What could possibly be more important than your brother's recovery right now?" Octavia snapped.

Octavia was mostly just venting; she knew she had absolutely zero control over Claire, especially after Claire exposed that Octavia had known the truth about the baby swap all along and deliberately hid it.

The moment Octavia saw her son was awake, her demeanor instantly softened. "Lance, honey, you're awake?"

"Mom, what were you and Cindy arguing about?" Lance asked, having been roused by their raised voices.

"Did I hear you mention Claire?"

Seeing that her son still held out hope for Claire, Octavia felt a bitter pang of regret.

She should have just let him be with Claire back then.

At the very least, Claire was an exceptional medical talent and was practically guaranteed a lucrative career as a top-tier doctor.

Even if the James family went completely bankrupt, with Claire around, they would never have to worry about putting food on the table.

Unfortunately, it was far too late for that now.

"Yes, we were talking about her. That girl is utterly selfish. You're lying here like this, and she won't even step up to help take care of you." Octavia scoffed.

"She just dropped by, didn't even bother to come into your room, and then vanished."

Sure enough, at the mention of Claire's name, Lance threw an eager, hopeful glance toward the doorway.

Hearing his mother say she was already gone, a heavy wave of disappointment washed over his eyes.