The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 170

Dane walked her in and nodded at Edison.

Edison didn’t really know Dane all that well, but they were always polite when they crossed paths.

He was genuinely taken aback when he heard Claire had been treating Baldrick. Was it even possible for someone her age to be that skilled? It must have taken a lot out of her, and she probably went through more than her fair share of tough times.

“Is studying medicine exhausting?” Edison asked, reaching out to ruffle his niece’s hair.

Claire dodged his hand before he could mess up her hair. “Not too bad. Honestly, I only got into traditional medicine because I was such a handful as a kid. I couldn’t sit still for five minutes.”

“Pandora just didn’t have the energy for me sometimes, so she’d drop me off at the Hale’s next door.”

“My teacher there started teaching me how to tell herbs apart. He figured out pretty quickly that I have a good memory, so he encouraged me to learn more about traditional medicine.”

“But before that, Pandora had already taught me some basics about Western medicine. She likes to say that since I started with Western medicine, I can’t really call Hale my official master.”

Talking about her childhood, Claire actually made it sound funny.

She had lived with her grandma for a while before she was brought back to the James family. After that, every time she had a break—on weekends, during summer, or winter holidays—she’d run straight back to her grandma’s place.

It wasn’t like Octavia had time for her anyway. Octavia was always busy with mahjong games or meeting with other socialites. She never bothered to look after Claire.

Edison felt a pang of sympathy. “If your parents were still here, they’d never let you go through all that.”

Claire was supposed to be spoiled and loved. Instead, she was just a little girl, sitting alone on a tiny stool, memorizing her textbooks. It made his heart ache.

“But I was happy,” Claire said, her voice soft but firm. “Whatever I learn is mine, you know?”

She was gentle, but there was a core of strength in her.

“Think about it. If I hadn’t learned all those things, and if I’d been kicked out of the James family, and if we hadn’t been lucky enough to have money, wouldn’t life have been a lot tougher for me?”

“I just got the hard stuff over with early. Now, all that’s left is the good part.”

She said it like it was nothing.

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