The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 187

Even Molly probably never imagined Octavia would use her excuse so soon, and right to Claire’s face at that.

Claire motioned for Valeria to stay quiet and kept up the act with Octavia over the phone.

“Really? Cindy seems totally normal to me. She doesn’t look like she’s depressed,” Claire said, trying her best to sound genuinely concerned.

Octavia let out a heavy sigh. “Cindy’s just sensitive. She overthinks everything.”

“You two are sisters, after all. Your grandma practically raised Cindy herself. If anything happened to her, your grandma would be heartbroken.”

“I just hope you can talk to her, help her see things differently.”

“Are you free tonight? Come home for dinner. Finals are over, let’s celebrate a little. I’ll make something nice for you girls.”

“And what about this winter camp? Why haven’t you told us you got in? Why keep it from your mom and dad?”

“Thank you, Octavia.” With just those words, Claire shut down any attempt Octavia had to tug at her feelings.

“Claire, why are you acting so distant?” Octavia sounded a little hurt, but she quickly tried to brush it off.

“If that’s how you want to call me, then fine.”

“As long as we see you as our daughter, and you see us as your real parents, that’s enough.”

“If you’d told us about the winter camp sooner, we could have thrown you a party.”

“We wouldn’t need to invite all our relatives, just your friends. The house is big, there’s staff around, you could do whatever you want. Your uncle and I could even go out and give you the place.”

Octavia really knew how to smooth things over for herself, changing her attitude in a heartbeat.

Claire actually felt a little more at ease hearing that.

“Thanks, but I don’t think there’s any need to invite everyone over and make it a big deal.”

“Getting into the camp has already made some people jealous. I’d rather not show off.”

Whether Claire meant anything extra by that was up to the listener.

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