The Billionaire's True Heiress From Fake Jewel to Real Crown novel Chapter 317

"Hi." Claire greeted the soldier standing by the door.

"Claire, are you feeling okay? Do you want me to call a doctor for you?"

After all, Claire was the girl who had saved Van. He had to treat her with extra respect.

"I'm fine. Is Abbott here?"

No sooner had Claire finished speaking than her stomach let out a loud growl. There was nothing she could do to stop it. She hadn't eaten in at least ten hours and was seriously starving.

"Abbott's in the room next door. That one's empty for now, so Abbott and Tandy are resting there."

"Are they both asleep? In that case, I won’t bother them. I'm just going to find something to eat," Claire said, switching gears quickly.

"Do you want to go out for food, Claire, or would you rather eat in the cafeteria?"

"Is the cafeteria food any good?" Claire had actually never eaten at the hospital cafeteria before. "And by the way, what's your name?"

"The food here is pretty decent. My name's Vernon. Just call me Vernon."

"Okay." Claire nodded.

"I'll go to the cafeteria, then..."

Before she could finish, someone called her name from behind. Claire turned and spotted Dane almost immediately.

Why was he at the hospital?

"So it really is you? I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me." Dane seemed just as surprised.

"Weren't you supposed to be back in Apex for the holidays?"

She'd heard Baldrick had been in a bad mood for several days because of it.

"Something came up. I ended up working a shift last night."

Claire didn't bother to clarify, but since they were standing in a hospital, it was pretty obvious what kind of shift she meant.

"What about you?" She didn’t ask if Baldrick was sick. She was well aware of his condition.

"I'm here to visit a friend," said Dane, glancing past her and at the room she'd just stepped out of.

Claire was bundled up in a thick coat, but Dane had spotted her loungewear underneath right away.

"It's fine, you don't have to go to all that trouble. If they suddenly need me back here, I should stick close. Let's just find somewhere nearby."

Honestly, even if people noticed what she was wearing underneath, so what? It's not like someone would walk up just to say, "You know you're out in pajamas, right?"

She doubted anyone would really do that.

"Sure."

Vernon had been watching from the side. "Claire..."

He still looked a bit unsure, eyeing Dane, who seemed both like her friend and someone interested in Van.

"I'm just grabbing a bite with him, he's a friend. No need to worry."

"If anything comes up, have Abbott reach me," she told Vernon.

He finally relaxed after that.