[ 36 ] 1963

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"Clearly you've never had money."

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Claire was in bed with Con just a few hours before she was supposed to be going out with Ashton that night. Anne-Sophie, Con's wife and Claire's supposed best friend, was in a different bedroom of the house, the master bedroom she shared with her husband. Her pregnancy was a delicate one and she was required to have plenty of bed rest. That was beneficial for Con because it made it easier for him to sneak Claire into his house without his wife noticing. 

In the recent weeks, Claire Feeney had been able to convince Ashton to marry her under the law of Australia first, and they would marry under the church later, as was still planned. Because of this marriage, Claire would have been the sole heir if Ashton were to die and there was no one else to keep the inheritance money. And it was what she and Con had planned from the start.

Even though they were now officially married, it had been Ashton's idea that she would remain at her house until they were married under the church. She had no problem with that because she could go out and see Con without Ashton knowing of it.

Ashton was having a house built for them, as a present from his parents, and it would take another few months for it to be done.

"Make sure that you keep him out of his house all day." He gave her instructions of their plan.

Claire rolled her eyes, informing him, "Don't worry, I'll keep him out long enough for you to break into the house. We're going out with Bobby, Hayley, Lucas, and Mary tonight." The way she had said their names made him notice she had no desire to spend time with them. They were Ashton's friends and she didn't like them. Had it been her choice, she would have spent the whole day with Con. Claire didn't have any other friends besides Con, but she didn't care about friendships. She only cared about having money and being with Con.

Sighing, she got up and picked up her clothes, putting them back on. She gave Con a final kiss before she left the house. As she walked the hallways of his mansion, the service said nothing to her, but she felt the burn of their stares.

They knew why she was there, but none of them said anything to Anne due to her fragile condition. Most of them were also concerned of losing their jobs if they said anything.

She barely had enough time to shower and change before Ashton arrived to pick her up. Claire made her way down the steps from the second floor and saw him sitting on the livingroom couch. Bobby was there too, still dressed in his security guard uniform. He was standing up, the service wasn't allowed to, and would never dare to sit on the expensive sofas. He and Ashton were having a conversation and both turned when they heard her heels clank against the tiled floor.

Ashton got up to standing as she cut the distance between them. "Hey there, kitten." He grinned, placing his hands on her shoulders and giving her a quick peck on the lips.

Claire knew he normally would have been more reserved, but had been showing his feelings for her in public more since they had married. "Hello love." Claire greeted him, easily faking happiness for him. In the time she had spent with Ashton, she had come to appreciate him, but she didn't love him. And her greed was much greater than her appreciation for him. Looking to the young security guard, she said with a wave of her hand, "Hey Bobby."

She truly enjoyed talking to Bobby, especially because she knew how much it bothered Hayley. 

And she actually appreciated Bobby as a friend. He was young, and handsome, and smart, and it was much easier for her to have friendships with boys than with girls.

Bobby smiled at her. "Hi Miss Claire."

She pouted. "Stop giving me such a formal title. Just call me Claire."

"Yeah, Bobby." Ashton agreed with a nod. "We're all friends here. And Claire actually likes you, that must be good."

"I don't know." The security guard crinkled up his nose. "Its not appropriate for the service to be so comfortable with our employers."

"Well, lets do this." She smiled, offering up a suggestion. "Outside of this house, just call me Claire. And when my parents are around, you can call me Miss Claire."

Bobby agreed to that. "I guess that's a good plan."

The three made their way down to the garage and got into one of the cars. Since Claire would be going with them, she chose the most expensive car there; a black Mercedes Benz. Ashton and Claire sat in the back seats while Bobby was at the wheel. 

To Claire's dismay, they went to pick up Hayley, who got into the front passenger seat. Bobby complimented Hayley on the way she was dressed, which angered the rich heiress. She wanted to be the only one being complimented. Her anger reached its limit when Ashton spent the whole car ride making conversation with the brunette in the front seat. He often tried making conversation with Claire, but would then end up not liking the things she would say about others. 

With the objective of ruining Hayley's night, she took the piece of gum she was chewing out of her mouth and stuck it halfway down her long brown hair that was naturally straight and silky. 

None of them noticed her doing it and she smiled to herself.

They parked in the dirt lot of Iggy's Diner, where they often went out to eat together. It was the best restaurant at the time and was centered to get teen customers.

When they entered the restaurant, they saw Mary and Lucas already there. They were sat at one of the booths, which seated six people. In their hands were menus and they were already trying to decide what they wanted to eat. Ashton and Claire went to sit across from Mary-Joy and Lucas, leaving only two seats available. One was next to Claire and the other was next to Joy, across the table.

Claire grinned, ready to bother Hayley, "Sit over here with us, Bobby." She patted the seat next to her.

Hayley narrowed her eyes at the blonde and crossed her arms over her chest. "This is not going to work. Bobby can't sit next to a slut. She might touch him or something."

"Hayley." He told her through gritted teeth.

The last thing he wanted was to get in trouble with his boss' daughter. Especially not when he needed the money to pay for the Marine Academy.

"Maybe he wants me to touch him." Claire argued innocently.

"Kitten, behave, please." Ashton nudged her gently. He thought Claire was only joking, since she was always trying to mess with Hayley. 

"We're going to sit at the counter." Hayley informed the others, and grabbed Bobby's hand in hers, pulling him towards the stools that were in front of the counter. The two of them sat there, leaving the four at the booth, only a few feet away.

Mary-Joy slid out of the booth and got back on her feet. "We should go sit with them." She said cheerfully. Lucas got up as well, and both waited for Ashton and Claire to do the same.

Claire rolled her eyes in annoyance and followed them, with Ashton coming along.

There were six free stools at the counter. Hayley sat at the first one, followed by Bobby. Claire was about to sit down on the third seat when Hayley stopped her, pointing at her with her index finger. "Don't you even dare sit next to my boyfriend." She warned. But Claire shrugged and did it anyway, smirking at Hayley. Ashton sat next to her, then Mary-Joy and Lucas sat on the last seat.

Trying to lighten the mood, Mary showed Ashton her hand. On it was an impressive ring. "Lucas and I are engaged." She smiled wide.

"Congratulations!" Ashton told them with a grin. "Isn't it great, kitten?" He said to Claire.

But she was unimpressed. "Yep." She replied, lacking enthusiasm.

"That's great." Hayley told them with a warm smile. She actually liked Mary and Lucas. "Hopefully Bobby and I will be next." She eyed her boyfriend.

Bobby nodded, "When I have something to offer you, we'll get married."

"We don't need money to be happy." Hayley said.

Claire snorted at that. "Clearly you've never had money."

"I've had all I needed." Hayley argued.

"Will you be one of my bridesmaids?" Mary asked Claire and Hayley. Mary had known Claire since they were in pre-school and they had been friends all through primary. Once they entered their teen years, Claire only started hanging out with Con. Mary wanted to get back the friendship she had with Claire. In Hayley's case, she grew to like her because she was a nice girl. The only person she seemed to be mean to was Claire. They both hated each other.

Nodding, Hayley replied, "I'd be honored."

Laughing in amsement, Claire's reply was, "I'll have to think about it, Mary." She said honestly, "There are so many negatives. I mean, for one, your boyfriend is a loser. The only appealing thing about him is his money. And second, if all your bridesmaids are going to be peasants, I don't want to be a part of this circus."

Lucas and Mary sat there, mouth agape at her words. But Hayley didn't stay quiet. She shot up from her seat and said angrily, "What is your problem? You can't treat people like that."

"I'll treat them however I want." Claire said, nose in the air proudly.

Reaching across the counter, past Bobby, Hayley grabbed a fistful of Claire's dress. She was close to bringing her fist to Claire's face when Bobby got up from his chair and pulled his girlfriend back. "Leave me alone, Bobby!" Hayley shouted, struggling his his hold. All eyes in the restaurant were on her now and they had all fallen silent except for the shouting teenager. "We've all allowed her to say these things about people because she's rich. Well, I don't care anymore. She can have all the money in the world, but that's not going to save her from me beating her up."

"Calm down, Hayley!" Bobby had his arms around her waist, with her arms pinned down at her sides. Looking to Ashton and Claire, he said to them, "I'd better take her home. Then I'll return the car and have one of the drivers pick you up."

Ashton nodded and Claire smirked as Hayley was being dragged out of the restaurant.

When they were gone, Claire sighed, "Finally she's gone."

Joy frowned. "We should go too. We'll see you later."

With that, Mary-Joy and Lucas left the restaurant, leaving Ashton and Claire alone at the front counter. Ashton looked down at his hands embarrassed. And there was an acute feeling of annoyance at Claire because she was always pushing his friends away. He couldn't have a good time with them when she was around.

They both had dinner at the restaurant while people's curious eyes remained on them. And Ashton hoped they could both learn to compromise so that they could get through anything.

They were in love after all.

[ end of part two ]

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ayeee, since i haven't posted a flashback chapter in a while, i thought one was in order. actually, there will be two more after this before the rest of the story continues. i hope you're all liking the story. it means a lot to me when you all vote and comment, which you are all so good about doing.

so question of the day: who is your favorite villain? mine are the joker and harley quinn ^.^ haha. which is why i named harley after harley quinn. even though my harley isn't a villain. but she's pretty cool.

anyway, thank you for reading.

i love you.

-clary xx