Chapter 445 - 448: Revealing My Identity, I Am Maya Marshall

Adrian Lancaster felt the warm breath on his neck, and the muscles all over his body instantly tensed.

Claire Bennett took a sip of the sobering soup, held it in her mouth, and wrapped herself around Adrian Lancaster, her breath quickening as she moved closer to his lips.

The moment she leaned in, Adrian Lancaster frowned. With a drunken haze that still held a hint of sober detachment, he sharply turned his body and pushed her away.

The push wasn’t forceful, but it precisely created distance between them.

He looked up, his eyes hazy with drink but his gaze cold. "Stay away from me."

The gentle expression on Claire Bennett’s face froze instantly, a flicker of disappointment and resentment in her eyes.

"President Lancaster..."

"I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted you to drink the sobering soup."

Adrian Lancaster sat up straighter. "I have a wife and kids. I don’t mess around with other women. Drop those ideas."

Using his supposed drunkenness as cover, he spoke his mind plainly, holding nothing back.

Claire Bennett clenched her fists, forcefully suppressing the resentment in her heart and putting on a hurt and aggrieved expression.

’Drunken words are sober thoughts. It seems Adrian Lancaster still cares about that bitch Wren Sutton.’

"President Lancaster, why must you be like this? It’s heartbreaking to watch."

"The rumors are flying everywhere. They say you and Mrs. Lancaster have had a falling out, that you’ve been living apart for days, and that a divorce is just a matter of time."

She paused, then added with emphasis.

"You can’t force love. Since Wren Sutton doesn’t know what’s good for her and doesn’t want to be Mrs. Lancaster, there’s really no need for you to try and keep her."

"Because in this world, there’s someone who loves you more than she does. For example..."

Adrian Lancaster cut Claire Bennett off coldly. "Who said I’m divorcing my wife? That’s complete nonsense."

His angry questioning and the irritated demeanor of a drunk were acted out so vividly that no trace of the pretense was visible.

"We just had a fight over an old photo in my study drawer, that’s all. What couple in the world doesn’t fight? We’ll be fine in a few days. Have you never been married? You don’t even understand something that simple?"

"..." Claire Bennett’s heart leaped. She believed Adrian Lancaster’s drunken words.

’It’s true he fought with Wren Sutton and they’re living apart, but it’s also true that he wants to make up with her.’

The crucial thing was, she was desperate to know what this old photo Adrian mentioned was all about.

’Who’s in the picture?’

’Someone who could make Wren Sutton so furious that she’d start a cold war with Adrian and move out.’

"It was just a photo, how could it cause such a huge fight? Who is the person in the picture?"

Adrian Lancaster closed his eyes and shook his head. "You wouldn’t know them even if I told you."

Claire Bennett’s curiosity was piqued, and she found it unbearable.

"You haven’t told me yet, President Lancaster, so how would you know if I know them or not?"

At this moment, she had forgotten the awkwardness of being pushed away by Adrian. Her mind was consumed by an obsession with that photo, with that name.

She was dying to know who had such power, who could disrupt the relationship between Adrian Lancaster and Wren Sutton.

’She’d have to thank that person properly.’

"President Lancaster, there’s no one else here. If you tell me, I promise I won’t spread it around."

"Who is it? Please tell me, President Lancaster, I’m begging you~"

Listening to Claire Bennett’s cloying, put-on voice made Adrian Lancaster’s skin crawl.

The coldness and disgust in his eyes were concealed by his feigned drunkenness, revealing no flaw in his act.

He stared at Claire Bennett as if looking through her at someone else.

"My ex-girlfriend."

Those three words, as light as a breeze, struck Claire Bennett’s ears like a clap of thunder.

She froze on the spot, her pupils constricting violently as a tidal wave of emotions churned in her eyes.

Her heart pounded relentlessly, her mind went blank, and with trembling lips, she asked, "What’s her name?"

Adrian Lancaster feigned a wistful look, continuing his ’drunken truth’ act. "It’s all in the past."

Claire Bennett grew extremely agitated. Her eyes widened, the corners turning scarlet.

"Please tell me her name. Tell me, tell me..."

Adrian Lancaster took in her extreme reaction, lowered his gaze impassively, and sighed softly.

"Her name is Maya Marshall."

"You don’t know her anyway, so why are you digging for details?"

When the name "Maya Marshall" slowly left Adrian Lancaster’s lips, Claire Bennett shuddered, and her tightly clenched fists suddenly relaxed.

The last vestiges of probing and resentment in her eyes were instantly drowned by a tidal wave of ecstasy and triumph.

She stared fixedly at the drunkenly hazy man before her, her heart hammering against her ribs, every drop of blood in her body boiling.

’So that’s how it is!’

’She had painstakingly schemed to change her entire appearance, approaching Adrian Lancaster under the identity of Claire Bennett.’

’Only to watch him and Wren Sutton live in harmony as a couple, blessed with both a son and a daughter, while the jealousy and obsession in her own heart grew wilder day and night, tormenting her.’

’But Claire Bennett had never, ever imagined that Adrian Lancaster had kept an old photo of her hidden in his study drawer, cherishing it for years without throwing it away.’

’She’d even less expected that Wren Sutton would fly into a rage over a picture of her, starting a cold war with Adrian and moving out.’

’This had caused a crack to appear in what outsiders saw as a perfect marriage, leaving it on the brink of collapse.’

’So, all these years, Adrian Lancaster had never forgotten her. There had always been a place for her in his heart.’

This thought swept through her like a poison, going straight to Claire Bennett’s head. All her counter-surveillance vigilance, all her feigned restraint, was thrown to the wind by this sudden, delightful surprise.

She only felt her eyes burn. All these years of forbearance, resentment, and obsession finally found their resolution in this one moment.

A mix of ecstatic joy at having regained what was lost and a sense of grievance surged into her heart.

Unable to restrain herself any longer, Claire Bennett staggered forward and, before Adrian Lancaster could react, threw her arms around his neck, holding on tightly.

She threw herself into his arms, greedily inhaling the crisp, alcohol-tinged scent on him.

Her arms tightened, as if she wanted to embed herself into his body to confirm this long-overdue affection.

The next second, an aggrieved sob escaped her throat.

It wasn’t a deliberately feigned weakness, but a paranoid release. Tears streamed down, soaking Adrian Lancaster’s shirt and spreading into a small, damp patch.

Her shoulders trembled as she cried, her voice choked with sobs.

"Why are you only telling me this now? Why!"

Claire Bennett murmured Adrian Lancaster’s name over and over. Years of suppressed affection and grievance poured out, each utterance entwined with a paranoid longing.

She looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears, her cheeks tear-streaked. But her gaze held a scorching, triumphant light—the light of a victor.

"You’ve always had Maya Marshall in your heart. You never forgot her, did you?"

Claire Bennett was completely immersed in the beautiful dream she had woven, one of an unforgettable past love.

She was certain that Adrian Lancaster had treasured the photo because he loved her.

Certain that she was the irreplaceable one that got away, the one who lived on in his heart.

She had no idea that her current out-of-control, obsessive behavior was tantamount to exposing her identity.

"What does that have to do with you? Let go." Adrian Lancaster forcefully pushed Claire Bennett away.

"Drop those ideas. I’m not interested in you."

Claire Bennett’s defenses shattered instantly. Her rationality was washed away by a crazed obsession, and with reddened eyes, she choked out her words in a desperate, all-or-nothing gamble.

"Because... because I am Maya Marshall."