Rich Radiant and Over Him (Alicia and Vincent) novel Chapter 544

Just when Jade thought she might never be able to turn her life around again, the living room door opened.

The warm light from inside spilled out into the cold night.

In that split second, Jade felt like she had found a single beam of light in hell.

She struggled frantically, her face stained with a messy mix of rain and tears.

All her previous pride, the arrogance she had once used to trample Clayton underfoot, was gone. She slumped to the ground, sobbing, begging Clayton to save her.

She wanted to live. She just wanted to survive.

Just to survive.

Clayton stood in the doorway, an overwhelming aura of authority radiating from him.

Outside the courtyard gate, over a dozen of Clayton's bodyguards materialized, blocking the entrance with cold, stony expressions.

"Coming to my home to cause trouble. Brandon White is getting bolder by the day," Clayton said, his voice low but carrying an undeniable, oppressive weight.

The bodyguards restraining Jade tensed up, loosening their grip and slowly backing away.

"Mr. Holloway, this is a misunderstanding. We're merely here to escort Miss White home," the lead bodyguard forced himself to say.

"She doesn't seem to want to go home." Clayton stared down from his vantage point at Jade, who was crumpled miserably on the ground. Behind him, Susanna peeked out with timid eyes. She hid behind Clayton, looking at Jade with nothing but pity.

Jade was breathing heavily, her eyes red as she looked up at Clayton in desperation.

Her gaze shifted to Susanna's eyes, and a toxic blend of jealousy and resentment spread through her chest. This Susanna was nothing more than a fake created by her and Natalia! What right did she have to receive Clayton's tenderness? What right did a fake have to look at her with such condescending pity? What right!

Clenching her fists tightly, Jade seethed with bitterness, but she didn't dare expose the truth.

If she told Clayton that Susanna was a plant she had orchestrated to trap him, Clayton would definitely leave her to rot.

So Jade kept quiet, her heart racing in panic, her fingers trembling.

She let her arm drop numbly, feeling incredibly pathetic.

Back when Clayton agreed to help her steal Alicia's design drafts, she actually thought he still harbored some affection for her.

It was only when Alicia dazzled everyone at the design competition and used the plagiarism scandal to solidify her position in White Corporation that Jade finally understood. Clayton had never been helping her...

He knew perfectly well that she was trying to frame Alicia, and he deliberately played along with her scheme to ensure it backfired. From beginning to end, the only person he was truly protecting was Alicia.

The only granddaughter Patriarch Reginald White had ever genuinely loved: Alicia.

When Jade figured it out, she was consumed by hatred, jealousy, and bitterness. She was Reginald's granddaughter too! Why was the gap between her life and Alicia's so devastatingly wide?

But slowly, despair took over. She stopped struggling. Perhaps... in this life, from the moment she was born, she was destined to rot in the mud.

"Since she doesn't want to go back, I suggest you leave," Clayton said, his voice laced with heavy intimidation as he looked at the bodyguards.

The men exchanged nervous glances. None of them dared to provoke Clayton, so they quickly retreated.